Before you head off to your local medical store looking for a medicine to help you cope with cold and flu symptoms, you might want to open your kitchen cupboards or cabinet for cold and flu remedies and treat the symptoms naturally at home.
Here we have the most common cold and flu remedies that you can find in your kitchen.
1. Lemons
Lemons can be used to soothe sore throats, cleanse blood and loosen mucus in the sinuses or throat. A healing lemonade can be made by adding the juice from half a lemon and one teaspoon of maple syrup to a cup of warm water. Cayenne pepper can also be sprinkled on for added cleansing effect.
2. Green Tea
Maximum of us know that green tea seems to be good for almost everything, but now green tea can add one more thing to its ever-growing list of conditions it helps prevent or treat. A compound known as theaflavin found in green tea has antiviral properties and helps protect against the H1N1 flu virus. Sip on a few cups of green tea daily to help you ward off the flu virus, preferably with a squeeze or two of fresh lemon juice.
3. Garlic
Garlic is one of the effective cold and flu remedies. Raw garlic has antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties. Research has shown that garlic could speed up healing and also increase immunity.
Those taking medications for blood thinning, such as aspirin, should take care when increasing the amount of garlic in their diet, because too much garlic can cause bleeding.
4. Honey
You may already have honey in your pantry. If so, you’ll be thrilled to know that, in addition to its many antibacterial properties, honey has been found to be a potent antiviral remedy, too. Moreover, honey exhibits significant potency against flu viruses.
5. Chicken Soup
A whole chicken can be used to create a healing broth. Chicken soup stops certain white blood cells from congregating and causing inflammation, preventing large amounts of mucus from being produced. The hot chicken soup also thins the mucus. Adding freshly chopped garlic to your soup will give the system a powerful boost. While garlic kills germs outright, it also appears to stimulate the release of natural killer cells.
