Certain teas and herbal teas are better than others, especially if you want to treat an aggravated throat. For this reason, it’s best to speak with your doctor about taking slippery elm if you also take any medications. Studies suggest that gargling tea at a comfortable temperature can help ward off sore throat symptoms. Servings per package: 16 | Ingredients: decaffeinated green tea leaf | Caffeinated: no | Recommended preparation: Bring water to boiling and steep for 3 minutes. You can drink it as a tea, adding honey (which also may help treat cold symptoms), or you can simply use it to gargle and spit it out—the mucilage will help coat your throat either way.

Most herbal teas are considered dietary supplements and therefore are not regulated by the FDA in the same way as food. So if you’re taking any medication, it’s important you speak with your doctor prior to drinking this tea.She is the founder of Anew Well Nutrition, a virtual nutrition consulting practice with a focus on fitness and performance nutrition. Teas with either anti-viral, anti-microbial, or anti-inflammatory properties may be effective in a few ways.

According to otolaryngologist and laryngologist Omid Mehdizadeh, MD, certain teas are “usually combating bacteria or a virus or are offering an analgesic [pain-relieving] property to the patient.Its main component, glycyrrhizin, has anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial affects, and may ease upper respiratory conditions. The slippery elm tree has played an important role in Native American herbal medicine for hundred of years.