Cold & flu

Colds and flu are both viral infections of the airways, but they aren't the same. A cold is usually caused by rhinovirus and brings a runny nose, sore throat, cough and mild fatigue over a few days. The flu is caused by influenza virus and hits harder and faster: sudden fever, muscle aches, chills and pronounced fatigue that can last up to two weeks. Both spread by droplets and are most common in autumn and winter, when the immune system is often stressed by less daylight and lower vitamin D levels.

Plants and herbs that help

Elderberry, Contains compounds that block influenza virus from entering cells, studies from Israel and Norway suggest shorter illness with elderberry extract.
Ginger, Has documented anti-inflammatory effects and can shorten both the intensity and duration of cold symptoms.
Garlic, A Cochrane review suggests daily intake may reduce the risk of catching a cold.
Honey, Several studies show honey soothes cough at least as well as over-the-counter cough syrup.
Thyme, Traditionally used against cough and phlegm in the airways for its antimicrobial effect.

Recipes

Syrup

Elderberry syrup

Elderberries are ready to be harvested in August and September, and they are gone again before you have looked around. That makes this the one recipe of the year you cannot postpone. The syrup is dark red, almost black, and tastes sweet-tart with cinnamon behind it. I use honey instead of sugar wherever it is at all possible. It comes out thinner than a sugar syrup, but it tastes of something. And elderberry is one of the herbs where research has actually found something: studies from Israel and Norway point to shorter illness with elderberry extract. One rule is absolute, and it is in the safety section too: the berries must be cooked. Raw elderberries are toxic.

100 minutesEasy

Syrup

Fire cider

Fire cider is not one recipe, it is an attitude. It consists of whatever you feel like, and it turns out good almost regardless of what goes in. My fixed core is onion, garlic, chilli, horseradish, whole black peppercorns, turmeric, ginger, lemon, oregano and rosemary. Honey at the end. All covered with apple cider vinegar and put away for four weeks, where it simply gets to be. It tastes fierce. That is the point. You should feel it all the way down, and that is where it begins to work. Make it in September, and it stands ready all winter.

30 minutesEasy

Syrup

Onion & honey cough syrup

There is no simpler recipe in the whole apothecary. One large onion, covered in honey, in a clean jar. That is it. The onion draws in on itself, the honey turns thin and runny, and after a day you have a syrup that tastes far better than it sounds. Sweet first, then a small kick of onion behind it. And it is one of the few old remedies where the research has caught up and agreed: honey eases a cough at least as well as over-the-counter syrup, and better than nothing in children over 1 year. Use organic honey straight from a beekeeper if you can. It is unprocessed, and that is part of the point.

10 minutesEasy

Tea

Thyme tea for coughs

Thyme sits in most kitchen herb pots and gets used on chicken. That is a shame, because it is one of the best-supported cough herbs we have. It loosens mucus, it eases the spasmodic cough, and it tastes amazing. Drink it warm, and draw the steam up through your nose while you do. Half the effect is in the steam.

12 minutesEasy

Tea

Mullein tea for coughs

Mullein stands like a yellow torch at the roadside and grows up to two metres tall. The leaves are soft as felt, and the flowers open a few at a time all summer long. It has been used for dry, irritating coughs as long as anyone can remember. Where thyme loosens mucus, mullein lays itself like a soft film over what is sore. The two work well together. One thing is not optional: it must be strained thoroughly. The leaves and flowers carry fine hairs, and if they reach the cup they scratch the throat and do exactly the opposite of what was intended.

15 minutesEasy

Tincture

Elderflower tincture

The elder gives you two gifts a year, and they are used for different things. The berries in September become syrup. The flowers in June become this. Elderflower is the fever herb. It makes you sweat, and that is not a side effect, it is the whole effect. The body raises its own temperature to fight a virus, and elderflower helps it do that properly and get through faster. This is what I reach for at the very first scratch in the throat. Along with a couple of tablespoons of fire cider, and then it rarely comes to more. Pick on a dry morning, when the heads stand fully open and creamy white and smell sweet. Once they brown at the edges, they are past.

30 minutesEasy

The content here is general knowledge and folk herbal lore, not medical treatment. In illness, pregnancy, breastfeeding or alongside medication: always talk to your doctor first.