Top 10 Natural Home Herbal Remedies

What if you could heal or reduce the symptoms with all natural ingredients.  Well today is your lucky day.  Many of us have forgotten the power that all natural plants have.  I have done some research and found 10 Natural ways to reduce your ailments.  

First off I’ll start with the most common of all ailments and that is the common cold.

This recipe was found over at Mother Earth News and I hope you like Ginger – because that is the main ingredient to this healthy concoction.

Cold and Flu recipe Number 1

“Many plants have antiviral properties — plants get colds just like we do, but because they can’t go to the doctor, they make their own medicines. One of the best antiviral remedies is ginger, but use the fresh juice or it won’t work. When cold and flu season approaches, I buy about a pound of fresh ginger and juice it. Make sure you squeeze out the pulp — a lot more juice will be in there. Put the ginger juice in any handy bottle and keep it the refrigerator. If everyone around me is getting sick or I feel that first onset of illness, I stir together 3 fluid ounces of the juice, 1 tablespoon of honey, a sprinkle of cayenne, the juice of a quarter of a lime, and 6 fluid ounces of hot water. Drink this blend as a hot tea three to six times per day. This tea rarely fails to either stop an infection’s progression or heal it altogether. It’s pretty good for opening up the sinuses as well.”

Ginger Cold / Flu Recipe

• 3 fluid ounces of Ginger Juice
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• Dash of cayenne
• Juice from a quarter of a Lime
• 6 fluid ounces of hot water

Mix them all together and drink like a teat 6 times per day.

Next up is are 6 of the 10 recipes for natural cold and flu remedy described over at The Healthy Maven

Cold and Flu remedy #2

• Gargle with salt water

• Do this as soon as you start feeling sick! Not only can it help relieve a sore, scratchy throat, but if you go back to your middle school science days, water follows salt (#osmosis) so the idea is that gargling salt water actually pulls viral fluids out from the throat area. 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt dissolved in an 8-ounce glass of warm water and gargle it all 1-2x a day.

• Honey

• Honey not only helps soothe a sore throat it also works as a cough suppressant. Honey can soothe irritated mucous membranes which helps remove the irritation that is fuelling the cough reflex….. Both vitamin c and zinc have been shown to help support your immune system so that’s a triple whammy! 

• Take a Ginger Shot 

• Ginger is anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial. It has been known to help with congestion, nausea, colds, and fevers. Either pick one up from a local juice store or juice a knob of ginger yourself. Eating ginger can also help but for the best bang for your buck, go for the juice shot.

• Elderberry syrup

• Elderberry is a fruit grown from the elder tree that has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties making it a powerhouse when it comes to fighting colds. Studies have shown taking elderberry syrup can shorten colds and flus and also relieve sinus infections. Triple threat.

• Essential oils

• Power to the plants! There are many powerful essential oils for cold and flus but here are a few that are easily accessible: Eucalyptus oil has antiviral and antimicrobial properties which have historically been used to treat the common cold. Peppermint oil is used as a natural decongestant and fever-reducer. It’s like a natural VapoRub. Just make sure when applying topically that you mix with a carrier oil!

• Garlic

• Garlic is a powerful antioxidant with antimicrobial, antiviral and antibiotic properties. Garlic is packed with minerals, enzymes, vitamin C, sulphur, and selenium which all help bust colds and flus. Enjoy garlic in your meals or eat a clove whole if you’re seriously brave.

Most colds and flus finish up with a healthy cough. That can sometime linger for what seems like forever.  You know what I am talking about. It starts with a tickle – then turns into a full blown cough. 

Well the next time you feel the tickle in the back of your throat follow the Cough Be Gone Tips from Cassie Johnston over at Wholefully.com along with additional tips of adding some Immunity Boost to help prevent future sickness.

