With the flu season dragging on, many people are conducting their own research into natural and safe alternatives that don’t have severe side effects.
Research has found that it is possible to safely and effectively use high antioxidant herbs and high-quality supplements to naturally increase the immune system.
To avoid colds and flu this winter, here are some natural and safe alternatives to boost immunity.
Maritime Pine
The extract contains bioflavonoids and catechin, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, procyanidins, and taxifolin.
It has some of the most abundant polyphenolic substances in the plant kingdom.
These are called Oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs) – revealed by Jacques Cartier, a French Explorer who led a winter expedition up the St Lawrence River in New York in 1534.
His crew soon found themselves trapped by ice and were forced to survive on hard biscuits and salted meat.
They then began to show signs and symptoms of scurvy long before anyone knew what caused it.
By chance, a Native American showed them how to make tea from the needles and bark of pine trees.
To their surprise, the men got better and survived. Maritime Pine contains a potent antioxidant, anti-mutagenic, anti-carcinogenic, antiinflammatory, and antiviral activities.
Its benefits are currently used for antioxidant therapy, asthma, diabetes, cholesterol reduction, chronic venous insufficiency and leg ulcers as well as for hypertension, gingival bleeding/plaque, oedema, retinopathy, sunburn.
It is shown to have antioxidant activity in several in-vitro, in-vivo, and human studies.
The extract reduces lipid peroxidation and oxidation of LDL (the bad cholesterol).
Sweet Wormwood
Extracts have been used in traditional Chinese medicine and are used for many infectious microbial and viral diseases worldwide.
Artemisinin, the extract of Sweet Wormwood, is a potent antimalarial.
Its various synthetic derivatives are among some of the most widely used malarial drugs in the world.
In 2015, the Nobel Prize was awarded to researchers who created treatments for some of humanity’s most prominent diseases, including malaria, river blindness, and other parasitic infections.
There may be more to sweet wormwood than just the derivative of artemisinin.
A clinical trial showed that a decoction of sweet wormwood effectively eliminated symptoms and dramatically lowered parasite burden in adults with chronic malaria.
The cure rates were, on average, 74%, despite providing far lower levels of artemisinin than used as an isolated drug.
Ongoing work is still needed to identify all the synergistic compounds in sweet wormwood.
In 2021, an in vitro study found that sweet wormwood extracts inhibited SARS-CoV-2 (the infectious substance of COVID-19) infection.
The extracts’ active component was likely something besides artemisinin (or combining elements) that block the virus’ entry into the body.
Andrographis
This herb has a very long history of use for bacterial and viral infections.
It’s effective for treating symptoms of colds, including sneezing, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat, hoarseness, cough, chills, and fevers.
An essential scientific finding was that a dose of 6gms daily of Andrographis is equivalent to, if not better, than paracetamol to treat sore throats and fevers, especially in upper respiratory tract infections.
Zinc
Needed for more than 200 enzymatic reactions in the body, zinc is crucial for the normal development and function of white blood cells.
A deficiency will dramatically reduce the ability to fight viruses and bacteria.
Zinc is essential to produce the antibodies needed to remember previous infections and protect against them in the future.
Vitamin C
In reasonably high doses, Vitamin C increases the activity of infection-fighting white blood cells.
It is most effective when given at the same time as zinc.
Most Vitamin C is held in the adrenal glands, which are essentially the stress glands of your body.
If you have been under stress or unwell a considerable amount of time, chances are that Vitamin C stores have been depleted.
Vitamin D3
High doses of Vitamin D3 are responsible for your immune system.
It can help push auto-immune disorders into remission and helps protect against respiratory conditions, aids in regulating calcium and phosphorous for bone health, lifts mood by supporting neurotransmitter production, builds immunity against foreign pathogens and helps cognition.
Vitamin D3 also soothes inflammatory conditions in the body, suppresses renin to lower blood pressure and assists in the growth of new cells.
Trudy Kither is a naturopath and owner of Nature’s Temple at Palmwoods. Visit naturestemple.net.
