In many regions of China, the popular remedy for a cold is ginger tea.
"You drink it several times a day when you feel symptoms, especially before going to bed," said Dr. Chun-Su Yuan, director of the Tang Center for Herbal Medicine Research at the University of Chicago.
Ginger is an herb that's believed to be warming and to induce sweating, Yuan said. "The Chinese people believe that sweating can cure a cold."
Ginger tea helps you get over the mild symptoms of a cold, said Bing Yang, who chairs the Chinese herbal medicine department at the New England School of Acupuncture in Newton, Mass.
She explains that ginger tea is consumed mostly during the beginning stages of a cold and is not good for a fever or more severe problems. People often add brown sugar to it, which is believed to warm the stomach.
The spicy-tasting tea is made by cutting small pieces of fresh, peeled ginger root into boiling water. This is steeped for five to 10 minutes and then strained. Some people also add the white part of a scallion, which like ginger, is thought to make you perspire.
WATCH THIS VIDEO TO LEARN HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN GINGER TEA.
China is not the only country where ginger tea is popular. The herb also grows widely in India, where its tea is the traditional home remedy for a cold.
Dr. Arti Prasad grew up in India, did some of her medical training there and is now the founding executive director of the University of New Mexico Center for Life in Albuquerque.
She said she would squeeze or crush ginger to get fresh juice. Then mix a tablespoon of the fresh juice in a tablespoon of honey and lick a little bit of this syrupy blend every few hours throughout the day. "This remedy is good for a cold or a cough," Prasad said.
In Ayurveda (Indian medicine), ginger has both dry and sharp qualities, said Sonia Masocco, an instructor for Ayurvedic herbology at The Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, N.M. The herb's dry qualities help to liquefy a cold, which may help stop a runny nose or watery eyes in its tracks. Ginger's sharpness is said to influence the quickness of its penetrating actions.
According to Masocco, the ratio used to make ginger tea in India is about four tablespoons of freshly cut slices of ginger root to one cup of water. She says the key to using this healing spice is its potency. Too much water will dilute the sharpness and dry aspects of ginger.
The tea is boiled or simmered into a pale yellow liquid that has a pungent taste. A ginger paste can also be applied to the chest or forehead to relieve congestion there.
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