As we enter cold and flu season, people may be looking for natural health resources to enhance their immunity and ward off illness.

Ginger tea – recommended for a number of years to ease conditions including nausea and motion sickness – may also be effective at fighting off colds, experts suggest.

Dr. Chun-Su Yuan, director of the Tang Center for Herbal Medicine Research at the University of Chicago, told ABC News that the herb is commonly used in certain areas of China when people feel a cold coming on.

“You drink it several times a day when you feel symptoms, especially before going to bed,” he told the news provider.

The tea is concocted by placing small pieces of fresh, peeled, and finely chopped ginger root into boiling water, then steeping it for between five and ten minutes.

After straining out the ginger, you may also add the white part of a scallion, which the Chinese believe aids perspiration.

Yuan said that in that country, sweating is commonly thought to help cure colds.

Ginger has been used in cooking for more than 4,400 years and for medicinal purposes for over 2,000 years, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.