Simply Healthy | Three all-natural winter cold remedies

By this time of winter, you may or may not have had a flu shot. Either way, adding in a natural approach to your routine can help keep your health on track.

Honey, lemons, garlic and other herbs blended together may sound like something your great-grandmother would make for you, but the health benefits of these and other natural ingredients can help keep away the cold and flu.

Cough suppressant:
This warm salt-water gargle has been a part of my cold treatment for my entire life. It’s a great way to calm a hacking cough.

• 8 oz. warm water
• 2 tbs. sea salt or kosher salt

Dissolve 2tbs. sea salt in a glass of warm water and gargle several times. The salt and warm water will soothe your throat almost instantly.

Witch’s Brew
My great-grandmother swore by the use of apple cider vinegar and garlic. She lived to be almost 100, with no significant health issues. She used apple cider vinegar every single day of her life. That is proof enough for me.

• 3 cup of water
• ¼ cup of Bragg’s Organic raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar
• 3 tsp. honey
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 tbs. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. fresh minced garlic

Cook all ingredients on low and bottle. You can drink immediately (after letting it cool enough to drink), or save for an emergency in the fridge. It really packs a punch at the onset of a cold.

It is, however, imperative to use this as soon as you feel the cold coming on, otherwise the benefits will not be as great.

Turmeric Milk
An age-old Indian recipe adapted from one I love from The Journey Kitchen.

• 2 cups fresh whole milk or milk alternative (I use almond milk or coconut milk)
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 2-3 whole black peppercorns
• 2-3 whole cardamom pods, cracked
• 2 whole cloves
• ½ inch ginger, roughly chopped
• Pinch of saffron (if you have it)
• 2 tbs. honey

Heat the milk along with the spices on low for about five minutes. Stir in your sweetener and let dissolve. Strain and let cool until warm. Then drink.

Check out Twinkle's Kitchen | Much Ado About Ginger for an ancient Chinese remedy: Spicy Ginger Tea.

The information included on this site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice.

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Twinkle VanWinkle was born in a small town in Mississippi. A life-long lover of music, media and food, she grew up following those three things along her path. She has almost 20 years of professional cooking under her apron strings, feeding thousands of friends, family and other folks while working in restaurants and bakeries in Oxford, Miss. She baked apple pies for the “Oprah Winfrey Show” and appeared on Food Network's “The Best Of...” in the same year. Along with producing dynamic lifestyle content for LIN Media, she is a mother, musician and social media fanatic.

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