January is a time when people are thinking about getting on with their new year’s resolutions and while we don’t believe in the whole “New Year, New Me” thing, we do believe in taking care of ourselves, especially after a time we may have eaten and drank a little too much.
Health is on the tip of nearly everyone's tongues at this time of year (especially after the year we’ve had - *ahem* thanks 2020) so we thought it would be a nice idea to put together some natural cold and flu remedies that can be done at home to combat some of the common January ailments and help boost the immune system.
Home Remedies for Cold and Flu
It’s the start of a new year and we want to keep morale high and our immune system strong, but where do we start?
Everyone knows that vitamin C is an essential vitamin for keeping cold and flu symptoms at bay. While oranges do have a high level of vitamin C, so do a lot of other citrus fruits.
Boost your immune system with essential vitamins to prevent cold and flu symptoms. Our lemon trees, orange trees and lime trees grow delicious annual crops of fruit and in the UK, this is the perfect time to harvest them.
Remedies for coughs and tickles
A scratchy throat and stuffy nose is usually the first sign that you are getting a cold. Soothe your throat and open up nasal passages with a wonderful cup of hot tea containing organic honey, lemon and ginger.
Honey has antimicrobial properties, the ginger is immune boosting and the lemon has plenty of vitamin C, everything you need in one warm cup to soothe a sore throat.
How to make a soothing honey and lemon drink for a cough:
- Boil up a cup of hot water
- Add in a dessert spoon of organic honey
- Cut 2-3 slices of lemon, picked straight from your own lemon tree ;)
- Add 2-3 thin slices of root ginger
- Stir well and start sipping!
Help your headaches
A common cold will leave you feeling run down leading to headaches, migraines and an achy body. Make our bay leaf tea to help relieve some of these symptoms.
Bay leaves have been used for thousands of years to treat headaches and migraines. They are also a source of vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, potassium, calcium, and magnesium which are all health promoting vitamins.
How to make Bay leaf tea:
- Pick 8-10 bay leaves from your bay tree
- Add them to a pan of water and bring to the boil
- Once the water turns a light pinkish colour it is ready
- Add honey and lemon to taste if you wish
- Pour the water through a sieve into a cup
- Start sipping and lose that headache.
Alternatively, you can use dried bay leaves in a strainer to make a headache remedy tea.
If you are interested, check out our bay trees and grow your own bay leaves. On top of the above home remedies ensure that you get plenty of rest as this is when your body will do the most healing.
**Not medical advice, for informational purposes only.
