Honey is one of the more effective home remedies you can reach for when you’re sick with a cold or upper respiratory infection. It reduces cough frequency, soothes a raw throat, and performs as well as the active ingredient in most over-the-counter cough syrups. A large systematic review found honey was superior to usual care for improving symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections overall, and the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence lists it as a self-care option for acute cough in people over age one.
How Honey Compares to Cough Medicine
A clinical trial published in JAMA Pediatrics compared honey head-to-head with dextromethorphan, the cough suppressant in most OTC cough syrups, and a no-treatment control. Honey and dextromethorphan performed equally well for reducing nighttime cough and improving sleep quality. But here’s the notable part: while honey significantly outperformed no treatment for cough frequency, dextromethorphan did not beat no treatment on any measured outcome. In other words, honey was more reliably helpful than the standard pharmacy option.
This doesn’t mean honey is a cure for whatever’s making you sick. It won’t shorten a viral infection or replace medical treatment for something like strep throat or the flu. What it does well is manage the symptoms that keep you miserable and awake at night.
Why It Works on a Sore Throat
Honey coats irritated tissue in your throat with a thick, viscous layer that acts as a physical barrier against further irritation. This is the same principle behind medicated lozenges, but honey does it naturally. The coating effect calms the nerve endings that trigger your cough reflex, which is why swallowing a spoonful before bed can quiet a persistent nighttime cough.
Beyond the coating, honey’s natural acidity (pH between 3.2 and 4.5) and its extremely high sugar concentration create an environment that’s hostile to bacteria. The sugar pulls water out of bacterial cells through osmosis, essentially dehydrating them. When you dilute honey slightly, as happens when it mixes with saliva, an enzyme called glucose oxidase activates and starts producing hydrogen peroxide, a natural disinfectant. Honey also contains plant-based compounds that damage bacterial cell membranes in several ways, and a peptide from bees called defensin-1 that’s active against certain types of bacteria. These properties won’t eliminate an established infection, but they can help keep a sore throat from getting worse.
How Much to Take and When
The Mayo Clinic recommends half a teaspoon to one teaspoon (about 2.5 to 5 milliliters) for children ages one and older. Adults can take one to two tablespoons. You can swallow it straight, stir it into warm water or tea, or mix it with lemon juice.
Timing matters. A spoonful right before bed is the most practical approach, since nighttime coughing is usually the worst symptom and the one most likely to disrupt sleep. You can also take it throughout the day when your throat flares up. There’s no strict limit, but honey is still a concentrated sugar, with roughly 60 calories per tablespoon, so a few spoonfuls a day is reasonable.
Don’t Stir It Into Boiling Water
If you’re adding honey to tea, let the water cool a bit first. High heat breaks down the enzymes that give honey its beneficial properties. Research shows that heating honey to 80°C (176°F) for just over a minute destroys measurable enzyme activity, and even temperatures around 55°C (131°F) can reduce enzyme function within 15 minutes. Water that’s been off the boil for five minutes or so, roughly the temperature of comfortably drinkable tea, is fine. You’re not ruining honey by warming it gently. You’re just preserving more of what makes it useful.
One Serious Safety Rule for Infants
Never give honey to a child under 12 months old. Honey can contain spores of the bacterium that causes botulism, and an infant’s gut isn’t mature enough to prevent those spores from growing. This applies to honey in all forms: raw, pasteurized, mixed into food, water, or formula. The CDC is clear on this point, and there are no exceptions. After a child’s first birthday, the risk essentially disappears and honey becomes a safe option.
What About Sugar and Blood Glucose?
Honey is roughly 80% sugar by weight, mostly fructose and glucose, so it’s not a free pass. Its glycemic index is around 58, compared to 60 for table sugar. That’s a small difference, and for most people fighting a cold, the amount in a few spoonfuls won’t matter much.
If you have type 2 diabetes, be more cautious. Studies show honey causes a lower blood sugar spike than pure glucose, but it still raises blood sugar meaningfully. Research on diabetic patients who consumed honey regularly showed decreases in fasting blood sugar in some cases, but also increases in HbA1c, a marker of long-term blood sugar control. A couple of teaspoons when you’re sick is unlikely to cause problems for most people with well-managed diabetes, but it’s worth factoring into your overall sugar intake for the day rather than treating it as medicine with no metabolic cost.
What Honey Can and Can’t Do
Honey is genuinely useful for the symptoms that make a cold or upper respiratory infection feel awful: the cough that won’t stop, the throat that burns when you swallow, the restless nights. It works at least as well as OTC cough suppressants for these specific complaints, it’s inexpensive, and it’s available in most kitchens. It also provides a cheap alternative to unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions for viral infections where antibiotics wouldn’t help anyway.
What honey won’t do is fight the virus itself, reduce a fever, clear sinus congestion, or replace medical treatment for bacterial infections like strep throat or pneumonia. Think of it as a reliable symptom manager, not a treatment for the underlying illness. For the miserable days of a common cold, though, that’s exactly what most people need.