[fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”0″ padding_right=”0″ hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][one_full last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_text]Hi, I’m Ruth! I’m not a Scientist, just a regular girl sharing her adventures in modern day remedies! My dabblings in quackery do not constitute a Clinical Trial, and (legal bit!) the opinions in this blog are my own and do not represent Covance.
It has been one day since I first tried to shift my cold with a turmeric milk recipe I found on the internet. And I still have a cold.
Not deterred by the fact that my first cup of turmeric milk tasted exactly like a Thai broth (including solid lumps of vegetable matter), I make a few adjustments to the recipe and hope that my second cup will be the one which defeats this virus.

My turmeric milk recipe #2

1 cup semi-skimmed milk
1 teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon mixed spice
1 tablespoon honey
1cm chunk root ginger, scored but not chopped, removed before drinking*
1 pinch black pepper**
Absolutely NO coconut oil

*one of the most unpleasant things about my last attempt was hitting all the little chunks of chopped ginger in the bottom of my mug.
**This also gave the milk a funny texture, but I have read that the piperine in black pepper helps your body absorb the turmeric, so I kept it in!

Feeling a bit sorry for myself, I take the milk up to drink while I have a nice soak in the bath. This time, what I taste is really rather good! The texture is a huge improvement; the honey is a welcome addition that makes it feel like a sweet, comforting treat rather than a cupful of curry sauce. Once again, I quickly feel that the pain in my throat is soothed and I can breathe more easily – and it’s not long before I’m ready for bed!

But sadly, the effect is only temporary. In the morning, I wake up with a really fuzzy head (fuzzier than usual!), a stuffy nose and worst of all, some serious bouts of sinus pain. Last December I got sinusitis for the first time – it was so painful that I couldn’t sleep without having a hot water bottle balanced on my face! – so as the day goes on and the pain becomes a little more persistent, I get a little concerned that I might be heading that way once more. At the earliest opportunity, I leap into bed, taking with me another variation on the recipe:

My turmeric ‘milk’ recipe #3

1 cup boiling water
1 sachet lemsip
1 teaspoon turmeric

As I glug this down, I realize that I’ve become very accustomed to the earthy taste of turmeric, and soon after I am sound asleep.

This morning I feel great! So I’m still a little snuffly and sneezy, but there’s no pain when I talk anymore and my head is wonderfully clear. With the help of turmeric, I have whipped this cold into shape in 3 days. Hmmm. 3 days – that’s a pretty standard duration for an ordinary cold, isn’t it?

And here’s the rub… it’s impossible for me to say whether the turmeric did help me beat the virus, or whether it had simply run its course. Maybe without the turmeric drinks I would have ended up with another hideous case of sinusitis? Perhaps this home remedy did help me to avoid the worst of my winter cold? But these are questions I’ll never be able to answer.

And even if my cold was cut short, can turmeric take all the credit for this? Although I had a turmeric drink every night, I did use other methods to try and relieve my symptoms. A hot, steamy bath may have played a role in clearing my head. Honey is renowned for helping with sore throats, so that may have been the ingredient which made all the difference. Or who knows – it might have been the lemsip!?

I can see now why we have such strict conditions for our volunteers while they’re on study. Even a slight change – like taking a medication, consuming caffeine or eating significantly more or less than usual – may affect the performance of the study drug or the outcome of a study. During my cold, I chopped-and-changed the recipe for turmeric milk to suit myself – as anyone is free to do with a homemade home remedy. And because my attempt to cure my cold was not as rigorous as a real clinical trial, it was also not as conclusive.