Did you know that commercial cough drops and sore throat lozenges make it harder to fight off an illness?
The artificial colors and flavors in processed foods and medicines can cause symptoms such as hyperactivity, headaches, neurological problems, and cancer. The sugar alone acts as an immune suppressant.
All because you wanted to soothe a sore and scratchy throat. Thanks Big Pharma.
A Safer Alternative to Store-Bought Cough Drops
Instead of adding to your body’s burden, take a couple of minutes and whip up your own homemade sore throat remedy. Kids love to make these, and it’s a great way to keep them quiet for a bit when they’re not feeling well.
Slippery elm (inner bark only) and marshmallow root are both mucilaginous and emollient, meaning that they have soothing mucous-like properties that act as a balm to your poor beat-up throat.
Buy slippery elm bark powder here*.
Buy marshmallow root powder here*.
* These are Amazon referral links for the brands I use.
Honey provides the same soothing properties and is antimicrobial. The antimicrobial properties help to kill viruses and bacteria and speed up the healing process.
Note: Raw, local honey is preferable here for its healing properties. Factory-processed honey is now often contaminated with various sugar syrups, including corn syrup, to increase its yield.
If you can’t find the ingredients at a local health food store, you can always hit up the world wide web and have it shipped right to your door.
DIY Herbal Cough Drops: Sore Throat Remedy
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Slippery Elm Root, powdered
- 1 Tablespoon Marshmallow Root, powdered
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Raw, Local Honey (commercial honeys often contain corn syrup or other sugar syrup without being labeled as such)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients and mix with a spoon until they form a paste.
- Scoop mixture with 1/8 teaspoon (or 1/4 teaspoon and cut in half) onto a plate and refrigerate 3-8 hours to firm up.
- Remove from fridge and quickly shape into balls or lozenge-shapes. Store in covered container or twist up in pieces of parchment paper.