Pain relievers, fever reducers, decongestants, expectorants — these OTC drugs are the ones that we commonly take whenever we are suffering from cough and the common cold.

While effective, they are notorious for causing an assortment of unwanted side effects. Indeed we cannot take them all of the time as doing so can do more harm than good.

If you are having a bout of cough and the common cold and you are on the hunt for immediate relief from the symptoms, you can actually count on some very common ingredients found in the kitchen.

Did you know that something as simple as combining milk and black pepper allows you to have a remedy for body aches, throat irritation, chest congestion and other nasty symptoms?

And because it’s all natural, you don’t have to worry about ending up experiencing all sorts of side effects. This way, you can focus on relaxing and attaining healing.

The combination of milk and black pepper alone is good enough. However, it’s still possible to boost the healing effects of the two by adding a couple of extra ingredients, and they are honey and cinnamon powder.

Let’s take a look at the benefits offered by each one of these ingredients:

Milk

Warm milk is the one used for this simple home remedy for cough and the common cold. Warm milk soothes the throat. It also strengthens your immune system to fight off the ongoing infection.

Black pepper

It has superb antimicrobial properties that zap microorganisms that invade the body. Black pepper clears the airways and induces a relaxing sleep, too.

Honey

A little honey can bring lots of relief from throat irritation. It possesses antimicrobial properties just like black pepper, and it also helps control inflammation within.

Cinnamon powder

Thanks to its loads of antioxidants, cinnamon powder helps you bounce back from cough and the common cold faster. It also has the ability to fight off microbes and inflammation.

As you can see, each of these ingredients has something amazing to offer, and that’s why combining all of them can help you recover quickly, allowing you to get back to having a normal life ASAP.

Here are the simple steps to follow for making a cup of cough- and cold-busting pepper milk:

-In a small saucepan, heat a cup of milk. You may also simply heat it in the microwave for a few seconds. The goal is to make milk warm, not boiling or scorching hot. 

-Once already warm, add 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Make sure it’s the finely ground type so that you are not going to have a hard time dissolving it in a cup of warm milk. 

-Add a teaspoon of raw honey to the mixture. The best type of honey for the job is one that’s pure and organic. The addition of honey helps make the blend taste so much better. 

-Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon powder. Just like honey, a little cinnamon powder can make pepper milk taste and smell good, which can then leave you feeling nice and relaxed.

Consume a cup of pepper milk each time the symptoms of your cough or cold are at their worst.