You know that tell-tale tickly feeling in the back of your throat?
I felt it the week before last.
Ugh. I knew a cold was comin’ on…
…and despite my best efforts to prevent it from settling in, I had a full-on cold within 24 hours. (So did my husband.)
Most of the time, we can ward off a cold with garlic, Vitamin C, elderberry tincture, colloidal silver, and other things. But not this time!
So we turned to Plan B…
To help us get through the cold as best we could — aka lessen symptoms and heal quickly — I dragged out all the remedies I’ve been bookmarking and saving for some time (because we hardly ever get sick). I looked through them for some to try.
And among the 5 to 6 remedies we tested, we found 2 winners that made a big difference in our healing.
In fact, the actual hard-hard part of our colds lasted only 24 hours. This was so unusual compared to colds we’ve had in the past!
So, Janelle, your question couldn’t be more timely:
I know you can’t give medical advice, but surely you’ve tried some natural cold remedies that have worked for your family. Could you share your favorites? — Janelle B.
Janelle, I’d be happy to… 🙂
In today’s #AskWardee, I’m going to share 2 natural cold remedies that really work for us. One is a food-based tonic you drink, and the second is an essential oil blend for your diffuser that helps with breathing and other cold symptoms.
Watch the video below, or read the notes below that, to follow along as we make the 2 homemade, natural cold remedies together. They’re easy and they really work for us!
Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I’m not a doctor and can’t give medical advice, so everything I share today is from our own experience and what has worked for us. You should do your own research and make your own decisions about how to treat any illness, including a cold. God bless you!
Both the podcast and video replay of this week’s show are below. Enjoy!
Subscribe to #AskWardee on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, or the Podcasts app.
The Question:
Janelle B. asks:
I know you can’t give medical advice, but surely you’ve tried some natural cold remedies that have worked for your family? Could you share your favorites?
My Answer: 2 Natural Cold Remedies That Really Work!
Janelle, I’ll be happy to… 🙂
In today’s #AskWardee, I’m going to share 2 of the natural cold remedy recipes that work for us. One is a food-based tonic you drink and the second is an essential oil blend for your diffuser that helps with breathing and other cold symptoms.
#1 — Cold-Busting Hot & Spicy Tonic
My husband came up with all sorts of funny names for this tonic — Loogie Buster was one of them. 😉 I’m going with Cold-Busting Hot & Spicy Tonic. (He did suggest something like hot and spicy.)
When we drank some, it loosened up the congestion almost immediately and also relieved sinus pain and pressure. It’s like it lifted the load for a few hours. We took big swallows frequently throughout the day and night to keep benefiting from the relief.
Cold-Busting Hot & Spicy Tonic Recipe
Cold-Busting Hot & Spicy Tonic Recipe
It is spicy! Not for the faint of heart. I use the least amount of cayenne pepper because I'm the “faint of heart” in our house. If I can drink it at that strength, anyone can! Makes 1 cup.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup raw honey local
- 1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon organic dried clove powder
- 1/4 to 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup pure water
Instructions
-
In a half-pint jar (1 cup), combine honey, apple cider vinegar and spices.
-
Add water and stir, or screw on lid and shake well to combine.
Recipe Notes
- Want to make it really easy? Measure your liquid ingredients right in the half-pint jar! Eyeball pouring in the honey to 1/4 full (or 1/4 cup). Then add raw apple cider vinegar to the 1/2 way mark (which means you've added 1/4 cup of this as well). Next add the powdered spices. Mix. Finally, fill to the top with water (1/2 cup).
- Usage: Though I cannot give medical advice, I'll tell you how we use this remedy. We shake the jar, then take a big swallow — every 2 to 3 hours throughout the day and night while we're under the weather from a cold.
In the photo above, raw honey comes up to 1/4 full; raw apple cider vinegar to 1/2 way. Spices in with the ACV. Now all that’s left is to stir and then fill to the top with water.
