It’s never fun getting sick, especially this year! Today, I’m sharing my tried and true, all-natural home remedies for cough. I recommend making these remedies in advance, so that they’re ready for cold and flu season. This ginger lemon honey tea actually works, and not just as a home remedy for a sore throat.
Designed to soothe + heal, these ingredients will actually shorten the life of your cold.
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Ginger Lemon Honey Tea Recipe
I made this concoction of fresh lemon, ginger, and raw local honey (best purchased seasonally) to prepare for when the germs start spreading. Now, I keep it in the fridge. At the first sign of a cold or flu, I just scoop out a few tablespoons, add hot water, and enjoy this delicious home remedy for cough.
This is hands down the best way I’ve ever found to treat a cold, cough or flu naturally. No joke. It tastes amazing, makes me feel great instantly and I quickly recover. Why is that?
Home Remedy Ingredients
Lemons are high in vitamin C (especially the pith, aka the white part we all usually avoid!). Vitamin C helps boost the immune system and neutralize the free radicals in the body. This reduces the inflammation and swelling in the body when fighting off a common cold. Lemon also has natural acidity that helps break down mucous as well as alleviate congestion
Ginger contains a bioactive compound called gingerol, which is known to be the strong medicinal part of ginger. Helps you sweat out the toxins in your body, which is helpful when you have a cold or flu. Ginger is also a helpful home remedy for cough, settling upset stomachs, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and cold sweats. First found in Southeast Asia, this powerful root not only helps fight the common cold, but also free radicals and inflammation, according to research by the US National Library of Medicine.
Interested in adding more ginger power to your diet? Check out all of our recipes featuring this amazing and powerful root in our member’s only meal planner. We have 50+ recipes in Rawk the Year that contain ginger – everything from smoothies to soups to cookies and more!
Honey is a natural cough suppressant (Which explains why the most effective cough drops use honey). It also improves the body’s ability to fight infection and decreases the risk of fevers. The natural sweetness of honey also balances the tartness of the lemon + ginger, giving this ginger lemon honey tea its soothing flavor. Raw honey is used to treat a whole host of ailments, including cancer.
Why I Believe in Natural Remedies
As the weather gets windier and colder, flu and cold season kicks into gear. I get a little obsessive; wiping down the shopping cart like crazy, washing my hands numerous times a day, as well as gulping down my immune boosting green smoothies.
Yet no matter what I do, I get one cold every year. That’s why I’ve come to rely on my home remedies for cough. I’ve used them for years, so I know that they work for me. Many store-bought treatments contain harmful food dyes, processed sugar, along with other chemicals.
If I’m not willing to eat those on the regular, then why would I turn to them when my immune system is down?! The whole food, plant-based ingredients used in these home remedies for sore throat and cough are often cheaper, and are definitely healthier than over the counter meds. They also have natural healing properties.
Home Remedies for Cold and Flu
In winters past, I hit the drugstore to load up on medicine and cough drops when my annual cold hit… yet I never felt better using them. They tasted gross and I woke up feeling even worse. That’s when I decided there had to be a better way—something that was natural and made to heal the body.
Seven years ago, I went on my own wellness warrior journey to discover the best home remedies for cough. Since I learned about so many incredible remedies, I created a whole medicine cabinet of plant based cures. Read on for a few of my tried and true favs:
- Elderberry syrup: can be taken daily, and taken multiple times a day when experiencing cold or flue symptoms. And when you can make a medicinal syrup into popsicles for sore throats, I’m 100% here for it.
- Rawkstar fire cider: while this tonic is not for the faint of heart, it does wonders in limiting the life of a cold or the flu, and helps to strengthen the immune system along the way. This is one home remedy that’ll scare the cough right out of ya!
- Homemade vapor rub: this is a perfect natural remedy for cough + decongestant. Use it on the chest, as well as the feet to soothe.
- Ginger lemon honey tea: The recipe below has a whole host of benefits, just like the others on this list. I love this recipe for allergies, when I feel any kind of sickness coming on, or if I’m in the middle of a full blown cold.
Practical Uses for Home Remedies
Typically, when I start to feel a tickle in my throat, a stuffy nose, or the body aches, I grab a shot of fire cider. My kids and I take homemade elderberry syrup on the daily throughout the winter.
I use the vapor rub if congestion is keeping me from sleeping, and my son Jackson also uses it to help with seasonal allergies. This ginger lemon honey tea recipe can be sipped throughout the day as a home remedy for cough, sore throat, or the flu.
