natural remedies for colds and flus, the romanian way Tweet

Having the Nth cold of the year, or flu—God knows—, I'm reminded of mom's natural remedies. The time is, thus, best to list them all for further reference.

1. Garlic. If lucky, this is one thing that can prevent getting the cold or flu altogether. Works better than shots and other drugs. Ideally, should be eaten daily, fresh—i.e. not cooked. Yes, it's smelly, so brush your teeth carefully. Can't harm you, can it?

2. Lemon tea. Like a hot lemonade, lots of lemon (one per cup/ mug even) and lots of honey. The latter does wonders if your throat is under attack as well. And you can have as many cups as you wish in a day. Lime seems to do the job nicely, too. All that vitamin C cannot do wrong.

3. Muled wine. With sugar and black pepper if red, white pepper if white. Also helps, in taste, to add cinnamon, and fruits like apple and quince for red wine and orange for white wine.

4. Muled tuica. Also with sugar and optionally black pepper. Must be heated, not boiled in a special pot, like a teapot, or it will catch fire due to high alcohol level. The cold drink is part of the Romanian prevention measures if drank daily in moderate quantities, before meals. Breakfast included. Plus, there's also the Transylvanian version, generally stronger, palinca.

5. Chicken soup. With homemade noodles or airy Semolina dumplings, lots of chicken meat, carrots, celery root, parsley root, black pepper and fresh parsley.

6. Mint tea. Helps one breathe by reducing congestion and swelling. Also good for digestion. Sweetened, it works magically with toast and butter, especially that made crispy in the oven.

7. Thyme tea. Mom was more fond of this than I was, though I had no serious reasons—it was to me but a herb for cooking. Yet it's true that common thyme infusion is an antiseptic, very good for fighting cough and respiratory infections. And, to be honest, its flavoured is lovely, weaker than that of mint. It certainly qualifies as one of the few herbal teas neither bitter nor strange in taste.

8. Rose hip tea. A lot of vitamin C and help for headaches and dizziness. The jam made of this fruit is heavenly, if you have a chance to taste it.

For most of these, a kid found even more reason to stay at home when the cold or flu were nice enough to keep one from going to the school. No chemicals, just plenty of cool stuff and mother smothering, if lucky to have her at home. Painting found here.

9. Madi, the mother of Marie [RO], made us sodou when ill. This is egg yolk whisked with sugar, warm milk then poured on top. Very tasty, and probably very healthy. If you know of more such treats from your mothers and grandmothers, I'll gladly add them to the list, so drop a line.

Update, October 22nd 2007: In the comments, Zaza [RO] endorses number 9, sodou, while Monique recommends a non-Romanian treat that works—drinking ginger tea with lemon for a full day, no food allowed—and the Romanian:

10. Onion infusion. It seems it's anti-inflammatory. Also, not related to cold, onion and garlic consumption lower cholesterol levels significantly. As if I needed an excuse to eat either!