Folk Medicine Stops Cough
More effectively than OTC or over the counter drugs and cough suppresants? Indeed it does.
A little bit of honey, taken before bedtime, may ease coughing in children. It seems Grandma may have been right again.
Pennsylvania State University researchers reported that news based on 130 children with coughs.
They were divided into three groups. One was treated with dextromethorphan, the most common (and often touted as the most efficient) over the counter cough suppresant. Another group was treated with buckwheat honey and the final group was treated with absolutely nothing.
Honey won.
Not by much, but it was just as effective if not more so than a drug. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather take a spoonful of honey than a spoonful of drug and as far as my kids go, honey wins hands down. Especially if it is more effective than conventional treatment.
A word of warning here. DO NOT GIVE HONEY TO CHILDREN UNDER 1 YEAR OF AGE since it can potentially cause botulism.
Honey can be taken by itself or mixed with tea and/or lemon juice. Darker honey tends to have more antioxidants and pure, raw honey has the greatest anti-microbial effect. Just don’t give anyone too much because of the high carb content.
Honey is truly a wonder food. It is one of the most efficient and effective anti-microbial substances there is. Honey has been found preserved in jars hundreds of years old and it is still not only edible, but sweet and tasty. By itself it simply will not spoil. It has been used to treat wounds and even gangrene for years on various battlefields with success.
Shamans, curanderas and witch doctors the world over, not to mention Mom’s and Grandmas have recognized honey’s attributes for centuries. We are just now getting around to proving them.
You have a cough, try some honey. You have a real bad cough, try some honey and some capsaicin (the stuff that makes chili peppers hot) in the form of chili powder or chili sauce or even tabasco sauce in a tea. Very, very effective. I know, I grew up on it. I preferred New Mexico chili pods myself. Nothing better when mixed with raw honey. In fact, we used to buy honey and chili already mixed.
The study, funded by the National Honey Board, appears in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
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