Cough Be Gone Herbal Tea

“You’ve almost made it all the the way through your cold, but now you’ve got a hacking cough that just won’t quit. This Cough Be Gone Herbal Tea (with lots of raw honey—nature’s cough suppressant) could really help! The idea with an herbal cough remedy is not to fight against your cough—no stopping it in it’s tracks—but instead getting it to relax and help it’s along it’s way. Wild cherry bark, thyme, and red clover are anti-spasmodic expectorants—meaning they help you clear out the gunk while quelling your coughing fits. Your goal is to get a productive, painless cough that moves your illness along—not a tickly cough that sticks around for weeks. Marshmallow root is a great herb for helping to coat and soothe irritated mucous membranes. Wild cherry bark is a classic cough remedy—and in fact, is the reason most over-the-counter pharmaceutical cough syrups are cherry flavored, a remnant of when all cough syrups were made with wild cherry bark.”

Immune Boon Herbal Tea

“You know when you have the sneeze that feels a little weird or you just feel a little rundown or your throat just feels a little tickly? Your body is fighting something off, and it’s time to strengthen it’s resolve! Enter Immune Boon Herbal Tea (and Elderberry Syrup, too). This tea is formulated to give your immune system a shot in the arm for a short period of time at the beginning of an illness.

The base of this tea is echinacea, which we all know is a classic immune-boosting herb, but many of us don’t know that echinacea is only a short-term immune booster. Echinacea is the Popeye’s spinach to your immune system—but only for a day or two. It boosts your white blood cell count temporarily, and then after that, its effects drop off dramatically, and herbs that are specific to your symptoms are more appropriate. I drink this tea for the first two days I start to feel under the weather.”

Continuing on with some additional tips for boosting your immunity which most of us can use we have some immunity boost tips from EveryDayHealth.com

Boost Your Immune System With Vitamins and Herbs

“Can cold-busting vitamin C also help zap congestion? “Vitamin C has been demonstrated in some studies to shorten the duration of a cold and decrease the severity of symptoms — but it doesn’t directly affect congestion,” says Stringer. So if you’re battling congestion related to a cold, popping some extra vitamin C may help you get over your cold symptoms faster. But if your congestion is related to allergies, vitamin C won’t bring relief.

A few herbal treatments, especially menthol and eucalyptus oil, can also help ease a stuffy nose. Menthol, a derivative of peppermint oil, can be found in inhaled balms and rubs for congestion. “Menthol doesn’t actually decrease congestion,” says Stringer. “Instead, it stimulates the nerve receptors in the nose, which makes the nose feel like more air is going through it, and this is often perceived as cold air. But there’s no real effect on congestion or the amount of air moving through the nose.” Still, mentholated products are a good option to try when seeking fast short-term relief from sinus congestion.

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center’s health site, eucalyptus oil may act as an expectorant, possibly by loosening phlegm in the lung region. For a soothing way to possibly improve chest congestion, try a eucalyptus oil steam: Take a steaming bowl of water and add a few drops of eucalyptus oil. Drape a towel over your head and around the bowl, keeping your face at arm’s length away. Breathe in the steam for about 10 minutes.”

Next up are some great tips from Megan Patiry from Blog.paleohacks.com about making some good ol fashion…

Homemade Herbal Antibiotic

“The next time you come down with strep throat, a UTI or any other bacterial infection, reach for this homemade herbal antibiotic instead of a prescription.”

• Tools

• Glass Jar with lid

• Dropper

• Ingredients

•  1/2 cup fresh thyme, chopped

•  1/2 cup fresh rosemary, chopped

•  1/2 cup fresh ginger, chopped

•  1/2 cup garlic cloves, chopped

•  Apple cider vinegar

• Instructions

•  Let the garlic sit, once chopped, for about 10 minutes to release more allicin, the compound responsible for its healing and antibacterial properties.

•  After 10 minutes, add all of the herbs to a glass jar and fill with apple cider vinegar.

•  Cap with a lid, gently shake the contents, then place the jar in a cool, dark place, like a cabinet.

•  Shake once every day for 6 weeks, then use a strainer to strain the tincture into a glass dropper bottle.

•  When you feel the onset of a cold, take one dropper full three times a day in a glass of water until it passes.

With the next remedy we are going to hear from Dawn Combs over on the DIY Natural website with a helpful tip on what you can try when that fever just won’t break and you think it’s going to last forever. 

