This is what the experts have to say about it.
When the first cold of the season strikes, there’s no doubt, you have to turn to delicious food and home remedies , approved by mothers for generations, to ease sore throats, watery eyes, and a cut body.
One of the most popular home remedies ? Hot water, honey, lemon and whiskey. This is believed to help alleviate a cold , leaving you feeling like new quickly. However, this hot drink obviously contains some alcohol, which can dehydrate you and affect sleep. So is this a reliable remedy or just an excuse to have a drink when you feel bad?
Physician Aaron Kobernick, a professor of allergology and immunology in the department of dermatology at the University of Utah, says science has not yet answered that question. The drink as such has not proven to be a cure for the common cold , but some of its ingredients may be beneficial.
The United States National Institute of Health recommends that men consume 90 milligrams of vitamin C a day, and in fact, lemons contain a good dose of this. But, although vitamin C consumption is seen as a cold remedy , the evidence is not decided. A 2013 review, published in the Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry , found that vitamin C does not prevent the common cold, but can help reduce the duration of symptoms if taken in high doses of up to 2 grams, an amount that can be obtained by squeezing the juice of a lemon, as in the drink in question.
Dr. Kobernick sees honey the same way. Honey is prized for its ability to relieve a sore throat and for containing some compounds believed to strengthen the immune system, such as polyphenols, a type of antioxidant that may have anti-inflammatory properties. However, he adds, “We do not have clinical evidence that has studied the effect of honey on the common cold .”
Whiskey, on the other hand, can be problematic, especially if you drink too much. Dr. Kobernick notes that high doses of alcohol lower your immune functions, making it difficult for your body to fight infection.
With that said, this home remedy can help alleviate some of your symptoms by helping you relax, explains Baldeep Singh, MD, an internal medicine doctor at Stanford Health Care . Mixing hot water, lemon, and honey can ease the pain of a dry throat. And, if you stick to just one alcohol medication, say an ounce and a half, it can help you lessen any discomfort, such as a cut body.
However, if you drink more of it, you may be affecting the body more than benefiting it, so you will do better if you stick to more researched methods: taking a nasal decongestant, over-the-counter pain relievers and serums containing dextromethorphan, Dr. Singh recommends. The best thing is to prevent a cold , washing your hands frequently and using disinfectant gel to avoid spreading viruses, he concludes.
But, if you still want to enjoy this delicious home remedy, while you are curled up in your bed, watching series, do it, but only one. Will it make you feel better? Can be. Will your cold heal ? No, it will not miraculously disappear overnight.