7 of the Best Natural Cold Remedies

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Sore throat? Hacking cough? Nose that’s doing its best impression of a tap turned on?

Yep, it’s that time of year. Time to fight bugs with your natural super powers, (most of which you’ll find conveniently already in your kitchen ready to go.)

Now, most of the time I feel it’s fairly inevitable that our family is going to get sick at some stage. Especially with three small kids, two of which are in school. While I can monitor hand washing and keep sick ones slightly separate here at home. At school? Well it can just be a washing machine of germs. I can’t do much about that, but I can prepare my family with the best cold remedies.

master tonic || cityhippyfarmgirl

7 of the best Natural Cold Remedies

Turmeric Tea– immune enhancer, liver detox, soothing, healing, anti inflammatory, all that good stuff is attached to turmeric.

Green Ginger Wine- I find it’s a good preventative one if you’ve got the beginnings of a scratchy throat, not one for the kiddo’s though obviously.

Citrus and Honey Shazzam- In a mug add, the juice of a lemon, juice of an orange, grated knob of fresh ginger, top it up with water and heat gently. Add 1 tsp of honey just before drinking and stir, (top picture.)

Master Tonic– I wrote about my experiments with this one recently over on Milkwood. Firey hot, but worth it, I’m completely won over with this one.

Tanya from Ecolosophy recently posted her Nanna’s Old Cold Remedy

Honey- immunity booster and cough suppressant. Dry coughs can be soothed a little by a teaspoon of honey (not for bubbas though.)

Garlic- get it into you, oodles of benefits in there.

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What are some of your favourite natural cold remedies? 

24 thoughts on “7 of the Best Natural Cold Remedies”

  1. Brydie! The timing of this post is spooky! I’m quite literally iPadding at the stove whilst warming up a small pan of honey and lemon. Both my boys are bed-ridden with nasty head colds, and I woke up with the start of one today. Glad I read your shazzam idea – I don’t usually add ginger, but I bought a lovely big knob yesterday. In it goes! Love the sound of Nanna’s Old Cold Remedy. Bookmaking that one for next time. x

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  2. Good morning Brydie. Can it really be Sunday again? Yes, cold and sniffles all round in this house. It doesn’t seem to matter how hygienic I try to be or that we are slightly isolated from the general population! Thanks for these ideas and links…pass the green ginger wine 🙂 Have a lovely Sunday x

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  3. I currently have Man flu, and apparently males suffer more from colds than women because of low oestrogen levels, and by increasing them it boosts immune function reducing inflammation and lung infection. Suffice to say I’m eating a lot of hommus as chickpeas and sesame seeds are supposedly good for oestrogen levels. Flaxseeds, beans and peas are others. Herbs and spices with estrogen-like properties include garlic, ginger, sage tea, turmeric and oregano so I may give some of your remedies a go if I can drag myself out of my chair!

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  4. I think that hot chicken broth is one of my favorites- it helps with the tightness in the throat, and I make mine with plenty of onions and carrots and celery boiled with the chicken to make the broth so there are lots of good vitamins- plus it is yummy and just makes me feel better.
    I also love lemon ginger tea with honey- again it is good on my throat and makes my tummy feel calm.
    Sorry to hear you are in the midst of colds- I’m spending time with the grandkids this week so I will probably come down with something soon.

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    • Ahhh, enjoy that precious time with your grandkids Heidi. I’ve been knocking back the Master Tonic goodness so my health has been pretty good, (well I’m putting it down to that anyway.) Just need to get the kids to drink it now…somehow. Although maybe chicken broth might be easier.

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  5. Here in the US, we have elderberries, which are very high in Vitamin C. Just this week I foraged for some and will keep looking for them over the next couple of weeks. Then I’ll make elderberry syrup, which can be used a cold preventative.

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  6. Stevie-boy and I are floundering in our first head cold in years thanks to being forced back into mainstream TAFE. Studying online meant no contact with snotty nosed peers. I must admit we were the last to succumb to the dreaded lurgy but succumb we have. I would like to point out to anyone from Centrelink or TAFE who read this esteemed blog (obviously thousands of them… why wouldn’t they?) that forcing people to provide a medical certificate for more than a day of absenteeism due to illness is tantamount to having the entire class go out.

    Aside from there being not enough doctors down here in Tasmania (we don’t even have a doctor, haven’t been able to find one who is willing to take on new patients), a $70 visit to the doctors isn’t going to happen when that’s just on a quarter of a students fortnightly income so they drag themselves into class every second day and spread their germs lustily. I found something that helps.

    A little while ago, Stevie-boy was “helping” me cook and I asked him to add a third of the 10 heads (not cloves, entire bulbs) of garlic that I had painstakingly crushed to be added to 3 different recipes I was cooking all at once) to my enormous vat of lentil and veggie soup and he came back with an empty mortar. He had added it ALL to the soup. I froze it and am living on it now. I might not be able to taste it but I can feel it burning my eyes so surely that’s a good thing? My kids invented their own “fire tonic” that involved getting garlic, lemon juice, chilli and fresh ginger and macerating it in hot water and drinking the results. They don’t have the cold. Maybe it is time the parent starts learning from the children methinks!

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    • Ms Narf, that’s just ridiculous, and yet not in the slightest surprising why all the students are bringing their germy selves along to TAFE. My mum lives in a small town area as well and that Dr scenario is really similar. Any health practitioners actually. Closed books or appointments made ridiculously into the future.
      Get a bottle of your kids fire tonic and knock that stuff back lady. You know you need to. x

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  8. The master tonic looks like it would hit the spot especially when you are feeling absolutely rotten. I know Rob would love the firey kick in it. This one is going in my recipe folder, thanks!

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  9. Great ideas Brydie. I’ve been using my chai tea to improve my immunity, with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom pods and ginger. I’ve also been adding a bit of manuka honey to it just before sipping. As soon as I’ve felt my throat getting a bit sore, I’ve dosed up on this and the soreness has disappeared. The recipe is on my blog. I’ve been making the tea up in larger amounts, but simmering it in the water first. Take care mumma xo

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  11. I’ve been soooo lucky not to fall ill this winter, but printing this list out and sticking on the fridge (just in case). Green ginger wine sounds delicious, going to track down a recipe. Thanks for the preventative methods to beat the common cold. You da lady! xo

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