During cold and flu season, many people instinctively reach for one of the many over the counter cold medications or syrups available at their local grocery store. However, you may be one of the people who can't stand the thought of ingesting these heavy medications. Plus, these medications only treat the symptoms of a cold and not the actual cause. In other words, they do a good job of covering up your cold symptoms without improving your overall health.

Inside your kitchen cabinet, you may have three popular herbal cold remedies that if used properly, can help your body to fight off these powerful viruses and get you back to normal a lot faster than any traditional cold medication.

Now, having said that, this doesn't meant that herbal remedies are totally safe to use. You still need to be cautious about possible side effects, especially if you are a pregnant woman. All herbs have some effect on the body, you may want to take smaller doses of herbal remedies at first to make sure they are safe for you to take.

The three most popular herbal cold remedies are Ginger, Cinnamon and Echinacea.

Ginger

Asian societies have known for centuries the power of ginger in curing and preventing the common cold. Ginger has potent anti-viral properties that can support your body's immune system in warding off colds before they can even take hold. In order to reap the most benefits from ginger, you should drink at least one cup of ginger tea every day. There's no guarantee that this will stop you from getting a cold, but you will definitely improve your resistance to cold viruses.

Cinnamon

While cinnamon isn't well known as a cold fighting natural cold remedy, its claim to fame is that it will cause your body to sweat out the virus, thus, helping to break your fever and reducing the amount of time you are feeling ill.

Echinacea

Echinacea is a popular herbal remedy that is supposed to cut short the duration of a cold by several days, if taken right away at the onset of symptoms. Most people take Echinacea in capsule form or in lozenges. Normally, you will have to take several during the day in order to get the benefits. The herb is often mixed with vitamin C and zinc in many formulations that you find in the drug store or online.