Honey and Lemon Cough Syrup

I've had a dreadful cough for the last ten days. What I thought last Monday was just a summer cold became progressively worse until finally I gave in on Wednesday and saw our family doctor.

The diagnosis: pleurisy. Well no wonder I'm coughing and struggling to breathe. The cough is the worst; once it starts it just goes on and on and on.

I have medicine to take, and I was sent to bed until yesterday. The doctor suggested an anti-bacterial decongestant to soothe my sore throat and ease the coughing so I made a batch of Honey Lemon cough syrup.

This syrup is easy to make (it had to be, I can hardly take two steps without gasping for breath) and because it's completely natural, made with everyday food items, I can sip a spoonful as often as I need to. I'm not limited to 10mls every six hours as I would be with the chemist's mixture.

This syrup has coconut oil in it. I love coconut oil and use it for all sorts of things. I substitute it for oil or butter in baking. I use it as a spread on bread or crackers (try it with a little raspberry jam on fresh bread - yum!). I use it as moisturiser and a cleanser. And for the last three winters I've been adding it to my cough syrup. Coconut oil is rich in antioxidants and contains lauric acid, which is anti-bacterial and anti-viral. Coconut oil can be used to help prevent colds by boosting the immune system, speeding recovery.

The lemons I use are home grown and so organic. No pesticides used in my garden. Lemon is full of Vitamin C, but did you know it's also full of anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties? That's why lemon juice makes a great ingredient in cleaning products. It's also why it's an essential ingredient in my honey lemon cough syrup.

I use Manuka honey in this cough syrup. Ideally if you don't have Manuka, you'd use raw, local honey. Local honey will ease allergies too - a teaspoon or two a day for a week before the start of the Spring pollen/hayfever/allergy season will boost your immune system and ease, if not completely alleviate, your symptoms. But it must be local honey to combat local pollens. Honey is also antibacterial and very soothing for sore, dry throats. Clinical studies have shown honey to be just as effective a cough remedy as any over-the-counter cough medicine.

Honey Lemon Cough Syrup

Ingredients:
100ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup local raw honey (or Manuka honey if you have it)
2 tablespoons coconut oil

Method:
Mix all the ingredients together in a small saucepan. Heat over a low flame until coconut oil is melted, stirring all the time. This doesn't take long - just a couple of minutes. Stir to combine everything into a syrup. Pour into a clean jar. When the syrup cools the coconut oil will solidify again. Just warm the syrup over boiling water before using it. Keep it in the fridge for up to a month.

To use, take warm syrup by the teaspoonful as often as you need to. There's no fear of overdosing, there's nothing in it that will cause you any harm.