Apple Cider Vinegar - My Natural Cold or Flu Remedy

Well as Fall is upon us, so does the cold & flu season.  Before you rush out to get your flu masks (ok, sorry, couldn't resist), I have something for you to try!

I felt my first indication of Fall with the onset of a sore throat – which is ALWAYS HORRIBLE timing. Then congestion seems to come in HOT, shortly after.  And you know what, this just NOT work for me, as we always have a full schedule with sports and Coaching events.  I was not going to no silly sore throat get in my way.

But as busy Mom's or Dad's (heck, anyone for that matter), no one has time or energy to have their days halted by a pesky cold & flu or sore throat.  I’ve had plenty in my past to last me a lifetime.  I’m sure I’m not alone on this one.

After much aggravation of these over the counter medications not working for me (that and we prefer holistic or alternative practices FIRST), I resorted to searching for something else.  Something more natural that I knew could be found in our kitchen cupboards.  Something that could ward off that sore throat you can just feel “itching” to make its appearance and usually accompanied by its best pal, congestion.

While I was pregnant with my 2^nd, my daughter was in a little school, therefore brought EVERYTHING home and I felt like I was sick all the time.  Well, I was!  So as most know, being pregnant, there isn’t a whole lot one can take, not to mention, if I can avoid taking over the counter medication, I will avoid it to all costs.  Never feel like it works anyway!!

I did a Google search for “natural remedies for sore throat”.  The fabulous site of Earth Clinic was the first to pop up, so naturally (no pun intended), I clicked on it.  I will preface this with, many other sites popped up that all had Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in the website description.  Hmm…were they on to something?  I mean, I knew I had Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar in my cupboard.  What was the remedy?  If it was to down the whole bottle, I was willing to do it, at that point.

So after reading through countless great testimonials on how ACV, with some other kitchen cupboard ingredients (cayenne pepper, honey, etc) helped cure a sore throat, strep throat or the sniffles, I figured, what do I have to lose?  NOTHING!  Can’t do any more harm, than good, right?

I went for it. 

Here’s the concoction I dabbled with to gargle for immediate relief of my sore throat:

3 TBSP of Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp of cayenne pepper

4 – 6 oz of warm water

Take small sips, gargle for about 5-10 secs and spit.  Repeat until glass is empty.

Now, to keep up with the ACV theme, I read there was a “tea” that others have made the helped relieve cold & flu symptoms, chest congestion and sore throats.  I knew you couldn’t really over do it with the ACV.  So after a bit of a break from the gargling, I would make some tea.  Here’s what was in it:

3 TBSP of Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp of RAW Honey (not the generic table honey – the GOOD stuff) OR Organic Agave, if vegan

1 tsp of cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp of cinnamon

8-10 oz of hot water

I would just sip away, until it was gone.  It took a bit of getting used to, but you know what??  I came to enjoy it.  It had a little bit of sweet meets a little bit of a bite.  I was starting to feel the tingle getting worked on and could feel it absorbing that bacteria and taking it away.

If you can stand just a straight shot of ACV, more power to you! There are a tremendous amount of health benefits of ACV. Click here to see what else it can do for your health.

I knew after just hours of my sore throat and congestion dissipating, that this new ACV concoction was going to be my new BFF come Fall and Winter (ok, and Spring) months.

I hope this recipe will help others that are sick of masking it with those over the counter meds.  This WORKS and works FAST! Do you have any natural cold and flu remedies? PLEASE come share them in our MomStrong Community on Facebook! We all would appreciate it!