You cant cure a cold or flu but everyone has their own method for relieving the symptoms. In fact, ask fifty people and youll get fifty different answers.
When our family came down with colds recently, we were given all sorts of advice regarding home remedies, but we find the old family favourite always works honey, lemon juice and vinegar with hot water and a few cloves. Both vinegar and cloves have anti-bacterial properties, lemon juice has Vitamin C and honey also contains vitamins and natural enzymes as well as making it taste better – guaranteed to soothe the throat and clear the head.
Im sure you readers have your own cold and flu remedy, there are many variations – maybe adding ginger, garlic, brandy or even cayenne pepper. Chicken soup, hot tea, gargling with salt, breathing in steam with eucalyptus oil or even a mustard footbath are all popular ways to relieve the congestion or sore throat.
Less popular remedies are eating snakeskin, once used in ancient China. My aunt had an old-fashioned remedy for a sore throat tie a sock (preferably unwashed) around your throat. Ive since discovered this method was used by British soldiers. Perhaps they should have used it on their enemies instead.
Every family has their own comfort foods and when I was growing up in London, during the 50s and 60s, our favourite treat was goody, which my mother made by pouring boiling milk and spices onto brown bread. I wonder if we were the only ones who enjoyed this dessert?
Write and tell me your favourite comfort foods.
Happy puzzling!
* The word lemon comes from the Arabic limun, honey from the German honig and vinegar from the Old French vyn egre from Latin vinum wine + acer sour
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