What is your favourite herbal cold/flu remedy or preventative?

Xisca Nicolas wrote:
Also sulfur helps, so garlic, and even a tea with onion - all with the peel - is traditional.

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I have never heard of onion tea, so am interested to know how that is made. Is it with chopped raw onion (including, as you say, the peel)? Do you add honey?

I do make soups that include onions when we have a cold, but I think that probably is different from what you mean by onion tea. Also, I usually fry or caramelize the onions before adding them to the soup. Does cooking the onion like that have a big effect on its value as a food medicine for colds? I have a feeling it may drive off some of the sulphur but I am not sure.

Amy Francis wrote:For nasal congestion, I favour Oil Of Olbas - either as a steam inhalation (face over bowl, covered with towerl) or some drops onto a tissue and inhaled that way.  Also rubbing onto chest/lung area provides relief e.g. can feel it loosening the tightened lung area, freeing up breathing.

Andrea Locke wrote:Oo, thought of another. How about licorice root?

Andrea Locke wrote:I have never heard of onion tea, so am interested to know how that is made. Is it with chopped raw onion (including, as you say, the peel)? Do you add honey?

I do make soups that include onions when we have a cold, but I think that probably is different from what you mean by onion tea. Also, I usually fry or caramelize the onions before adding them to the soup. Does cooking the onion like that have a big effect on its value as a food medicine for colds? I have a feeling it may drive off some of the sulphur but I am not sure.

carla beemer wrote:Thanks for those ideas, Andrea!
I love licorice root Amy! But my husband avoids it due to hbp-too bad, because it is really helpful for allaying bitterness!

David Harrold wrote:Hi all,

My name is Dave Harrold and I live in eastern Washington.  I have been interested in good health for a long time.  I too like elderberries to boost immune responses.  I have a few European elderberry cultivars along my fence line that I gather berries from and juice.  It's important to heat the juice though to drive off any residual cyanide.  I then add xylitol to sweeten..  But I have another remedy more powerful than any herb.  I have observed over the years that colds and flu only seem to hit during a specific season of the year and that season is what most people refer to as the holidays.  I put two and two together and deducted that there is something about celebrating the "holidays" in the Roman calendar that weakens our immune system and allows our bodies to be susceptible to viruses.  Ever since I quit celebrating the "holidays", I quit coming down with the flu.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  Try it, you may find yourself being flu free.

Cris Fellows wrote:I work in a children's hospital ER.  I was trying to get them to offer elderberry instead of Tamiflu as research suggests it can shorten the course of the flu by 4-5 days compared to Tamiflu's 24 hours with none of the side effects that are inherent with Tamiflu...like hallucinations.  Although my suggestion won't be taken, I have been given the go ahead to make an informative flyer.  I do suggest it on my own if families show any interest in what they can do besides medicine to help.  I often suggest a strong steeped ginger tea with lemon and raw honey for sore throats.  
At home, we add to these sage honey.  (Cut up garden sage and fill a jar in the fall, cover with raw honey, add more sage or honey to keep sage covered and fill jar.  Let this sit and spoon off from the top all winter.  Add to tea or as stand alone tea is great for sore throats).  We also make fire cider (adaptations of Rosemary Gladstar recipe) for when your head is clogged, nose stuffy etc.  
My favorite addition this year is a cough syrup with Spikenard, Elecampane and Lobelia.  Imagine that, a cough syrup that actually works!!!  If anyone is interested I will dig up Richo Cech's recipe.

Daniel Sillito wrote:My go to herb for this season is always Lapacho (also called pao d'arco). I take it alongside calendula and mallow. A little red clover and elderberries never hurt either. Just recently my whole extended family had an awful cold/flu/whatever that got passed around at thanksgiving probably. Everyone else was sick for almost 2 weeks. I was taking lapacho, mallow and calendula twice daily already. I didn't have a single symptom of illness until a week after everyone else was ill, I had a slight sore throat (which disappeared after sipping on mallow root tea) and a tiny bit of sniffles, all of which was gone after a day.