Feed Your Cold This Half Cent Make-at-Home Remedy

Feed Your Cold This Half Cent Make-at-Home Remedy

Dear Reader,

Sometimes, mom does indeed know best.

It turns out that at least one of those old wive’s tales that you’ve probably heard, and most likely dismissed, most of your life may in fact be true. (I guess that makes it an old wise tale, huh?)

I suffered with chronic strep throat as a kid. I spent half of every winter battling the strep bug and the other half fending off the common cold. My mother (who’d be less than pleased if I called her an “old wife”) always had me gargle with saltwater to ease the pain of my swollen tonsils or to ward off my sniffles. And although the saltwater tasted awful, I have to admit it always did the trick for me.

Now, with the weather taking a turn toward the cooler side and with the cold and flu season rapidly approaching, the popular old wive’s tale that says a gargle with good ole saltwater is good for what ails you will once again start circulating.

Surprisingly, it turns out that there is indeed some science to back up this home remedy.

According to one study that appeared in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, a saltwater gargle can do more than help fight symptoms once they appear; there’s some solid evidence that it can keep you healthier during the winter cold and flu season.

Scientists followed a group of almost 400 volunteers for 60 days during the peak of the cold and flu season. Some volunteers were instructed to gargle with saltwater three times a day. At the end of the study the gargling group had a stunning 40% drop in upper respiratory tract infections as compared to the group that did not gargle.

The researchers also found that those in the saltwater group who did get sick reported an improvement in their symptoms, such as a sore throat, when they gargled with the briny water.

So why does it work?

The salt helps to draw excess liquid out of the swollen throat tissues that are causing you pain. In addition the gargling action helps to loosen up and clear away mucous, which may be trapping in allergens and bacteria that are making your sick.

To put mom’s remedy to work for you, at the first sign of a scratchy throat or sniffle, dissolve 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. of salt in about 8 ounces of warm water. Tilt your head back and gently gargle with a mouthful of the saltwater for about 15 seconds and then spit it into the sink. Repeat with the entire glass.

Believing that the old adage should have been “Starve a fever and feed saltwater to a cold,”

Alice Wessendorf

P.S. - The holidays are just around the corner and we thought we’d do something fun this year. Today we're launching the first annual HealthierTalk.com Holiday Recipe Swap and we’d like you to share your favorite holiday recipes with us. Click here to learn more.