Tag Archives: cough syrup

Garlic Onion Honey, Cold and Flu Cough Syrup

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Garlic, onion, and honey are a powerhouse of combined healing naturals.  When you feel a sore throat,  cold, runny nose, and body aches coming on, your immune system is probably running on empty.  You can mix up this easy remedy for fast relief.

This syrup is all natural, and it tastes yummy too.

All you need are three ingredients:

  • 1 small yellow or white onion, peeled and chopped
  • 4-5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
  • local honey

Place the peeled and chopped onion and garlic cloves in a glass jar that has a lid.  Pour honey to cover the other ingredients.  Cover with lid and leave out on the counter overnight. This is a great project to do right before bed.

Options:

  • If you’re having nausea or upset stomach too, add an inch of fresh ginger.  Peel and chop in small pieces and add to the mixture.
  • I heard that you can add a cinnamon stick, but I haven’t tried it.
  • A few whole cloves

In the morning, give the jar a good shake.  You can remove the onion and garlic pieces if you wish, but I leave mine in.  I even eat them, they taste delicious. Add a tablespoon to your tea if you don’t mind the taste.

Benefits:

Garlic

A well-known natural remedy for colds and flu.  Garlic has strong antiseptic and antispasmodic properties.  This means that garlic is a natural antibiotic and will help you stop coughing.  Its oil will also help open up your respiratory passages and can even help lower your fever.

Garlic is good for just about everything, and when it comes time to build immune strength and fight off colds and flu.  It is also a natural anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic, anti-fungal, anti-coagulant, antiviral, and also boosts blood circulation.  Garlic does all this without creating bacterial and organism resistance.  It’s been used as a gentle, persistent healer for thousands of years.  Use on a regular basis, not just when you’re sick.

Onion

It’s many properties include working to reduce inflammation, preventing and helping to resolve diarrhea, improving circulation, liquefying mucus, and purifying the blood.

It also helps relieve flu symptoms including coughs, congestion, respiratory infections and bronchitis.  Use onion on a regular basis too.

Honey

Honey makes a wonderful cough syrup all by itself.  It has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, so it is often used as a natural antiseptic in traditional medicines.  Honey soothes and calms a sore throat, builds the immune system, and provides needed vitamins to restore your health.

As you probably already know, it’s tastes so good.  It’s best to use only local honey, because it will counter pollen allergies.  Honey is also a natural sleep aid, so when you’re sick you need extra sleep.

So…

Combining garlic, onion, and honey we get a natural remedy for bacterial infection.  Get well soon!

Dosage

For adults to age 12, 1 tablespoon 3 times daily, but if really sick, up the dosage to 1 tablespoon every 2 hours.  For children under 12, use 1 teaspoon instead at the same times as above.

You can add your “medicine” to your warm tea if you have trouble taking it from a spoon.

Remember

Honey should never be given to a child under the age of one.  Also, remember honey is a sweetener, so be careful if you have diabetes.

Storage

You can leave your syrup on the counter, but to be on the safe side, store in the refrigerator and use within a few weeks.

Bonus

Spread this syrup on ham or roast before baking! Yum!!!

Elderberries, Herbal Teas, Sage Hill Botanicals, sagehillbotanicals.com

Elderberry Syrup

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Many symptoms connected to colds and flus are effectively treated with this tiny berry. Coughs, fevers and sinus infections all bow to elder’s healing touch.  This makes elderberry a rare herb as it not only prevents infection but also treats the infection after it’s taken hold.

Elder is an important herb for the immune system, but it needs to be used as a daily supplement. Elder constituents do not cling to the tissue, which means daily treatment is not only safe but necessary to block viruses. It doesn’t overtax the immune system or cause imbalances in the digestive tract that allow yeast infections to take hold, either, making it safe for daily consumption.

Elderberry is best for flu and symptoms of flu. It stimulates the immune system. But elderberries are not a good choice for people with an autoimmune disorder.

Elderberries are packed with nutrients including minerals like iron, potassium, phosphorus, and copper, as well as vitamins A, B, and C, as well as dietary fiber.  This powerful berry is antiviral, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, astringent, and alterative.

Use elderberry for:

  • flus
  • coughs
  • colds
  • fevers
  • skin inflammations
  • allergies
  • ear, nose and throat infections
  • weak immune systems

How To Make Elderberry Syrup

Taking your daily medicine as this syrup is not like taking other medicines at all.  This syrup is delicious and you won’t have to hold your family down to get them to take it.

You start with the basic ingredients and then you can add the options if you wish.  I like to make ours with elderberries, elderflowers, and ginger.  But the other options make your syrup even better and more healing.  I add rose hips when the flu season is on.  When my husband gets a deep “bronchial” cough, I add elecampane root.

