It’s that time of year, summers over …. darker evenings draw in, the kids are back to school and the dreaded winter coughs and colds start – YAY!
As you know by now , I truly believe your overall health and wellbeing has a huge influence on the strength of your immune system. If you look after yourself and nourish your body all year round it should help towards you fighting off some of these infections. However, that’s not to say that you won’t ever catch any common colds or bugs, I am just trying to help you be prepared ! You can read about my top 5 all year round remedies for colds here but for now I thought I would share with you a couple of my winter cough remedies including a Homemade Natural Cough syrup recipe that I make every year and take daily at this time of year ! Now don’t get me wrong I believe that conventional medicine has its place, but there’s not a huge amount it can do when it comes to common colds and coughs as they are generally caused by a virus. So instead I want to try and offer some natural reliefs to help soothe your symptoms whether it be for yourself the poorly mummy , ‘man flu’ , or for your little one, as we all know how miserable you feel when the dreaded winter cold strikes the household !
Elderberry Syrup
Elderberry’s have been used medicinally for years as they are a rich source in Vitamin C and provide some B6. Seasonally they are known for helping fight off colds and coughs more quickly as they contain some important immune boosting compounds but have also been used for constipation.
There have been many studies that have suggested the black elderberry can have measurable effects in treating flu symptoms, boosting your respiratory health and contributes to reducing allergy symptoms. It has been shown to reduce swelling in the mucous membranes and relieves congestion which typically accompanies a cough and cold.
You can find many good quality ones online similar to these
Raw Honey and Lemon
This is one of my favourite combinations at this time of year, it’s so soothing and you can literally feel it coating your insides with warmth! My partners Nan used to give him a teaspoon of honey every day because she swore by it! I love hearing all of the ‘old wives tales’ …. They seem to be making a comeback!!
Having been used medicinally for centuries and primarily used for the healing of wounds as far back as the Ancient Egyptians, Raw Honey has natural antibacterial properties and is used widely as a natural health remedy from healing wounds to soothing a sore throat. A teaspoon on its own, in a raw juice, smoothie, tea or in warm water with lemon works well. (Lemon being another ancient medicinal remedy that contains Vitamin C and helps boost the immune system)
Make sure you get a good quality honey as many of the supermarket versions have been heat treated and this can affect the antibacterial properties ….. We are really lucky and know people that have their own bees ( a little dream of mine too!)
Don’t forget to checkout my homemade cough syrup … it’s really easy to make!
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