Around this time every year, I start to stock my kitchen with a few key herbal recipes I know I’ll want on hand to support my immune system naturally. It’s nice to know I have these go-to winter herbal remedies to help prevent illness whenever possible and provide support to get through an illness if and when needed.
The information in this post is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It is always best to work with a qualified healthcare professional before incorporating herbs into your diet.
6 Herbal Recipes To Naturally Support Your Immune System
Elderberry & Citrus Fire Cider
I’ve heard it said that there are as many recipes for fire cider as there are herbalists. And that’s likely a serious understatement. Fire cider has a long history and an interesting recent legal battle. (Long story, short—fire cider is a generic term.) And it’s one of the best examples of “food as medicine” there is.
The most basic fire cider is made of apple cider vinegar, garlic, onion, ginger, and horseradish. But, as you’ll notice from the 35,800,000 Google results if you search “fire cider recipe”, the sky is the limit.
For my recipe, I was forced to skip the horseradish because not a single store near me that I visited had any available. To keep the heat, I opted for a couple of jalapeno peppers instead. I also included an orange and lemons, fresh thyme and oregano from my garden, and dried elderberries. I’m looking forward to having this on hand if I happen to feel any sort of cold coming on. And I plan to get creative with it in my cooking, as well.
Elderberry & Citrus Fire Cider
Equipment
- Gallon-size glass jar with lid
Ingredients
- 1 orange
- 1 red onion
- 2 lemon
- 1 head garlic
- 1/2 cup elderberry
- 2-3 tablespoons black peppercorn
- 1-3 jalapeno peppers
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- Small handful fresh thyme 1 tablespoon dried
- Small handful fresh oregano 1 tablespoon dried
- Enough raw unpasturized apple cider vinegar to cover
- ½ cup raw honey or to taste
Instructions
- Roughly chop all ingredients and add them to the jar.
- Add enough apple cider vinegar to fill the jar to the very top, making sure everything is covered by at least an inch or so of vinegar.*
- Cover with a plastic lid or place a piece of parchment paper under the lid to keep the vinegar from touching metal (it will corrode it). Secure lid tightly and shake the jar well.
- Store in a cool, dark spot for 4 weeks, shaking regularly.
- When ready, strain the fire cider through several layers of cheesecloth into a clean jar, squeezing out as much of the liquid as possible.
- Add honey, tasting as you go, until you’re happy with the balance.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
To Use:
- Enjoy a tablespoon daily to support your immune and digestive systems.
- Use in your cooking wherever a flavor-packed vinegar would be nice (salad dressings, for instance).
- When you feel a cold coming on or start to feel congested, take by the teaspoon often (every hour or so) to help bolster your immune system and clear your sinuses.
Notes
“Stay Well” Tincture
This tincture right here is my winter secret weapon. It’s so simple but has proven incredibly useful and effective at helping keep me healthy. I keep a small dropper bottle made up and ready to go in my kitchen and in my purse all winter long.
Elderberry is one of the most well-known herbs to naturally support your immune system, and for good reason. It has specific immunomodulating constituents that inhibit the spread of many viral infections, have decongestant properties, and strengthen the immune system.
Echinacea stimulates the lymphatic system (a key part of your body’s immune response, inhibits the spread of infection, helps the body fight viral infections, and nourishes immune function overall.
Ginger is a supportive herb for just about any aspect of the cold or flu, from relieving congested coughs and stuffy noses to warming you up from the inside and preventing further infection.
“Stay Well” Tincture
- 3 parts elderberry tincture
- 1 part echinacea tincture
- ½ part ginger tincture
To use the tincture, combine the tinctures in a small dropper bottle. Adult dosage is 30-60 drops. Take small, frequent doses (10-30 drops) at the first sign of a cold. Or take as a preventative before going somewhere you’ll likely be exposed to illness or after being potentially exposed to an illness.
Immune-Boosting Golden Milk Electuary
I’ve fallen in love with golden milk lately. It’s so earthy and spicy and grounding. Exactly what I crave when the weather turns cold and gray. The immune-boosting golden milk electuary I made makes it super easy to brew up a mug of warming golden milk anytime with minimal effort. Just dissolve a tablespoon of the electuary in 4-8 ounces of boiled water, then add your milk of choice and you’re ready to go!
