Strictly's Dr Punam 'hug in a mug' recipe to banish sore throats and coughs

Dr Punam Krishan is on Strictly Come Dancing - and her recipe could help your cold or flu this winter.

If you want to get rid of your sore throat and banish that cough for good, well at least until your next illness, then you may want to make a drink called a 'hug in a mug'. Made by Dr Punam Krishan, BBC Morning Live's resident GP who also works for the NHS, the recipe involves warming ingredients that you can pick up at your local store and is ideal for this time of year as we enter the colder seasons.

Mentioned on the BBC show when talking about the cold and flu, presenter Helen Skelton said: "Dr Punam has her own recipe for 'hug in a mug' which is good for coughs and sore throats" with Gethin Jones, also a presenter, joking: "She'll be downing that on the lead up to Strictly."

The health expert is currently performing on Strictly Come Dancing with her professional dancing partner, Gorka. Her appearance comes as she is urging people to start taking one vitamin "now" and she couldn't stress enough how important it is. Dr Punam aka @drpunamkrishan on TikTok said: "Something that I’ve been seeing a lot of the last couple of weeks as people really badly affected with chest infections, bad cold, sore throat, sore ears, sinusitis, Covid is doing the rounds - and there’s a few reasons for that.

"The first most important one is when the weather changes a lot of us in Scotland would say that we’ve had zero summer and I’d agree with that, but we are now in autumn and heading towards winter and when that happens it’s a perfect opportunity for viruses to start spreading."

There's another opportunity however for viruses and bacteria to spread with people coming back from their holidays and kids returning to school. This can "make us feel as miserable as possible" the expert said. But thankfully, there is something that we can do with the doctor warning that we need to start "now".

Dr Punam explains: "There’s something we can order to help support the immune system so this is your friendly GP reminder that if you haven’t already been taking it, start taking your vitamin D now. I can’t emphasise how important this is. We should be taking it all year round especially if you’ve someone like me who has dark skin, if you have to cover up for whatever reason so you have literally very little exposure you should be taking your now. It’s only 10 micrograms - that’s all you need."

So how do you make it and how much does it make? Here is everything you need to know - including one vitamin the doctor says you need to start taking "now".

Dr Punam's 'Hug in a Mug' Golden Milk - full recipe

This makes one mug and takes just minutes to make. Read the full recipe below and watch the episode where they talk about it here.

Ingredients:

• 1 mug of milk of your choice
• 2-3 cardamom pods, shelled
• Pinch of aniseed or fennel seeds
• Fresh ginger, chopped
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• Pinch of cinnamon
• 1 tbsp honey
• Pinch of black pepper to season at the end

Method:

1. Grind your cardamom pods and aniseed.
2. Heat up your milk in a saucepan and add the cardamom and aniseed.
3. Add in the ginger and let it come to a simmer.
4. Add in the turmeric, cinnamon and honey and bring it to a boil. Let it bubble away for a few minutes to let the flavours of the spices blend in.
5. Sieve it into a mug and sprinkle some black pepper and cinnamon on the top.