Notes about this recipe:
1. This remedy is only as good as the quality of the ingredients! Along with your raw apple cider vinegar and local raw honey, use fresh, high-quality, organic spices.
Mostly, I order Frontier organic spices online through Amazon. Frontier herbs come in Mylar bags to prevent light damage, and I store them in a dark and cool location.
For convenience, I also keep daily-use amounts in the kitchen in these 250 mL air-tight, light-proof Infinity Jars. FYI — I keep ALL our daily-use herbs and spices in these jars because they stay fresh for months!
2. The ingredients in this recipe are powerful! Among many other benefits, here are the cold-fighting and soothing properties of the 5 real foods in this recipe:
Local, raw honey — anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, and anti-microbial properties; soothes a sore or scratchy throat; boosts immune system.
Raw apple cider vinegar — helps thin mucus; opens airways; alkalinizes the body (turns acidic when sick); anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-septic, and anti-histamine properties; boosts immune system. Get it here.
Ginger — stimulates perspiration to cleanse body; brings down body temperature; anti-septic and anti-inflammatory properties; cough suppressant. Get it here.
Cloves — anti-microbial; anti-viral. Get it here.
Cayenne Pepper — relieves pain of sore throats; thins mucus and reduces congestion; boosts immune system. Get it here.
3. Adjust the amount of cayenne pepper powder so you can stand to drink it. My husband likes the full amount — and he probably adds more to his jar! I prefer just 1/4 teaspoon!
#2 — “Help-You-Breathe” Essential Oil Diffuser Blend
“Help-You-Breathe” Essential Oil Diffuser Blend
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 drops rosemary essential oil
- 2 to 3 drops eucalyptus essential oil
- 1 to 2 drops lemon essential oil
Instructions
-
The recipe is simple. Along with water, we put the above ratio of essential oils in our essential oil glass diffuser.
Recipe Notes
- In the video recording, I'm showing you this essential oil glass diffuser. It was a gift from my dear friend Megan at EatBeautiful.net. I love it. 🙂
- Looking for really good quality essential oils? My chosen source is Rocky Mountain Oils.
More Remedies For You To Try
Because some remedies work for some and not others, here are more ideas from our archives for you to look through. Although I hope you don’t get ill at all, if you do — I pray you will heal quickly. God bless you!
- Homemade Immune-Boosting Elderberry Tincture
- Pepper Juice — An Immune Boosting Miracle Tincture
- 6 Natural Strategies To Fight Off Flu Season
- A Peek Into Our Medicine Cabinet — Fighting Illness With Food
- Instant Pot Cough Syrup
- Explaining Antibiotic Resistance + Natural Alternatives That Work!
- 14 Herbs To Boost Immunity
- Sore Throat Tonic
- 5 Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar & 50+ Unique Ways to Use It!
- 7 Natural Ways To Boost Your Immune System +Home Remedies For Cold & Flu #AskWardee 139
Links You’ll Need For These Recipes
- 250 mL air-tight, light-proof Infinity Jars
- Frontier organic spices online through Amazon
- Raw apple cider vinegar
- Frontier organic dried ginger powder
- Frontier organic dried clove powder
- Frontier organic dried cayenne pepper powder
- Half-pint jar (1 cup)
- Rosemary essential oil
- Eucalyptus essential oil
- Lemon essential oil
- Glass essential oil diffuser
- Coldcalm homeopathic remedy — adding because we felt relief from this!
What are your go-to natural cold remedies? Do you know of other natural cold remedies that really work?
Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I’m not a doctor and can’t give medical advice, so everything I share today is from our own experience and what has worked for us. You should do your own research and make your own decisions about how to treat any illness, including a cold. God bless you!
We only recommend products and services we wholeheartedly endorse. This post may contain special links through which we earn a small commission if you make a purchase (though your price is the same).
