Traditional recipes for cough suppressants are often no less, and in some cases even more effective than traditional medicines. At the same time, they remain completely natural remedies that can be treated even by pregnant women and children. Undeservedly half-forgotten, but an excellent folk remedy is green radish for coughing. You can find it at any time of the year in the market or in supermarkets.
Useful properties of radish
Green radish has another, less common name, lobo. This word came from China, where it refers in general to all the relatives of the radish. It is a cultivated seed variety that does not grow wild. Lobo is a close relative of radish, but it is a biennial plant that does not mature until its second year.
However, the fruits can be used for food, as well as for medicinal purposes, and in the first year of the plant's life, but only those that have reached a sufficiently large size. Lobo radish comes in a variety of colors, from white to bright pink. But it has long been believed that it is the green radish that helps the cough best.
It contains many useful biologically active substances:
- vitamin A, which has an anti-inflammatory effect;
- vitamin C, which stimulates the immune system;
- folic acid, which enhances oxygen metabolism;
- vitamin K, which stimulates the work of the cardiovascular system;
- the most important minerals and trace elements: potassium, magnesium, fluorine, zinc and others.
The bitter taste of radish fruits is given by special natural chemical compounds with the complex name "allyl isothiocyanate". The same substance is present in mustard seeds, the leaves of wasabi, popular in the east, and the beloved horseradish root. It has a vasodilating and warming effect.
Thus, radish juice is, first of all, the strongest immunomodulator, simultaneously activating the immune system and helping the body to quickly cope with any disease that caused a cough.
Why add honey
In any recipe for green radish for coughing, honey is always present. And not at all in order to soften the rather harsh taste of radish juice. Honey is the second indispensable and much needed ingredient in the folk antitussive medicine, as it also has powerful healing properties.
Natural high-quality bee honey contains more than 200 biologically active chemical compounds. It includes:
- simple sugars that are quickly and completely absorbed by the body;
- strong natural antioxidant - vitamin C;
- vital B vitamins that strengthen the body;
- minerals and trace elements - almost the entire periodic table;
- natural antibiotics that are harmful to most pathogenic microorganisms.
Honey has powerful anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, wound healing properties and is able to quickly remove pain and sore throat.
But such unique properties are possessed only by a high-quality product made by bees from pollen of honey plants without added sugar. In addition, honey must be stored under the right conditions - in a room with room temperature and moderate humidity. Otherwise, it may lose its medicinal value.
To choose the right high-quality honey, you need to pay attention to its density and consistency when buying. Good honey is heavy, a liter jar weighs much more than a kilogram. Its trickle falls on the surface like a ribbon, gradually merging with the surface. The whole mass of honey is of uniform consistency, without air bubbles and inclusions of dense mass. If it crystallizes, then evenly. Better yet, just buy good honey in a specialized department or store.
Causes and types of cough
The cough itself is not always the same. Doctors distinguish between quite a few of its varieties, depending on the cause. But we will not dwell on them in detail. In this case, it is only important that the cough can be conditionally divided into dry (unproductive), in which nothing is coughing up and is wet, with sputum production.
A wet cough usually accompanies infectious or viral diseases: ARVI, the initial stage of bronchitis, etc. The phlegm accumulated in the throat flows into the bronchi and provokes a cough reflex, with the help of which the body tries to get rid of the problem. Green radish juice will not help with this cough. Anyway, it testifies to a neglected disease. In this case, it is better to see a doctor and start treatment with traditional medicines.
A dry cough is triggered by inflammation of the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract. It is usually accompanied by a sore throat, often with difficulty swallowing. It is very sharp, abrupt, usually paroxysmal. It may indicate an allergic reaction, and then only antihistamines will help get rid of it. Or it can be a symptom of diseases such as pharyngitis, tonsillitis, tracheitis, etc. Here, green radish with honey can be an excellent medicine.
Unfortunately, if a strong dry cough is of an allergic nature, then the juice of green radish with honey will not help even temporarily relieve the condition.
Additional symptoms that are present in addition to coughing may indicate an allergy: swelling, tearing, discharge of liquid transparent snot, difficulty breathing. The only effective remedy can only be an antihistamine, which is better to take immediately.
