It’s that dreaded time of year again when many of us become unwell with some form of seasonal illness. The UK Health Security Agency has been reporting cases of flu, Covid and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) around the country – all illnesses that are more common in the winter.
With this in mind, a food expert has recommended a simple two-ingredient remedy you can make yourself at home. Not only will this help ward off unwanted colds, but it will also keep your gut very happy.
In a video uploaded to his Instagram, Professor Tim Spector – the founder of Zoe Health – advised creating “delicious” fermented garlic honey for this very reason. It sounds a lot more complicated than it is – all you need is half a jar of honey and a few peeled cloves of garlic.
“I’m going to show you the simplest fermented food you can make,” he said. “Ingredients: garlic and honey. if you can get raw and pasteurised honey that’s the best.”
Tim demonstrated how to make it in the video by adding the gloves to the honey and shaking it. He said: “I’m just going to shake it up there. I’m going to leave it for about a week until that bubbles.
“And this is called wild fermentation because you’re using natural microbes in the air and actually in garlic.”
In the caption he advised leaving the mixture in a dark place to ferment, flipping the jar every day to ensure the garlic cloves remain submerged.
“You also want to open the jar to ‘burp’ it every couple of days,” he said.
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If the temperature is cold it will take slightly longer to ferment than if it is warm. He continued: “It will continue to ferment more the longer you leave it and should last for a year or more outside of the fridge.
“The great thing is that if you’re impatient and want to try it during the fermentation process, it won’t disturb it too much.”
Speaking about the health benefits of both ingredients he said: “Garlic is packed with prebiotic inulin fibre to support your gut health and is thought to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties that can help fight cold and flu.
“In fact, one randomised controlled test found that taking garlic extract led to three times less colds over a period of three months than taking a placebo.
“Similarly, honey has been shown to improve cough frequency and severity in human trials.
“For combatting sore throats and sniffles, you can eat the fermented garlic honey as is but it’s also a delicious ingredients to add into salad dressings, drizzle over roasted vegetables and so much more.”