If you’ve got a cough go ahead and have some tea with honey. University of Oxford researchers reviewed 14 studies and found that honey was more effective than usual care when it came to improving cough symptoms, particularly the frequency and severity of coughing. Two of the studies suggested honey can actually cut cough symptoms short by between one and two days. As a result of the findings, the scientists are urging doctors to recommend honey as an alternative to antibiotics, which are often incorrectly prescribed for viral infections, despite only being effective against bacteria. They add, “Honey is a frequently used lay remedy that is well known to patients. It is also cheap, easy to access and has limited harms.”
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