Wardee,
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. I noticed you had a cold sore on your
upper lip, so I am going to share what works for me. Several years ago I got an email
from a doctors wife comparing hydrogen peroxide with Clorox. When I had my first
outbreak with shingles I bought peroxide in a spray bottle and sprayed my forehead
with H/P and it did not spread, because I waited too long to see a doctor I had to take
an antibiotic. At first sign of a cold sore I dab it with a cotton ball dipped in H/P and
in a couple of days it’s gone; it never gets worse, just better. If you would like the email
from the doctors wife let me know so I can send it to you. By the way, when the shingle virus reappears I just soak it with H/P and in a few days it’s gone.
Thank you, Millie! I appreciate the tips!
Can I substitute clove essential oil for the powder?
Hi Pua,
This is a good question. Wardee hesitated doing this because the recipe lacks fat to dilute the essential oils throughout the remedy. Cloves and ginger EOs would just float at the top. So no, we don’t think you could.
Millie
Traditional Cooking School Support
Would this work for a child 2 years old? I was thinking drastically lower the cayenne for my child, but I wanted to make sure first.
Hi Beth Ann,
I’m sorry, we can’t answer this for you. You would want to make sure all these ingredients are safe for young children and if you find they are, tread cautiously and be very observant.
Millie
Traditional Cooking School Support
Hi Wardee ( cold sore) I found & grew some lemon balm , made some plant oil extract with olive oil in a glass jars, put on a window ledge, turning 2-3 times a week ( shaking ) .
I am about to make some lip balm with this in the mix. .
Regards Damian
Perth ,Western Australia
Thanks, Damian!
I love all that Wardee does for us and have been a reader and a member for a number of years. This is not criticism of her, but a comment on the safe use of essential oils and what most of us don’t know about EO’s.
Rosemary is not good to diffuse for kids under 10 and for those whom have a history of seizures as it can trigger seizures.
Eucalyptus it another one that is not recommended to diffuse for kids under 10 and also can trigger seizures in people with a history of seizures.
One of these oils is not recommended for pregnant women, the other not for nursing mothers.
Also, essential oils need to be used with care around or on anyone taking medications of any kind and disabled, elderly, or immune compromised people. You need to know that some EO’s will interact with prescribed medicines – either potentiating the medicine (causing an overdose) or causing it to quit working (as if you weren’t taking your medicine). This includes mental health medicines, blood pressure medicines, and, diabetic meds.
Lemon oil is good all the way around when properly diluted.
Essential oils are very powerful and should be treated like medicine (which they are). Ingesting 1 drop of pure, unadulterated peppermint oil is like drinking 25 cups of peppermint tea. Unless under the care of a CERTIFIED aromatherapist or qualified alternative medicine doctor whom has taken and updates REGULARLY, your history, especially any meds you’re on, do NOT ingest EO’s. (for one thing, like drinking a lot of alcohol, it can cause liver damage that doesn’t show up for years)
Meaning, don’t just take John or Jane Doe’s recipes/formulas that you’ve found on the internet and use them. Don’t believe people whom sell MLM essential oils about ingestion or using ‘neat’. Nor “Dr So-and-so”, who’s credentials are PHD, NOT MD, OD nor CAT’s. They are NOT certified Aromatherapists, nor are they a licensed/certified medical practitioner that has been trained in the use of Naturalistic/holistic/alternative medicine. They are people selling oils to make a profit or people getting on the EO bandwagon to promote readership. Note that a couple of the more prominent sellers of Essential oils have been busted several times selling adulterated oils. Busted by people buying the oils and then sending the unopened bottle to an independent testing facility and getting back a GSMS report showing adulteration.
The more I’ve investigated the use of essential oils, the more I realize how strong they are and how careful we need to be when using them. There are things adults can use that can cause harm to kids under 10 and the younger they are, the more diluted they need to be. Even something so beguine as Lavender can cause harm if not properly diluted.
