Home Remedy Recipe: Cough Syrup and the Importance of Crafting Our Own Medicines

Welcome to the New Year, and the heart of cold and flu season. As a person of Pennsylvania Dutch descent, an Herbalist, and Ayurvedic Practitioner, I work with herbs daily, in various capacities, for medicinal purposes, including teas, infusions, decoction, tinctures, topical remedies, internal tonics, syrups, juices, and food. My practice includes herbs traditionally used and cultivated in the Palatinate and brought to Pennsylvania by our Pennsilfaanisch Deitsch ancestors, additionally, herbs important to the Indian subcontinent where Ayurveda was born, as well as herbs used medicinally by cultures across the globe. As a healer, it is important to know our history, remain grounded in our roots, and honor our ancestry while incorporating what we learn as time and resources evolve us forward by expanding our knowledge and abilities when new ideas, methods, and resources become available to us.

This recipe for Cough Syrup is an easy home remedy utilizing the "folk method" of production, and requires minimal time, equipment, and ingredients.

You will need:

2 cups water

2 Tablespoons Mullein Leaf

2 Tablespoons Elderberry

2 Tablespoons Licorice Root

2 Tablespoons Marshmallow Root

1/2 cup Raw Honey

• Boil water, then add herbs. Stir well and reduce heat to simmer. Cover. Simmer for 30 minutes. Stirring occasionally.

• Remove from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

• Strain into glass bowl through a stainless steel strainer.

• Add Honey. Mix well.

• Jar. Seal. Refrigerate.

• Dosage is 2 Tablespoons as needed. It will last up to 6 months in the refrigerator.

The ingredients in this have the following benefits:

Mullein Leaf - Mullein is native to Europe, the Mediterranean, Northern Africa, and Asia. It's seeds were brought to North America by early settlers. It's properties have antitussive and expectorant qualities which reduce respiratory congestion.

Elderberry - The largest production of Elderberry in the world comes out of Germany, and in addition to its powerful medicinal qualities, it holds important, sacred space in the Urglaawe faith, and within Braucherei. The Deitsch word for Elderberry is Hollerbeer, which is no coincidence that the Elderberry is the sacred plant of Goddess Holle, who represents the life cycle and regeneration. Lore of the Elderberry makes it the connector between the physical realm and the spiritual realm of death and regeneration. Medicinally, Elderberry is high in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, rich in vitamin C, it is excellent for boosting immunity and popularly used to fight cold and flu symptoms.

Licorice Root - Native to Western Asia, North Africa, and Southern Europe, Licorice Root has a long history in both Ayurveda and Western Medicine in treating lung, liver, circulatory, and kidney disorders. It is also an expectorant, an anti-inflammatory, and works well for viral infections. In Ayurveda, Licorice Root (Yashtimadhu) is known as "The Healer's Root," due to its powerful healing abilities.

Marshmallow Root - This herb was one if the plants introduced to the Palatinate (the Germanic territory) by Charles the Great in 812 A.D. It has a long history of use in traditional medicine for coughs and digestive issues, among many other benefits.

Raw Honey - Raw Honey carries antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties. The benefit of buying local raw honey adds enzymes from the local environment that can help prevent seasonal allergies.

Crafting your own remedies is an amazing way to stay rooted to your own heritage, sync with nature, care for yourself and your own family, and connect with your community. In this age of technology, we are simultaneously becoming more autonomous while also becoming more dependent upon others. This dichotomy has weakened our resiliency. When we give up the power that comes along with crafting, creating, and carrying out our cultural customs and traditions with our own two hands, that means we entrust a stranger or technology to do it for us. Crafting our own remedies is one of the many traditions we can take back... to the benefit of our health and community.

Please try this recipe out; however, keep in mind that all recipes provided here are at your own risk. Please check with your medical doctor for interactions, as herbal medicine is powerful, and can interact with prescription drugs. Also, keep allergies in mind.

Stay healthy.

Mach's gut!