6 Best Tea for Cough, Cold & Sore Throat

Flu season is worse, isn’t it? Comes up with Runny noses and Sore throats. Thanks to our grandparents that already told us the natural remedy for sore throat and cold. There are plenty of home and natural remedies which help in rapid recovery from cold, cough, and sore throat.

Definitely, some natural home remedies can help to soothe cold and cough. But FDA (Food and Drug Administration) of the US does not work on herbs and supplements. So, we may not have proper research, case studies and evidence on that herbs can clear up even the common cold.

As mentioned above, there are basically lots of home/natural remedies to fight up cold, cough, and sore throat. So, Tea is one of the best home remedies to fight with a cold, cough, and sore throat.

Very similar to all other herbs, there is no proper research for tea as well, which can verify the positive effect of tea for cough and cold. In this post, you are going to learn about the different types of best teas for cold, cough, sore throat, and health in proper order and with authentic sources.

A steaming cup of tea can soothe sore throats and also uplifts our mood with its aroma. Tea is one of the ancient best natural remedies for cough.

List of Best Tea for Cough

Licorice Root Tea: Licorice is a very famous and well known Traditional Chinese Medicine. It’s also called “Gancao” (means sweetgrass). But in real Licorice Tea is not that sweet as those plants and candies.

One study suggests that Licorice Tea gloats many pharmacological activities, such as antiviral, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and other activities.

Researchers proved that Licorice carries more than 20 triterpenoids and nearly 300 flavonoids. Major ones are like: GL, GA, LTG, LC, LCE, and GLD are the most common and useful of them which provides antiviral and antimicrobial activities.

As we have read about the few most important pharmacological activities like antiviral, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antitumor. Licorice tea possesses almost all of them but antiviral and antimicrobial activities have been reported many times from different reports.

So, being a safe and very effective agent of antiviral and antimicrobial activities licorice deserves much more respect and attention.

Chamomile Tea: This is one of the most preferred teas for tea lovers. It has amazing healing properties that have been used for centuries to cure anxiety and sore throat. Chamomile is an herb that basically comes from a flower that’s why this pack of tea known as caffeine-free tea.

It contains apigenin, an antioxidant that binds to certain receptors in your brain that may promote sleepiness and reduce insomnia, or chronic inability to sleep.

2 weeks study proved the effect of chamomile tea on sleep quality and depression in sleep. According to research, a girl who consumed chamomile tea for 2 weeks founded better sleep as compared to non-consumers.

Chamomile tea can provide a good layer of protection against diarrhea, stomach ulcers, nausea, and gas, because of its anti-inflammatory activities. There have been 2-3 studies on this topic at different times. But still more acknowledged and deep research is needed to verify its actual effect on humans.

This tea also helps to fight against different types of cancer diseases. There have been researched on this with around 500 people. And this case study is very promising and gives very helpful insights but still a more in-depth human study is required to completely verify this.

Ginger Tea: Ginger Tea is widely known for its antioxidants and bioactive components. This tea is largely famous in south Asian countries like India, Pakistan, etc. Though Ginger Tea is also used as TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) after licorice tea.

There are few reports suggests the amazing and mighty effect of ginger on health. But it has a lack of studies and research on main components. Most of the researches are lacks proper statistical reports, facts, and evidence and basically based on observations.

Very few studies suggest that ginger tea has components to fight against colon cancer and constipation. But there is no proper evidence of this report on humans. These tested basically verified on rats.

Thyme Tea: Thyme (Thyme Vulgaris) is one of the most underrated herbs in the world. In routine Thyme is used to fight against cough, sore throat and digestive system. It really works well to relieve the congestion and chest colds by helping the breakdown of mucus. Also, thyme tea helps in the treatment of bronchitis and respiratory problems.

Least study from Practice for Internal Medicine and Pneumology (Munich, German). This study examined the comparison and outcome between cough syrup with a combination of Thyme Ivy Leaves and Placebo Syrup.

The research showed the notable difference between both syrups like there was 68.7% decrees in coughing to the group who consumed thyme syrup or tea. And on the other, there was around 47% decrease in coughing fits with placebo syrup.

So, according to this report, Thyme performed better than Placebo Syrup and may outperform Most of the teas out there as well.

How to Use Thyme Tea: Take one cup of water and put 2-3 tablespoons of organic fresh or dried thyme. Steep in hot water for about 15 minutes and add honey for taste.

Green Tea: This is probably one of the most overrated and widely used types of tea. Green tea consumption has been linked with so many health benefits for many years as it prevents us from cancer, it helps in weight loss, it stands against cough and cold, it really does work against obesity, and has plenty of other benefits for lungs, mouth, kidney, etc.

No doubt, green tea has so many benefits but according to very limited and specific research, green tea hardly prevents us from the above-mentioned disease and issues. There is no authentic information and verification of green tea to actually reduce the weight and work on obesity.

Green tea does help in mental alertness and can make you a bit active if you are sick or caught by cough and cold because of its caffeine components only.

Still, there is lots of work and studies to do on green tea health benefits. Right now, we are living on observations only as there are hardly any proper study and evidence on all self-defined claims of green tea and its health benefits.

There is a lack of well designed, proper objective case study and research on green tea for cold, cough, and sore throat.

Honey Tea: In layman terms, honey tea provides lots of health benefits and is also a remedy for asthma, arthritis, and many more. According to research, Honey is a natural product to prevent cough, as it reduces the production of mucus which causes the cough.

There is another study that suggests that honey is most beneficial to consume at night.  Research also suggests that we should give a single dose of 2.5ml honey before bedtime to reduce the effect of cold/cough.  It also improved the quality of sleep if it’s consumed in the proper amount in any form.

How to Make Honey/Ginger Tea: To make a natural tea for cough, take a slice of 3-inch piece of ginger and add 4 cups of water. Boil for 15 minutes and add honey before drinking.

Source: Cup and Leaf

Side Effects of Tea in Cough

Medicinal herbs in the tea helps in cough-relieving and is used from ancient times. Sometimes, it may have a bad effect on the body due to overdose. Heavy drinking of tea can cause gastric ulcers. Check your doctor before trying any type of herbal remedy as tea. Some herbs like Thyme or Ginger can cause food toxicity, but only if you drink it too much.

Sore throats are a symptom caused by infections and environmental factors. Natural remedies for cough can work but not always though. Having tea while coughing can help to soothe it. Gargling tea may also give relief. Just one tablespoon of Manuka honey can make the tea better.

Final Thoughts

The recommended level for tea is a maximum of 3 cups in a day to be prevented from bloating and iron deficiency. Doses of tea can vary but usually, it ranges between 2-4 cups. A warm cup of tea for cough helps in relieving cough and cold but extreme hot tea can damage your digestive system.

Excessive intake of tea can cause dehydration due to caffeine. Bloating is also a possible cause. Taking 3 to 5 cups in a day and it won’t harm you? Probably, the answer is no. Tea can be really addictive and cause fatigue if not having it.

None of the research suggests one specific tea against cough, cold and sore throat. None of the case studies and research verified and provided proven notes and samples. All of these health benefits are observation at first place.

So, you should visit a doctor if the cough does not go away even after 3 weeks or the mucus is thick or greenish-yellow in color. There may be something serious, if the cough comes upswelling in the legs or fever.