Tried and True Storage Tips
Have you noticed I use an awful lot of mason jars? There’s a reason why Mr. John Mason’s jars have been a popular storage favorite for over a century! I love them not just for serving green smoothies, but for storing this healthful home remedy for cough recipe. These days you can find them anywhere from antique shops to grocery stores. I often buy mine at a local feed supply store.
Please let me know in the comments below if you’ve tried this natural remedies for cough recipe for ginger lemon honey tea, or any of the other home remedies for sore throats (and a whole host of other ailments!) I’ve created. I’d love to know how they work for your family.
Ginger Lemon Honey Tea
Ingredients
- 2 lemons organic
- 2 inch ginger root
- 1 cup honey
- 12-oz mason jar
Instructions
- Slice lemons and ginger.
- Place the lemon and ginger slices in the mason jar, alternating layers of each.
- Slowly, pour honey over the lemon and ginger. Allow the honey to sink down and around the lemon and ginger slices. Fill jar to the top with honey and seal tightly.
- Store in the refrigerator. Over time, the mixture will start to turn into a loose jelly.
- When you are in need of some soothing tea, scoop 2-3 tablespoons into a mug full of hot water—be sure to scoop whole pieces of ginger and lemon. Allow to steep for 3-4 minutes and sip away.
Video
Notes
- Since lemons are going into this concentrate, make sure to wash them well before slicing.
- Use a jar with a tight-fitting lid to ensure this mixture stays protected.
- For best personal results, use raw, local honey that was made within the season you are using it.
I don’t have ginger root, and thanks to the quarantine I can’t make a trip just for that, but I have a bottle of minced ginger in the fridge! Could that work?
Abby, I think in a pinch that could work. If the minced ginger is in any sugar or vinegar solution, rinse it off before adding it to your jar with the lemon.
Would it work without honey?? I don’t have honey available
You can make a morning tonic using lemon and ginger. It will help you feel better but it won’t work exactly the same without honey. It’s still great, though. I drink it almost every morning to help alkalize my body. Here’s a link to the recipe: Morning Tonic
Can you put this in the freezer by any chance?
Alexa, I don’t think this is something that should be put in the freezer.
How long can this stay in the refrigerator?
Hi Juliet, we usually keep the mixture for about two months or until we use it all up. 🙂
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It tastes great.
So glad you like this, Belema! I love it because it works wonders *and* tastes good! (Not to mention it’s made with real, all-natural ingredients. 🙂 )
Is this okay to take while pregnant?
Ronetta, some sources say pregnant women shouldn’t eat raw honey while others say it’s fine so you will definitely want to speak with your own healthcare provider to be sure you do what’s best for you, your body, and the little life growing inside you.
Please what if I don’t have lemon can I use lime instead
Susan, it will change the taste and some of the benefits but in a pinch, you could use limes if you are out of lemons.
Thank you for the information. I’ve successfully prepared this home remedy and I like it already. This preparation is not only good for cough but it’s also very effective in asthma. Thanks for the post.
You’re so welcome, Winifred! 🙂
COLD season sucks sniffing sneezing and all that love the recipe thank you so so much what book of your have recipes and Homemade remedies in it if you can let me know so I can get the Book
Thank you again
Eva
You’re welcome, Eva! I’m including a link for you to a page that contains a list of all our natural remedies blog posts. I think you’ll find them very helpful! Simple Green Smoothies: Natural Remedies
Can the honey be substituted? I am wondering if say, maple syrup counts?
Darshana, I think using maple syrup, as long as it’s pure maple syrup, would be fine. You won’t get the exact benefits honey provides but maple syrup has its own great benefits.
I’ve tried this already, 3 times a day and in less than 1 week. It removes my 4month old could. Very effective.
Ralph, this is such a great remedy, isn’t it?! I make it to keep on hand every winter and it works like a charm. So glad to hear it helped you get rid of a cold you had for so long!
Taste great and does an even better job of zapping the symptoms of my cold and or potential flu right away! Jen keep conjuring;)
Erin, so true on all counts! I keep a jar of this in the fridge all winter long and it’s a lifesaver some days!
To reduce the tickle in your throat, use a thick, viscous gargle made with honey or honey and apple cider vinegar.
Thank you for sharing that with us!
Can this be used right away?
Hey Dee, it can def be used right away if needed!
Does this drink help get rid of a cold ?
Nykenji, it’s a great home remedy for a sore throat and the ingredients will help to shorten the life of your cold.
hello, Thanks for the recipe. How long can you store this home remedy in the refrigerator?
Hey Grace,
We have kept this in the fridge for up to a month. During cold season it doesn’t last long but for the off season I would suggest just checking it and making sure the coloring stays the same because it does last a really long time.
Hope that helps!