Garlic is nature's broad-spectrum antibiotic, making it an effective remedy for colds and viral infections.

Garlic is a great remedy for colds and viral infections. You can think of garlic as nature’s broad-spectrum antibiotic. It’s natural, safe, cheap, easy-to-use and incredibly effective.

Whenever I have a cold or a fever,  I find that garlic gets me feeling like myself again really quickly, sometimes within a day.

You can take fresh garlic raw (and just chew and eat it), but to most people this can be quite punishing.  I find that the simplest and best solution is to make garlic tea.

What is garlic tea?

Garlic tea is really just fresh, chopped garlic that’s steeped in hot water. Some people add lemon juice and honey for flavor, but this isn’t necessary for garlic tea to work.

How to make garlic tea

1) Peel and roughly chop 3-4 cloves of fresh garlic. Let it sit for about 10 minutes. The wait allows allicin to form. Allicin is the powerful anti-bacterial and anti-viral compund in garlic which only forms when garlic has been broken in some way (eg by chewing, chopping).

2) Add the chopped garlic to a mug and fill it with some hot water. Sip the garlic tea once it becomes cool enough.

If you have a mild case of the flu or a cold, garlic tea should start working for you fairly quickly. However, if you’re down with a particularly bad bout of the flu, you might have to take garlic tea over a period of a few days.