There are free introductory classes from LICENSED Aromatherapists online. They are reputable people and the classes will get you started with knowing what to do and how to use essential oils safely. They will give you “recipes” or “formulas” for different situations. They support no particular brand of oil, just the safe use of any essential oil. They will teach you how to know what brands are safe (they won’t tell you the brand name, only how to decide for yourself which brand(s) to use).
Also, don’t forget that many EO’s are highly toxic to diffuse around or use ON your pets.
Essential oils are WONDERFUL. I used a formula on myself and a kid-safe formula on my grandkids that shorted out our cold in 3 days. I got the formulas from a CAT website. I also used a batch of “fire cider” to go along with the EO’s. (Wardee’s recipe with the pantry herbs is similar, but doesn’t take 2-6 weeks to have it ready. lol) As far as I know (NOT a CAT), the formula that Wardee gives seems fine for “normal” adults not on any medications, but may be problematic for anyone in any “non-normal” adult category and for kids/pets.
Hi Darlene,
Thank you for this! And especially for including the precautions for young children and pregnancy. 🙂
Millie
Traditional Cooking School Support
Instead of dried ginger, I used fresh ginger with a microzester since I often have fresh ginger around for cooking. Do you think that will work the same?
Hi Jeff,
Yes! Fresh ginger will work just fine. 🙂
Millie
Traditional Cooking School Support
Hi Wardee! I have used your site for lots of information that has helped us get healthier!
I have one suggestion for your cold drink mixture…I add a teaspoon of ground anise to the mix. Tamilflu uses the anise spice in its remedy so I add it to the liquid. And folks, it really works! I put the full teaspoon of cayenne in and even though it’s hot, if you drink it fast it just warms your whole body; Your nose clears from the spices and you can sleep better. I have even used it for allergies (stuffed nose) and it clears me right up. I think I get some resistance to colds with everything in it (I hope)! I have a depressed immune system because of the medications I take for a bad back surgery. This mixture helps keep me going when everyone around me is sick!
Thanks, Nanny! Great tip ~ I’m going to try it next time!
Is there any way to make this ahead of time and store in the fridge or make this into a shelf-stable tincture?
Natasha ~ I think you could make this and keep in the fridge. I would still want to make sure it is getting consumed rather than sitting for weeks or months.
Regarding making it into a tincture, I think you could… these are just my thoughts… I haven’t done it… just thinking out loud:
Boil the cayenne, ginger, and cloves for awhile, then strain and mix with honey and raw ACV. (Much like elderberry syrup is made.) Just an idea!
The question is whether or not the cayenne, ginger, and cloves are better raw or boiled… and I’m not sure.
I’m 71 years old, never too old to learn something new. Excited about learning more about
your cooking method.
Hi, Millie! I’m glad you’re here and it’s great to meet you! You’re right ~ it’s never too late!
Thank you. You’ve been my ‘tangent’ today. I’ve got a cold right now and I stopped at Sprouts and got fresh seasonings. I do have a question though, you mentioned that you use colloidal silver for a cold. May I ask how? I use it for other things. Thank you in advance.
Jeriann ~ How fun to be your tangent. 🙂
I took the colloidal silver internally, like a teaspoon at a time for a few doses. You could google this and see what others have done.
Also, when I had the cold sore, I dabbed it on topically every so often.
Just my experience; I’m not giving advice… 🙂
Remedy #1 is yummy! 🙂 Though I only had about 1/2 tsp of the cloves. I started light with 1/4 tsp cayenne and ended adding another 1/2 tsp.
So question- do we store it on the counter?
Hi Marie,
Wardee says you can store it in the refrigerator but you really want to consume it sooner rather than later. (See Natasha’s question)
~ Vicki, TCS Customer Success Team
Word of caution from my experience: one dose of tonic per 24 hours! Tried two doses once a few years ago, made my throat really sore. Or maybe it was “bad guy” die off? Anyhow, figured I would let you all know.