Fever Remedies: Chrysanthemum Fever Tea

• “Ingredients(Note: Use fresh OR dried ingredients.)

• 1 teaspoon peppermint (find organic dried peppermint leaf here)

• 1 teaspoon catnip (find organic dried catnip here)

• 1 teaspoon chrysanthemum flowers 

• Instructions

• Add all three herbs to a half pint jar.

• Pour 1 cup hot water over herbs.

• Place a lid on the jar.

• Allow to steep for ONLY 10 minutes (to preserve the essential oil in the chrysanthemum flowers).

• Strain.

• Add honey to taste and drink while warm.

Important Notes for Using Chrysanthemum Tea.  This tea is only intended for prolonged fevers of several days, or fevers higher than 102°. Do not break a fever otherwise.

This tea is also beneficial for reducing digestive upsets or pain associated with a cold.

Use dried herbs to mix up a larger batch of tea. Store in a tightly sealed glass jar in a cool, dark cupboard. Use 1 part each peppermint, catnip, and chrysanthemum for your mixture.”

Now moving away from sickness over to something most of us have had to deal with and it just burns.  Our friends over and VeryWellHealth.com have some good tips on what to do with Acid Refulx

Explore Natural Remedies For Acid Reflux

“Remedies that are said to help with some heartburn and reflux include:

• Apple cider vinegar

• Ginger

• Aloe vera juice

• Bananas

• Turmeric

• DGL licorice

• D-limonene

• Honey

• Marshmallow

• Slippery elm

A Word From​ Verywell

Changing your diet and lifestyle alone may be enough to keep your heartburn in check. While diet or lifestyle modifications may help soothe heartburn-related pain, it’s important to seek medical attention if you experience regular or severe heartburn. Over time, heartburn-associated acid reflux may injure your esophagus and lead to complications.”

And next up is our last tip for the day.  Last but definitly not least especially if you have a bad pain in your ear.  This is another tip from over at MotherEarthLiving.com

Make Your Own Healing Oil for Ear Pain

“Mullein (Verbascum spp.) is an herb that grows in many of our gardens. For some, this lung tonic and upper respiratory soother was a premeditated planting; for others, depending upon where you live, it is a happy volunteer, shooting up in our yards, alongside the road, and anywhere else it sees fit. Its dried, fuzzy leaves can be used for tea, and the fresh flowers can be made into a pain-relieving and infection-fighting ear oil.

“A so-called oil of mullein, or rather mulleinized oil, prepared by steeping the blossoms in oil in the sun, has a fabulous reputation of being curative in earache from otitis media,” wrote H.W. Felter, M.D., in The Eclectic Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, in 1922.

Richo Cech of Horizon Herbs recommends combining 1 part mullein flowers (by weight) with 1 part crushed garlic cloves. “Do not remove the skins from the garlic,” he warns, “as they keep the mass from balling up, which keeps it from rotting the extraction.”

Put the mixture in a jar and quickly cover the herbs with olive oil, stirring to expose as much of the mixture to as much as the oil as possible. Cover the jar with cheesecloth and set it outside in the warm sun (or in a warm sunny spot inside) for three days to macerate. Squeeze the infused oil through cheesecloth into a dry jar and let the particulates settle to the bottom overnight. Cech recommends decanting the pure oil off the watery sludge the following morning and filtering it through several layers of clean, dry cheesecloth. You must take great pains to make sure the finished oil does not contain water droplets, as they will be the downfall of the preparation. If all goes well, the oil should last about a year if you keep it in a dark bottle in a cool, dark corner or cabinet.

To administer, place 2 to 3 drops as deep into the ear canal as is comfortable and massage, with gentle pressure, where the back of the earlobe meets the head. The oil can also be massaged externally around the front and back of the ear. Use twice a day or as needed for pain relief.”

Well there you have it 10 great tips from some highly respected and great blog / websites.  Next time you feel that cold or cough coming on give them a try and let us know what you think.  

If these 10 natural remedies peak your interest and you want to see more You’ll find 800+ more beneficial plants and remedies in “The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies