Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Mom's Soothing Drink for a Sore Throat


This afternoon my oldest son came home from school looking miserable. When I asked about his day, he told me that his throat hurt and he felt awful. I told him to change out of his damp clothes (it is gray and rainy here in Tennessee) and get into warm and comfy clothes while I prepared something that would help him feel better. I quickly whipped up this drink that my Mom always made for me when I had a sore throat. It is the same drink that her Mom always made for her. Who knows how many generations in my family have been making this little sore throat soother. It is a very simple recipe but it does work wonders. I am a firm believer that food is medicine. What we put into our system truly effects our bodies for good or bad.

For centuries in traditional medicine, the lemon has been widely known for it's healing powers and has been used many ways. In fact the lemon is so powerful that it was used by the Romans as a cure for all types of poison. Lemons are an anti bacterial, anti viral and honestly if you google it you can read all kinds of articles about how they will help your body fight off about every illness, including sore throats and colds. Honey is also a known remedy for sore throats because of its antimicrobial properties. It not only soothes sore throats, but can kill certain bacteria that cause the infection.

So my great( great?)grandma knew what she was doing with this recipe! I am glad my Mom continued making it for me. I always felt better after sipping this, but mostly I felt loved and cared for by my sweet Mom! It makes me happy to continue such a comforting family remedy on to my children. So next time you have a sore throat give this a try and start your own little tradition. It really does help!

Do you have a favorite home remedy??

Soothing Sore Throat Drink

submitted by Melanie

Squeeze the juice from half to a whole lemon (today I used a whole Meyer lemon)

1 cup of very warm water

1-2 TB of honey (I used 2 TB today)

Stir and serve!

17 comments:

  1. I loved that post! Why have I forgotten that drink?! Now I totally remember mom making lemon honey tea when we were sick. All that info about lemons and honey was very interesting too. Now it will work even better for me! :) Give Connor a big hug for me - I'm sorry he is sick. :(

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  2. woops that was me not Eric!! :)

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  3. love the post, story and the usual results...

    I does practically scream out for Grandpa's soothing drink for a sore throat...

    same drink with a jigger of whiskey set to the side.

    First, pour grandma's drink down the drain

    Next drink the whiskey

    Repeat til you don't care how sore your throat is... It's a temporary fix, but then again, so is Grandma's

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  4. My Mom used to make me the exact same tea when I got a sore throat and I'd wait until she was gone and dump it down the bathroom sink. Sad, but true. But now that I'm an adult that sounds heavenly, and I'm going to try it for sure next time I have a sore throat!

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  5. nancy,
    That is so funny! After I read your comment i went and checked on my sick son. The cup was sitting there 1/2 full. I told him about your comment. We both got a good laugh out of it. I asked him if he wanted to pour his cup down the sink. He said no--but he would like a little more honey in it! So hey--maybe you just needed more sweetness!

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  6. I can't believe anyone would pour this down the sink! I loved it! Well, I really thought it helped anyway. :) And the Mayo Clinic suggests this as a home remedy, as well. The honey coats the throat and the lemon helps cut the mucous. A note to remember is that it should not be used in children less than one year.

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  7. My mom did the same thing for us and I still do it for myself at the first hint of sickness. I honey is actually supposed to coat your throat, which is why it works!
    Hope your little guy gets better soon.

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  8. I love you blog and your recipes. I just had to comment that I also love this drink when sick. When I was prego it was a must seeing I couldn't take anything else!

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  9. I also love this drink...
    also. A year on the grill, we have the same thing at our house. I also love to drink the drink even when im not sick sometimes its just relaxing and knowing where it came from!

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  10. John and Crystal Pinegar FamilyDecember 10, 2009 at 11:24 AM

    I have been given the same remedy. I do it still. My husband thinks it's disgusting. Recently I was watching Dr. Oz and he suggests putting some ginger in it. I tried it and it tasted great.

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  11. I have to host a dinner party for 25 of my husband's employees and their families at our home tonight. I woke up with a killer sore throat and remembered this post. I'm sipping the drink right now and the pain is already gone!
    THANK YOU!

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  12. We do a similar drink--brew peppermint tea and add the honey and lemon. It opens up the breathing.

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  13. Very interesting post about Soothing Sore Throat Drink, in these days sore throat is more common and people have to try to be careful with their health, for example I unfortunately spend much money in buying generic viagra only because I need it and well Im close to be a senior citizen.

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  14. [...] Throat Remedy #2 Soothing Sore Throat Drink from The SistersCafe.com This soothing drink is perhaps the most traditional sore throat remedy included in this list. It [...]

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  15. I realize post is ancient - but if anyone is here, do you know if bottled lemon juice works as well as fresh? Thx. :)

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  16. My mom used to make that for me whenever I had a sore throat. I still make it now, except, I add a shake of cinnamon to the mixture...yummy!

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  17. [...] Sore Throat Remedy #2 Soothing Sore Throat Drink from The SistersCafe.com [...]

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