It’s the deep, dark winter here now; lots of cold and wind, short days, lots of time spent inside, hibernating. We’ve had some atypical warm days lately, and quick changes in temperature and precipitation, with damp air and clouds that just can’t seem to clear out.
I’m seeing more clients with upper respiratory symptoms, and this is the time of year that I get a lot of people with persistent coughs. I call these the “winter coughs”: you get some type of winter bug (cold, flu, bronchitis, etc.), and you kick the illness but are left with a cough that just seems to linger and not resolve. These are typically dry coughs, with a tight chest, a feeling of not being able to take a deep breath without coughing, and feeling sore and drained of energy from the effort of coughing so much for days on end.
Compounding this is that we typically live in drier environments, with the dry heat in our home and places of work, along with less fresh air, and less hydration- I know my whole family drinks WAY less water in the winter, despite my efforts to encourage hydration. I try to carry a water bottle with me everywhere, but it’s tough to drink water that tastes so cold when I’m already always cold!
Once the winter starts here, usually early in December, I make up a batch of my cough remedy and keep it handy until the spring. I have no idea where I first saw this- many years ago I read something somewhere, tried it, and got great results. I’ve since lost the recipe, and with the changes I’ve made over time, it probably looks nothing like the original anyway!
I also stopped measuring things and I just throw together the ingredients, pour the mix into a jar, and top off whatever ingredients seem to be lacking as we use the mix. I tend to stir it before I use it, but sometimes we just grab a spoonful, so the ratios get a little off.
Anyway, here’s my attempt at creating a recipe from my “dump it all together and stir” process:
6 parts organic raw honey, preferably local
6 parts raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar with the mother (I use Bragg’s)
1 part powdered ginger
1 part powdered cinnamon
½ part powdered cayenne pepper
I use the powdered form of the spices so that the mix is shelf stable and lasts through the winter in the cabinet. You could use fresh grated ginger (since it’s more potent) if you plan to consume it right away.
If I feel like there are more germs in my system that I need to flush out, I’ll take a tablespoon of this remedy and add a fresh clove of garlic to it. Note that the garlic has to be raw and fresh to get the active ingredients, which is why I don’t add garlic powder to the mix. My son finds the raw garlic too hard to handle; my husband can sometimes tolerate this, and I’m fine with it. My sister typically needs more garlic depending upon what germs she’s fighting. Do what works for you.
I put the recipe in parts so that you can make as much or as little of this mix as you need. For instance, to make a small batch, use a teaspoon as the “part” (so 6 tsp of honey, 6 tsp of ACV, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp of cayenne). To make a bigger batch, use a bigger measure for the “part” (I’ll usually do a ½ cup each of honey and ACV, then throw in about 1 ½ Tbs of ginger, 1 ½ Tbs of cinnamon and 2 tsp-ish of cayenne and that lasts us the winter, unless we ALL get that persistent winter cough).
Now for the necessary disclaimer: always check with your doctor, particularly if you have a chronic condition or use prescription medications, to ensure this home remedy is safe for you.
And, as with everything, each individual is unique. If you are concocting your own remedy using this “recipe,” you might want more cayenne if you’re prone to congestion, or more garlic if you want some germ-killing power, or more ginger if you need to stimulate that digestive heat for an immune boost. My son likes the sugary honey with less of the herbal flavor; I like a stronger herbal component- and that fresh garlic- to really kick that cough out of my body. Experiment with ratios and additions and you’ll discover what your body likes best.
Do you have a home remedy for the “winter cough” that you find effective? I’d love to hear about it! Let me know what works for you!