Natural Cough and Sore-Throat Remedies

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Recipe for Natural Cough Remedy

Juice one small carrot, one small apple, and one piece of ginger about the size of a thumb. Add 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, and two drops of liquid cayenne pepper extract.

Heat to no more than 110 degrees, remove from heat, and add 2 tablespoons of raw unrefined, unpasteurized, unfiltered honey and stir.

Do not cook the honey. Unpasteurized honey is anti-bacterial. Once it reaches 108 degrees, it becomes no better than regular refined sugar.

If no juicer is available, grate ginger and make into a tea. Do not use store-bought apple juice or carrot juice, They must be fresh.

Sipping this will relieve most coughs and help soothe a sore throat.

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Sore Throat. If the throat is raw and irritated, gargle with apple cider vinegar as often as possible. Do not, under any circumstances, consume ice cream, soda, yogurt, candy, or any other sugar or dairy when sick, especially with a sore throat.

Sugar (including agave nectar and high fructose corn syrup) and refined starches feed bacteria, virus, parasites, and Candida (yeast). No matter how good ice cream feels on a sore throat, the price far outweighs the benefits, as one pint of it can add a day or two to the duration of the illness.

There are a lot of natural cough remedies out there that suggest using sugar or honey without specifying that the honey be raw and unrefined. Any such advice is garbage. Advice like that soothes the throat while feeding the infection. The goal is to sooth the throat while fighting infection.

Herbal Cough Suppressants

Oils from eucalyptus, peppermint, anise, and fennel help suppress a cough. They also increase the production of saliva, which helps to clear the throat of irritating mucus.

Most cough drops contain one or more of these herbs. Unfortunately, most cough drops also contain sugar. Any of these herbs can be made into a tea and sipped for better results than conventional cough drops.

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Slippery elm makes a natural cough remedy by forming a soothing layer around the irritated mucus membranes of the throat. Slippery elm teas and cough drops are available at most health food stores.

The two best herbal throat sprays that we know of are Micro-West Homeopathic Combination Throat Spray and Mediherb Herbal Throat Spray.

Additional Remedies

Lemons. Cut a lemon in half. Add unrefined sea salt and black pepper powder to the pulp and suck on the lemon.

Make lemonade with fresh lemons, stevia (to taste), and cayenne pepper (to taste). Drink warm or cold. It’s a great detoxifying aid, too.

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Hot Showers. If coughing is due to lung congestion, hot showers should be taken throughout the day allowing hot water to spray the chest.

The Best Natural Remedies

We saved the best few for last, but these two are also the most difficult.

Organic Raw Garlic. Chew a big clove of garlic and swish the juice in your mouth, getting it into the back of your throat. If you can, swallow it when you’ve chewed it as much as you can (it can be hard on an empty stomach), or just spit out the pulp.

It stings the mouth, so you'll want to rinse, but after the stinging sensation is gone, your throat will feel so much better.

Oregano. You can do the same with oil of oregano. You can combine the two if you’re feeling brave.

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Take some time to try the recipes below. You can gargle and swish with the total tonic before you swallow, and take as much as you want throughout the day to fend off a cold.

The herbal snuff is hardcore—you snort it! You can also apply directly to the tonsils, but I recommend both. Let me apologize in advance: It’s not pleasant, but it works and works well.

Total Tonic Recipe

• 1 handful of garlic cloves
• 1 handful of chopped onions
• 1 handful of chopped ginger
• 1 handful of chopped horseradish
• 1/2 handful of chopped habanero peppers
• Raw apple cider vinegar

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Put the ingredients in a blender and cover with an inch or two of organic raw apple cider vinegar. All ingredients should be organic, but don’t let that stop you from making this great formula (as long as the garlic is not from China).

You can use the mash right away or wait two weeks and allow it to turn into a tincture.

Herbal Snuff Recipe

A part is a measurement by volume (whether cups, tablespoons, and the like)

• 7 parts goldenseal root powder
• 7 parts bayberry bark powder
• 1 part cayenne pepper powder
• 1 part garlic powder

All the above must be ground up very finely. It is best to use habanero cayenne, as it is the hottest. Mix it very well, as a clump of cayenne could keep your eyes in tears for an hour. It won’t hurt you, though.

Conclusion

Excellent nutrition feeds the immune system and will help anyone avoid the pain of tonsils overwhelmed with infection. Check out Bullet Proof Your Immune System, and be sure to balance your gut flora. A strong immune system is impossible with an excess of Candida. The strength of our immune system starts in the gut. And don’t forget, sinus infections are the No. 1 cause of sore throats, so check out How to Use a Neti Pot for Sinus Infections.