Get the golden milk electuary recipe here!
Mulled Elderberry Syrup/Elixir
I always make a batch of elderberry syrup as the weather starts to turn colder. It’s such a useful remedy to have. (benefits of elderberries)
Last year, I made this Mulled Elderberry Elixir, which was absolutely delightful. I would mix a couple teaspoons with sparkling water and enjoy it that way. The addition of bourbon helps it last longer but, as the recipe mentions, you can omit the bourbon for an alcohol-free syrup and it will still last about a month in the fridge. Make a smaller batch of it and you’re good to go.
Get the mulled elderberry syrup recipe here!
Immune-Boosting Ginger Garlic Thyme Oxymel
This ginger, garlic, and thyme oxymel is another great remedy to use at the first sign of a cold to (hopefully) stop it in its tracks. But it can also be used to help support your immune system during an illness and lessen symptoms.
Thyme is a powerful remedy for all kinds of infections but particularly those of the lungs and digestive tract. It can be used for both dry and wet coughs but is more useful for those dry, lingering coughs that are deep in the chest and tickle the throat. It’s been widely used to help stop coughing spasms and open up the lungs to make breathing easier.
Ginger is one of my favorite herbs for cold and flu season (and just about any other time, honestly). It enhances immune function, helps relieve congested coughs and stuffy sinuses, and helps warm you up from the inside.
Garlic is a staple in my kitchen. It has long been used for its infection-fighting properties and supports the body’s natural immune response. It also relieves congestion and stimulates mucus flow, helping to thin it and make it easier to expel it from the body.
Apple cider vinegar boasts a whole host of potential health benefits that, unfortunately, lack much solid scientific evidence to back them up. That being said, unfiltered apple cider vinegar does have probiotics, which are known to help support the immune system. And vinegar remedies have been used to treat respiratory issues since 400 B.C.E. In the words of Hippocrates:
“You will find the drink, called oxymel, often very useful… for it promotes expectoration and freedom of breathing.”
Honey is such an amazingly delicious superfood. It’s loaded with anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties that support health. It’s also been shown to be a good cough suppressant all on its own.
You could also simply make a thyme honey if an oxymel isn’t your thing: Thyme Infused Honey
Elecampane Syrup
I like to have plenty of lung-supporting herbal remedies ready to go and elecampane syrup is a must-have for me. Between the cold and flu going around and the seasonal inversion that occurs in northern Utah in the winter, our lungs tend to take the brunt of it. And when those coughs start to sound deep, congested, and wet, elecampane is my go-to.
I’ve been using this elecampane syrup recipe by Rosalee de la Foret for the last couple of years now and I really like it. Elecampane is definitely a pungent herb but the addition of rose hips (and a bit of hibiscus for added color), along with the honey, take some of the edge off. And when an herb is this effective, I don’t mind the taste one bit.
Get the recipe for elecampane cough syrup at herbalremediesadvice.org!
Fever Support Tea
Fevers are no fun. They’re uncomfortable and make being sick just that much more unpleasant. That being said, they’re actually an important and natural part of our immune function. (Here’s a great article on several fever myths out there.) So, rather than artificially forcing a fever lower through the use of anti-inflammatory OTC drugs, I try to reach for herbs that will support the body’s fever response while also helping the body to feel more comfortable. That’s where diaphoretics come in.
Diaphoretic herbs stimulate circulation, increase body temperature, and ultimately help move heat out of the core of the body to the extremities.
In addition to being diaphoretics, the herbs in this tea blend are all energetically cooling, which is helpful when the body feels hot and uncomfortable.
On top of that, the classic fever-cooling blend of herbs is quite tasty. And it’s always nice to actually enjoy taking your herbal support when you’re feeling crummy. My go-to blend is very similar to the Fever Cooling Tea over on The Herbal Academy’s blog. The only change I make is using bee balm in place of the peppermint. But I always make sure I have a fever-supporting tea like this blended up and ready to go during the winter months.
Get the recipe for Fever Cooling Tea at theherbalacademy.com!
With these herbal remedies prepared and ready to go, cold and flu season don’t stand a chance. And if you’re looking for even more winter herbal remedies, check out this previous post:
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