Cold Remedies, Recipes To Treat

Few people make it through the winter without the familiar symptoms—sniffles, sneezes, and scratchy throat. The average adult catches two to four colds a year. Kids get at least twice that many colds. A chief reason is that the more than two hundred viruses that cause colds can survive on surfaces for hours. You push that grocery cart, borrow a pen, put away your kid’s toys and then touch your finger to your nose or eyes, and—presto, you’ve inoculated yourself. Or someone sneezes or coughs a cloud of airborne viruses in your direction. Unless your immune system is in tip-top shape, symptoms follow in two to three days.

Fortunately, you have plenty of healing allies. Eat well. Unless you don’t feel up to it, you can continue to exercise, which provides natural decongesting relief. Sleep is a great healer, though a stuffy nose can interfere.

To reduce the risk of picking up other people’s cold viruses or spreading yours to others, wash your hands often. Although over-the-counter cold medications can decrease congestion, they don’t cure the infection and may, in fact, prolong it. They can also create undesirable side effects. For instance, antihistamines dry and thicken secretions in your nose and elsewhere and make you feel even drowsier. To avoid a sinus infection, the goal is actually to thin respiratory mucus so it’s easier to clear.

The good news is your kitchen holds a number of feel-better remedies. First, turn on the tap and drink a tall glass of cool water. Drink at least seven more glasses of warm liquids over the course of the day. Warm liquids are soothing, help increase blood circulation to the throat (and blood brings with it infectionfighting white blood cells), and speed clearance of respiratory mucus. Next, put a kettle of water on to boil. Once it does, you have several options for recipes. You may want to try them all.

RECIPES TO TREAT COLDS

Throat Tonic
1 quart (946 ml) water 1 teaspoon (3 g) grated fresh ginger, or ½ teaspoon dried ¼ cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice 2 teaspoons (14 g) honey
PREPARATION AND USE:
Boil the water and then turn off the heat. Add the ginger. Cover and steep 20 minutes and then strain. Add the lemon juice and honey. Sip the quart of tonic over the course of the day. Reheat as necessary or drink at room temperature.
YIELD: 1 quart (946 ml) tonic
How it works:
The hot water is a hydrator that keeps your throat moist and also thins mucus and helps expel it. As you sip, simply breathing in the steam of the warm liquid helps with decongestion. Ginger is antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, analgesic, immune-enhancing, and an expectorant.

Congestion Clearance 
1 quart (946 ml) water 2 to 3 drops eucalyptus essential oil
PREPARATION AND USE:
Boil the water and pour into a bowl. Add the eucalyptus essential oil. Cover your head with a clean towel. Lean over the bowl. Inhale through your nose to clear nasal congestion. (To clear lung congestion, inhale through your mouth.) Repeat three to five times a day as needed. Each time, you will need to reheat the water and add fresh plant essential oil. (Plant essential oils are volatile, meaning they vaporize quickly.)
YIELD: 1 steaming session
How it works:
Inhaling steam from the boiling water helps decongest nasal passages. (Breathe in slowly, as steam can burn your nose.) Oil of eucalyptus is an expectorant and antitussive (cough calming). It aids breathing by opening up bronchial tubes, easing congestion, and promoting sputum. It is also antimicrobial. Note: If you have asthma, try using only steam first. If steam doesn’t make you cough, add 1 drop of eucalyptus oil, working up to 3 drops as tolerated. In some people with asthma, inhaling the vapors from plant essential oils may trigger coughing.

Cold Crusher 
Linda’s former student Gina Penka, a childbirth educator, swears by this remedy. This recipe is best prepared at least one week in advance. 1 head garlic, cloves peeled and crushed 1 medium-size horseradish root, peeled and coarsely chopped 1 finger-size slice of ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped Apple cider vinegar
PREPARATION AND USE:
Place the crushed garlic cloves, horseradish root, and ginger in a clean, pint-size (475 ml) jar. Cover with apple cider vinegar until the fluid level clears the chopped ingredients by 1 inch (2.5 cm). Close the lid snugly. Shake. Store in a covered cabinet. After two weeks, the chemicals in the plants will have largely moved into the vinegar. You now have two options. One is to strain and rebottle the vinegar extract and store it in the refrigerator. The second (Gina’s preferred method) is to leave the herbs in the jar and eat them with the vinegar extraction. Sip 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 ml) of this mixture at the first sign of cold symptoms. You can dilute the vinegar with herb tea or warm water. If you’re feeling brave, chew a piece of garlic clove. Repeat each day for the first three days of the cold.
YIELD: about 16 servings
How it works:
There is evidence that garlic stimulates the immune system and may defend against catching a cold. It may also help fight viruses. In one study, participants who took garlic supplements for twelve weeks during the winter experienced a significant reduction in colds and a reduction in the symptoms of those colds that did occur. Ginger is antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, immune-enhancing, and calms coughing. Onions, which are botanical cousins of garlic, are also immune-enhancing, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial. The spiciness of horseradish stimulates thin nasal secretions, which helps clear away viruses.

Gypsy Cold-Combat Tea
3 cups (710 ml) water 1 tablespoon (2 g) dried peppermint leaves 1 tablespoon (2 g) dried yarrow flowers 1 tablespoon (2 g) dried elderflowers or elderberries Honey (optional)
PREPARATION AND USE:
Boil the water. Turn off the heat. Add the herbs, cover, and steep for 20 minutes. Rewarm over low heat. Strain, sweeten with honey as desired, and sip. Drink a serving three to six times a day.
YIELD: 3 servings
How it works:
This traditional European tea has been used for hundreds of years to counter symptoms of influenza. These herbs make you sweat (which helps reduce fever). Peppermint reduces respiratory congestion, pain, and headache. The steam can also help clear nasal passages.

When simple Doesn’t Work
Zinc lozenges can reduce the duration of cold symptoms. That’s because zinc inhibits the replication of cold viruses. Dosages in studies range from 4.5 to 24 milligrams of zinc (gluconate or acetate) every 1 to 2 hours while symptomatic. Side effects include a bad taste in the mouth and nausea. Avoid intranasal zinc, which has been linked to loss of the ability to smell. The Indian herb andrographis (andrographis paniculata) can shorten cold symptom severity and duration. Several studies have shown success with Kan Jang, a product from the Swedish Herbal Institute, that combines andrographis and eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosis, also called Siberian ginseng). A study in children showed this product outperformed echinacea. Three studies have shown that, in elderly people at risk for respiratory infections, an extract of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) helped prevent colds. Follow the package instructions for dosing guidelines.

When to see the Doctor
• Respiratory symptoms persist longer than two weeks. The common cold should resolve within seven to ten days.
• You develop a high fever. The common cold causes mild fever, at best.
• You develop pain and greenish-brown discharge from one or both nostrils.