to an article Doc wrote about building the immune system which you may find helpful:
http://www.futurevisionsfoundation.org/BoostingImmune.htmHere's some of the article:
For anyone who actually has the flu, there’s no substitute for European black elderberry extract. The first brand allowed into the US in the mid-90’s was called Sambuchol, but now Ecological Formulas and other companies make equivalent products that work fine. Before I started using a homeopathic flu prevention every year, I used to get the flu annually. This gave me a chance to test elderberry extract. I can personally claim similar results to those achieved in a 1993 placebo controlled trial. People who were given placebo in this trial had 6 days of misery on average. People given the black elderberry were well in 2 days. In my case, I had been woods-walking in a deep snow fall, got a little overly tired, and wound up with the flu. By taking elderberry extract, in about 36 hours my fever broke, and in less than 48 hours I was back out walking in what remained of the snow. That was so vastly different from every other year that I had gotten the flu, there was no doubt in my mind that it was the extract that made the difference. I’ve also used it for head colds with some mixed success. A flu virus has two basic components, a hemagglutinin that allows it to enter through the cell membrane, and a neuroaminidase that is involved in viral reproduction. Each flu virus species is named by these two components, such as “H1N1”. I used to think elderberry was a neuroaminidase inhibitor. I have since read that elderberry works on the hemagglutinin part of the flu virus, preventing the virus from entering healthy cells.
To avoid getting infectious diseases, there are some other immune boosters commonly available. For myself, starting in October and usually ending at the end of March, I take astragalus in a capsule form, one twice daily. Classically, astragalus is a Chinese herb used in soups and broths. It increases white blood cell activity (T-cells), increases antibody production, increases our production of virus fighting interferon molecules, and also acts as an adaptogen and anti-inflammatory. It is quite safe, although I’ve heard it said by Kerry Bone, Ph.D., an extremely knowledgeable herbalist, that if despite astragalus one gets a fever, one should stop taking astragalus and switch to Andrographis instead.
Andrographis is another traditional Chinese herb also used in Indian medicine. Currently, it is in common use in Sweden as a first-line treatment for flu and other upper respiratory infections. It is also reported as useful for digestive, cardiovascular and urinary tract disorders. This herb is not heard of in the United States as much as others I will mention, but actually has more scientific studies than some of the others. Several placebo controlled double blind studies have been done, and all showed that people with upper respiratory infections had statistically significant improvement as compared to people taking the placebo. It seems to help headache, tiredness, sore throat, nasal drainage and fever more than it does cough.
While most of the studies with andrographis have been done with people who are already sick, there is some evidence that it also helps with prevention of illness. There are minimal side effects and it’s safety record is excellent.
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