7 Home Remedies To Help With Cold

eatwell
October 24, 2023
sarah brodsky

Introduction

Home Remedies to help with Cold: Delightful winter is here along with its festival’s cold winds and white sheet of snow. The ideal way to enjoy this season is to wrap yourself in a soft blanket in a warm and cozy room with a cup of hot chocolate. Nothing could be better than this unless you suffer from a cold and cough.

It can be frustrating to have a cold especially when you can’t control the cough and it hinders your day-to-day life. Weakening immunity makes you more likely to get sick or catch a cold during winter. There are several foods and drinks that you can consume to ease the effect as well as prevent the symptoms in the future.

What Is A Cold?

A cold is a viral infection related to the upper respiratory tract causing inflammation in the lining membrane of the throat and nose.

The cold easily spreads to others mostly via airborne droplets that are released into the air by the infected person and then inhaled by the others.

Symptoms of Cold:

Runny or stuffy nose.
Sore or scratchy throat.
cough.
Sneezing.
Slight body aches
Mild headache.
Often Low-grade fever.

What is a cough?

Cough is the body’s natural response to clear the throat from mucus or irritants. It can be caused by food blockage in the airways. Cough can be caused by viral or bacterial infection and can be acute or chronic.

Acute cough: lasts for less than 3 weeks.
Chronic cough: lasts for over 8 weeks.

Types of coughs:

Commonly, coughs are divided into two types:

Dry cough: is caused mostly by irritants in the throat and the common cold and flu. It does not bring up mucus.

Wet cough: a symptom of chronic infection that can bring mucus out of the respiratory system whenever you cough.

Home Remedies For Cough And Cold

If you have caught flu and cough, then you don’t have to suppress the symptoms but can ease them with some home remedies. Here, we have mentioned some common and easily available herbs, foods, and home remedies that will ease your flu and cough:

1. Bananas

Banana is enlisted in BRAT (Banana, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast), a diet usually recommended to people who suffer from stomach ailments, cough, or cold. Bananas are rich in soluble fibers and fast-acting carbohydrates. Bananas are easy to digest and contain fructose that promotes immunity and has anti-viral properties.

Bananas can be eaten as they are, or you can mash and mix them with honey and ginger. Blend into a smoothie or eat as it is when you catch a cold or are suffering from a cough.

2. Berries

Try eating barriers like raspberry or blueberry if you have caught a cold. Berries contain antioxidants with antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties that can ease the infection.

You can make a delicious smoothie with berries. Add them to a salad or eat them with yogurt as a quick snack.

3. Soup or Broth

Well, guess what! It’s not a myth that chicken soup helps with flu. broth or chicken soup is a perfect food you can eat if you have flu. Consider sipping on this water-based fluid (broth) if you catch a cold. The soup or broth has anti-inflammatory properties such as speeding up the process of mucus movement through the nose and easing breathing. Amino acids in broth improve immunity and protect against viruses and bacteria.

If chicken soup is not an option for you then you can go for vegetable soup and flavor it with garlic, ginger, black pepper, cayenne powder, and turmeric.

4. Chamomile Tea

According to research, chamomile has antioxidant properties due to the chemical called flavonoids. A hot cup of Chamomile Tea can help improve sleep and quickly ease your symptoms when you are sick or have a cold.

You can drink the Chamomile Tea iced or hot or use the chamomile tea essence to make smoothies.

5. Citrus Fruits

Citrus fruits like limes, oranges, and lemons, are enriched with vitamin C and folate. These nutrients support and improve the functioning of your immune system.

You can drink freshly squeezed orange juice or squeeze a lime or lemon in a glass of water and consume it. You can consider the intake of other citrus fruits as well.

6. Pomegranate Juice

Freshly squeezed Pomegranate Juice is one of the best foods to improve immunity against common colds. Its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties are due to Polyphenols and flavonoid antioxidants that help fight viruses and ease the symptoms.

You can intake pure Pomegranate Juice or add some to the chamomile tea and enjoy your drink.

7. Spinach

Spinach is a leafy vegetable with antioxidant properties and contains vitamins C and E.21 Vitamin E that supports immunity if you have a cold. You can eat spinach in a salad or steamed or sauté it. Make a smoothie out of it or add it to your soup, it will benefit you.

Although these foods and drinks cannot cure colds but will help ease the symptoms. If your cold symptoms last longer than usual or get worse, visit your physician or healthcare provider as soon as possible.