My Top 5 Natural Remedies For Cough's and Colds

As the season of coughs and sneezes descends upon us what can we do to keep the dreaded colds at bay? Here is a list of my top 5 natural remedies to help prevent colds and flu's, and shorten their duration.

Vitamin C and Zinc

An all round good multivitamin is great at this time of year. They contain vitamins to boost your immune system, as well as lovely B vitamins. These can help to combat stress and boost your energy levels for those long days of shopping. However, if you don't want to take a multivitamin you should certainly consider a Vitamin C and Zinc supplement. They both help to boost the immune system and fight off those nasty colds. Zinc has proven to have healing benefits, so if you suffer from cold sores it can help to reduce the symptoms and heal it quickly. These are available in many different forms for adults and children and are a must for your winter medicine cabinet.

Echinacea

 Again it's a natural immune booster and is available for kids and adults alike. It's available in capsule, effervescent, lozenges and tincture. Echinacea has been show to cut the chances of catching a cold by half and cut the duration by up to 1.4 days. 

Ginger

Ginger is yet another remedy that can help boost the immune system. It also contains natural a anti-inflammatory which can help with the symptoms of sore throats. It has also shown benefits for people suffering from many types of gastric complaints, which could come in handy for those of us who tend to overindulge on rich foods over the xmas period. Ginger is available in a multitude of forms but by far may personal favorite has to be ginger wine. Mmmmmmmmm. It has a lovely warming effect with the added benefits of ginger. Here is a link to The Huffington Post which published a recipe recently for a cold fighting tea. It contains ginger as well as a few other natural ingredients which help to fight off the cold.

Manuka Honey

 It can be fairly expensive but by far my favorite. It's available in different strengths and sizes of pots and is the ultimately cold cure. As it's honey it soothes your throat and calms your cough while boosting your immune system. Honey is so versatile and can combined as an ingredient in many home made cold remedies. I have used Manuka Honey many times with my kids and I can't big it up enough. As it's sweet the kids think they are getting a treat while I'm secretly helping to fight of the sniffles.

Lemon

We have been using Lemons for centuries to help fight off colds. It's full of natural vitamin C and aids in boosting the immune system. It has anti-bacterial properties which could be especially helpful if you are suffering from a sore throat. Using natural lemon helps to eradicate the side effects, such as drowsiness, that can occur when taking taking pharmaceutical cold remedies like Lemsip. 

These are just a few of the natural remedies that are available on the market and in my opinion are by far the best. They can help to prevent catching colds, reduce the symptoms and help clear them quickly. As they are all widely known they are available from many local supermarkets and I suggest you pick some up with your weekly shop. Here's to a happy cold free winter! 

The Mentalist x