Use Honey for a Natural Cough Remedy

Wintertime means colds and nagging coughs. When you’re looking for some relief, look to all-natural, raw honey. The National Honey Board calls honey “nature’s cough suppressant.”  Research from Penn State University actually showed that honey is a better alternative to childhood coughs than over-the-counter medicines. Here are some ways you can integrate honey as a natural cough suppressant to get you feeling better.

• Use all-natural, raw honey by the spoonful to suppress your cough. Take a spoonful straight, as often as needed to relieve the irritation from coughing.
• Drink plenty of liquids, and herbal tea sweetened with honey is a great option  (check out these tea & honey pairings). For an additional boost of vitamin C, add some with orange juice or lemon juice into your tea.
• Make and take some homemade cough syrup. Mix lemon juice, honey, ginger, and water, to make your own cough syrup that can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two months. Check out this Homemade Honey Cough Syrup recipe here (Recipe courtesy of the National Honey Board and Nurse Barb Dehn, RN, MS, NP).

Always remember that raw honey should not be fed to infants under one year of age.