Calm your cold: 3 common remedies to soothe seasonal sniffles

It's that time of year — time to break out the boots, light up the fireplace, and restock your over-the-counter cold medicine.

But maybe this year you're not so keen on the de rigueur drowsiness that comes with Tylenol Cold or the sugary aftertaste of Emergen-C. If so, consider the power of plants to up your immunity and help you hedge infections.

Chances are, you've already tried elderberry in some form or another, as this deep-purple berry has definitely gone mainstream in the past few years.

Also called sambucus, elderberry is antifungal, antibacterial and antimicrobial, so it's good at knocking out any kind of crud you've got going on. There's evidence that elderberry is effective at treating the flu, as well.

Another well known immune booster is echinacea, aka coneflower. It works by stimulating the immune system to produce natural killer cells and other sickness-fighters.

A 2015 meta-analysis concluded that echinacea may benefit folks with low immune function the most, even reducing the risk for a cold up to 35%.

Yes, ginger will soothe an upset stomach, but it's also great for boosting your overall immunity during cold and flu season.

This versatile plant (which has been shown to be antimicrobial, antibiotic, and anti-inflammatory) lends its natural fire to many different uses — sip on a ginger tea, head to the juice bar for a fresh ginger shot if you're feeling icky, or just add more ginger to your cooking.

Garlic's powers go well beyond making food taste delicious. It's thought to stimulate the immune system and boost the efficacy of white blood cells, though studies are inconclusive.

Garlic is really easy to use — eat it every day to keep yourself feeling top notch. Up your garlic intake when you're actually sick, too. Make a super garlick-y soup (don't skimp on the bone broth, either), eat a couple of raw garlic cloves, roast a garlic bulb, or pack it into a jar of honey and let it sit for a few weeks to infuse.

This intense liquid, sometimes also called the Master Tonic, is kitchen medicine at its best: an intense mixture of garlic, ginger, onion, horseradish and hot peppers (plus any number of other immune-boosting ingredients like turmeric, or tasty ones like lemon or rosemary) marinated in apple cider vinegar.

Fire cider gets its efficacy from the communal power of these sinus-clearing, warming, infection-fighting plants — plus an extra boost from the fermented ACV. And yes, this immune brew will burn (in a good way!) going down.

You've probably heard this wellness world buzzword in the last few years — adaptogens — but may not be clear on what exactly it means.

Essentially, adaptogens are therapeutic herbs that support the body in combating and adapting to stress. They're great to use for people who get sick often, says Corbett, or in times of heavy stress, travel, or extra exposure to pathogens (rather than for every day maintenance or prevention).

Corbett explains that many people think that herbal remedies don't work, but that it's often because they aren't using enough.

One cup of your basic grocery store cold-fighting tea blend per day isn't really going to do much to help your immune system flush out any offending bacteria, especially once you're already showing symptoms.