Soothing herbal remedies to help you get over a summer cold
Suffering from a summer cold? Don't reach for the over-the-counter cough syrup just yet!
Is there anything more annoying than getting a summer cold? Coughs and sneezes are usually associated with the winter months, but you can still catch the lurgy even when the sun is shining.
Writer Pip Waller, author of The Health and Beauty Botanical Handbook, has a few herbal remedies up her sleeve to help you fight off seasonal colds the natural way – from turmeric honey to thyme and liquorice cough syrup.
Turmeric honey recipe
To help your body fight any infection. Adults should take a tsp three to four times a day, while children can have 1/2 tsp three times a day.
Ingredients
- 1 jar of runny honey
- 1 jar the same size of ground turmeric
Method
- Empty both jars into a bowl and mix thoroughly.
- Return the mixture to the original jars.
- Handle turmeric carefully, as it can stain.
Thyme and liquorice cough syrup
(Courtesy of Joe Nasser)
Ingredients
Makes approximately 1 litre
- 50g/2oz dried liquorice root, chopped
- 1.4 litres/6 cups hot water
- 20g/3⁄4oz dried rubbed thyme leaf
- White or brown sugar, variable amount
- 35ml/2 tbsp + 1 tsp pure vegetable glycerine
Method
- In a saucepan, soak the liquorice root in the hot water for 1 hour. Cover with a lid, switch on the heat and simmer for 25 mins.
- Turn off the heat. Mix in the thyme leaf and allow to cool.
- Strain the liquid through muslin and measure the liquid’s exact weight. Stir an equal amount of the sugar thoroughly into the liquid.
- Heat the mixture gently to around body temperature – lukewarm – and stir at this heat until the sugar is dissolved. Then mix in the glycerine and remove from the heat. Pour into bottles and seal when cooled.
Honey, lemon & ginger tea recipe
(Courtesy of Sue Wine)
Ingredients
Makes one mug
- 2.5cm/1in piece fresh ginger root
- 2 tsp honey
- juice of 1⁄2 lemon
1 mug.
Method
- Peel and slice the ginger thinly. Place in a mug of boiling water, then add the other ingredients.
- Leave to brew for 5–10 mins, then drink (you can also eat the bits of ginger). It will make you sweat and banish your head cold.
Recipes from The Health and Beauty Botanical Handbook by Pip Waller. Published by Leaping Hare Press, priced £12.99.
Photography by Anda Ambrosini and Sonja Langford on Unsplash. Thyme image by cookbookman17 used under Creative Commons licence 2.0.
By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.