Do these common cough remedies actually work?

Coughs are tedious, right? The everyday kind can linger for weeks and leave you with a sore throat, muscle strains ⁠and broken sleep. It’s no surprise there’s a booming market for remedies.

But how well do they actually work, and could we save our cash by using what’s in our kitchen cupboards instead?

That’s the question Radio 4’s Sliced Bread received in a voice note from a croaky-voiced listener recently.

To find out, presenter Greg Foot called in the big guns. Namely, professor in respiratory medicine at the University of Manchester, Jacky Smith, who also runs a cough clinic.

There are two main types of cough, says Smith. The dry and tickly type, and the chesty kind that often comes with a side of mucus. There are syrups targeted at both. They won’t cure your cough, but they might ease it slightly.

Smith doesn’t use any of them, though. When she’s struck down with any type of cough, she’s all about the honey and lemon.

But what’s the science there? Can any foods really help – or hinder, for that matter – your cough?

Honey

Hot water with honey and lemon is a classic homemade cough remedy. And for good reason: Smith tells us that honey is the food that has the most promise from a scientific point of view.

“There’s some evidence that very sweet things, when applied to your tongue, may actually inhibit your cough reflex. And, with honey, there’s also evidence – particularly in children with overnight coughs – suggesting it improves the amount they cough.

“Cough syrups contain demulcents that coat and soothe the throat, which can ease that tickling that people get when they get coughs and colds. This is the case with honey too.”

Turmeric

I don’t think there’s any evidence, I’m afraid,” says Smith. “But it’s more a case of it lacking evidence rather than it’s been proved to definitely not work.”

That said, drinking turmeric – in a juice or a latte, for instance – may bring you some benefits.

“When your throat’s irritable and ticklish, just swallowing in the first place helps inhibit coughing, probably by reducing that irritation in the throat. I think if it’s warm and soothing, that probably improves the effect as well.”

Ginger and garlic

“While there isn’t solid data out there, ginger and garlic do activate some ion channels – little receptors on the nerves that are in your throat and your airways that provoke coughing.

“This TRPA1 is largely there to protect our airways from nasty chemicals and irritants, and also to stop food going into your lungs.

“It might be that if you flood the receptors in your throat [with ginger or garlic], it could potentially desensitise them.

“The same may be true of things like capsaicin (which is what gives chilli its spice). Some cough medicines and lozenges contain capsaicin. So, it is theoretically possible.”

Dark chocolate

“There’s a chemical in chocolate called theobromine. A few years ago, a company looked at whether they could develop it into a cough medicine – the reason being there was some good laboratory-based research showing theobromine seems to reduce the sensitivity of the nerves that activate the cough reflex.

“But it looked like the effect was pretty small.”

If you’re trying this (it is the most tempting option to give a whirl, after all) you’ll want to go for a very dark chocolate, because the more cocoa a bar has in it, the more theobromine there’ll be.

Probiotics

“The jury’s out at the moment,” says Smith. “The research is in its infancy. It’s murky as to whether something you take orally and goes into your gut can alter the bugs that we have there. And if it could, does it work indirectly through reflexes or reduce inflammation to your airways? We aren’t sure yet.”

Can any foods make a cough worse?

“For years, people in my clinics have reported milky products and dairy make their cough worse. But interestingly, there isn’t any evidence that this is the case.

“I wonder, because it can coat your throat, maybe if you have a phlegmy cough that can make it feel worse.”

The only thing Smith’s clinic often tell patients to avoid when they’re investigating their coughs is caffeine.

“I’m not aware of any direct evidence about caffeine making a difference to how much people cough. But there is a theory that caffeine provokes acid reflux – and anything that makes you more likely to have acid reflux and indigestion could potentially provoke coughing.”

What should you eat or drink if you’ve got a cough?

“My top tip is to have honey. Personally, I also find it helpful to suck a lozenge or regularly sip water.

“Swallowing helps inhibit the cough reflex and it’s also soothing on your throat. This is what many of my patients use day-to-day to help them control their coughing.”

So while most kitchen remedies are likely more comfort than cure, if you find something that feels soothing, that might be benefit enough.

Listen to both Sliced Bread and Toast on Radio 4 or subscribe to the podcast on BBC Sounds.

Originally published November 2025

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