Basic Ingredients: 

Directions:

  1. Combine the berries and herbs with cold water in a pot and bring to a boil.
  2. Reduce heat and allow herbs to simmer for 30 to 40 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat and mash the berries in the liquid mixture.
  4. Strain the berries and herbs through cheesecloth and squeeze out the juice.
  5. Measure the liquid and add an equal amount of honey. Gently heat the honey and juice for a few minutes until well combined. Do not boil!
  6. Bottle in sterilized glass.

Options:

Benefits for other ingredients:
  • ginger root – digestive trouble, menstrual cramps, or nausea, or to soothe a cold, cough, or sore throat
  • cinnamon – inflammation, have antioxidant effects, and fight bacteria, tastes great
  • rosehips – contains vitamin C to prevent and treat colds, flu, and vitamin C  deficiencies
  • cloves – aid in digestion, fighting against cancer, protecting the liver, boosting the immune system, controlling diabetes, preserving bone quality, and containing anti-mutagenic and anti-microbial properties, as well as fighting against oral diseases and headaches
  • elderflowers – antioxidant properties and an antiviral effect, to help fight off colds and flu
  • elecampane root – expectorant, anti-tussive, sedative, anti-fungal, relaxing, warming, and anti-microbial. Elecampane can soothe bronchial tube linings and act as an expectorant for lung cleansing
Dosage:

Standard dose is 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp for kids and 1/2 Tbsp to 1 Tbsp for adults. If the flu does strike, we take the normal dose every 2-3 hours instead of once a day until symptoms disappear.

Storage:

Store in refrigerator up to 3 months, but it’s usually all gone by then.

Caution:

Women breast-feeding or pregnant should avoid elderberries to be safe.  A better choice may be Ginger Syrup.  Do not give honey to your child under one year.  Please do your own research before taking any herbs or natural remedies.

Buy Dried Herbs

Wild Cherry

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Wild cherry bark (Prunus serotina) is a medicinal herb derived from the black cherry tree that has been used for hundreds of years due to its antiviral, antibacterial, and anticancer properties. It is rich in minerals such as zinc, iron, calcium, and magnesium and phytochemicals such as quercetin and kaempferol. Wild cherry bark also contains vasorelaxant, expectorant, and decongestant properties and can significantly help to remove mucus from the lungs and increase lymphatic system function.

This is why wild cherry bark is a common ingredient found in cough syrups and is an effective remedy for respiratory conditions such as bronchitis, laryngitis, asthma, pertussis, colds, flu, and chronic lung congestion. Wild cherry bark is also an excellent digestive remedy and is known to help soothe digestive ailments such as gastritis, diarrhea, colitis, flatulence, constipation, and irritable bowel syndrome.

Wild cherry bark is also often used as a mild sedative to relax muscle spasms, reduce hypertension, ease cramping, and provide for a more restful night’s sleep. Wild cherry has been shown to help slow down cancer cell growth through its ability to help “switch off” cancer cells ability to duplicate and grow particularly in the colon area.

Topically, wild cherry bark is beneficial as an eyewash for inflamed, puffy eyes and or as a cream to help soothe skin problems such as eczema, psoriasis, acne, and rashes. Wild cherry bark tea can be made by simmering 2 teaspoons of dried bark in 2 cups of water for at least 30 minutes. Allow to cool, strain and sweeten with raw honey if desired. Wild cherry bark can be found in extract, syrup, tincture, tea, capsule, or cream form online or at your local health food store.

Make your own Wild Cherry Bark Cough Syrup

Wild Cherry Bark Cough Syrup
(Adapted from Rosemary Gladstar)

Ingredients:

  • 2 parts wild cherry bark
  • 1 part licorice root
  • 1 part ginger root
  • 1 part cinnamon bark
  • 1 part fennel seeds
  • 1 part elecampane
  • 1/8 part orange or lemon peel
  • Sweetener – raw local honey, maple syrup, brown rice syrup

Directions

  1. Mix all herbs except the wild cherry bark and cover completely with water. Simmer gently until the liquid is reduced by half. Next, turn the heat off and add the wild cherry bark. Allow the mixture to infuse for 4 – 12 hours.
  2. When the infusion time is over, strain and compost the herbs.
  3. Measure the amount of liquid you have and allow it to cool. Double your liquid amount to know how much honey to use. For example, if you have 1/2 cup of liquid, use 1 cup of honey.
  4. You can also add a bit of black cherry juice concentrate at this point for flavor. This syrup will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator.

You may omit or add anything you wish.