Despite your best efforts, you still fall sick during cold and flu season despite getting your annual flu shots and COVID-19 boosters. While most of us turn to fever and cough suppressants, you might want to try a few natural remedies-especially if your mom used to make honey-ginger tea.
Do natural remedies work? When it comes to tackling common seasonal illnesses, honey, ginger, zinc, and garlic be highly effective by doctors. Are these solutions ritualistic?
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Honey
According to Laura Purdy, MD, natural ingredients can fight germs and relieve symptoms. You might want to add a little honey to your hot tea: the sticky sweetener may help kill nasty germs. Dr. Purdy said, “Honey can also help to coat and soothe the throat after coughing, but it is not recommended for kids younger than one year.”
Ginger
Dr. Jill Carnahan, a nutritionist, functional medicine specialist, and author of Unexpected recommends sipping ginger tea sweetened with honey when you’re in the weather. Ginger can soothe upset stomachs during colds and flu. Ginger also aids motility, making it useful for people without appetite.
Garlic
Herbs like garlic contain allicin, which may help fight off harmful microbes. Dr. Purdy says this tasty allium may speed up your recovery. It helps people stay healthy or get well.
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Zinc-Rich Foods
In addition, Dr. Purdy believes zinc may reduce illness by up to a day if taken as soon as symptoms appear. There are plenty of ways to get zinc into your diet before you get sick; beans, nuts, beef, and seafood all have high zinc levels.
Increase Your Fluid Intake
Stocking up on these ingredients can be handy when you’re sick, but staying hydrated is more important, says Dr. Purdy. She said, “One thing I always stress: Drink plenty of water. Natural remedies aren’t meant to be magic cure-alls, but they can help certain patients when part of a healthy lifestyle.”