The best recipes
Radish juice with honey acts as an excellent expectorant. It is able to quickly thin the phlegm that has settled on the walls of the bronchi, making it easier to cough up and, thus, even get rid of old bronchitis.
Radish juice is also useful for purulent sore throat - it has pronounced anti-inflammatory properties and helps to reduce purulent discharge.
Green radish with cough honey works so well precisely because of the combination of the beneficial properties of the two main ingredients of this medicinal mixture. But there may be more of them, so radish medicine often has an additional therapeutic effect. Below are some of the best time-tested recipes:
- Juice with honey. The most effective recipe, as is often the case with folk remedies, is the easiest to use. You need to take a large ripe root crop and cut off the top and tail from it. Put the fruit, cut side up, in a cup or jar, and then gouge out the middle with a teaspoon, leaving 1-1.5 cm of walls. Fill the vacant space with honey, cover with a cut top and leave overnight. Juice should be taken for children - one teaspoon, and for adults - one tablespoon three times a day.
Tincture for grinding. You can use green radish for cough not only as a mixture, but also as a warming agent for rubbing. Such a tincture can be prepared in advance, especially before the onset of the autumn-winter season, when viruses are activated and colds often occur. You need to take 3 large root vegetables, cut off the tails from them and grate on a coarse grater along with the peel. Fold in a glass jar, add a glass of vodka and two tablespoons of honey. Mix everything well and leave at room temperature. Insist for at least a day, but it is better for several days. Strain and refrigerate. Small children can burn delicate skin, so you need to protect it with a thin layer of fat: grease it with baby cream or melted goose fat before rubbing.- Milk drink. This medicine is especially useful for children.First, you need to prepare the juice from the radish with honey. To do this, peel one or two root vegetables and cut them into small pieces (you can dice). Fold into a glass jar, pour honey 1: 1, close the lid tightly and shake well. Leave for a day so that the juice stands out from the radish. Strain the resulting mixture through several layers of gauze and refrigerate. Add one teaspoon of the mixture to preheated to a temperature of about 400With milk to drink in small sips 20-30 minutes before meals. For adults, add a tablespoon.
Tincture for grinding. You can use green radish for cough not only as a mixture, but also as a warming agent for rubbing. Such a tincture can be prepared in advance, especially before the onset of the autumn-winter season, when viruses are activated and colds often occur. You need to take 3 large root vegetables, cut off the tails from them and grate on a coarse grater along with the peel. Fold in a glass jar, add a glass of vodka and two tablespoons of honey. Mix everything well and leave at room temperature. Insist for at least a day, but it is better for several days. Strain and refrigerate. Small children can burn delicate skin, so you need to protect it with a thin layer of fat: grease it with baby cream or melted goose fat before rubbing.
It is very important to remember that the radish for home medicine must be environmentally friendly, free of chemicals and harmful fertilizers. Otherwise, the regular use of its juice, in which they are in a dissolved state, can cause unpredictable reactions in the body - from allergies to serious poisoning. It's great if you can get root vegetables grown in your home garden without the use of chemicals.
You can use such a folk remedy without prior agreement with a doctor - it has minimal contraindications. But it is important to remember that with successful treatment, the cough softens already 2-3 days from the start of the application of green radish with honey.
If within 3-5 days there is no noticeable improvement, then you need to consult a doctor. Most likely, in this case, the folk remedy does not help and strong antibacterial drugs are needed to prevent the development of complications.
Contraindications
Despite the fact that green radish is a very useful plant and an excellent remedy to quickly get rid of a cough, its use has some contraindications. All due to the fact that its juice has a high biological activity. Green radish juice can irritate the esophagus and intestines, as well as increase the acidity of gastric juice. Therefore, it is contraindicated to use it for those who have problems with the work of internal organs:
- gastritis with high acidity;
- peptic ulcer of the stomach and / or intestines;
- intestinal colic;
- liver problems;
- renal colic, pyelonephritis.
Radish juice with honey, regardless of the recipe chosen, has a pronounced vasodilator effect, and people with clotting problems should also be careful.
For everyone else, this is not only a wonderful cough medicine, but also an excellent general tonic. But you can use it without interruption for no longer than three weeks. And after a month, if necessary, the course of treatment can be repeated.
