Influenza is causing great concern worldwide. A “pandemic” is determined when a new influenza virus emerges for which there is no vaccine and for which people have little or no immunity. Spread of the disease is worldwide. The ‘seat’ of this infection is in the country of Mexico. Many countries are screening travelers coming in from Mexico and stopping citizens from traveling to Mexico. In the US, state and federal health departments are testing to diagnose this particular viral strain and to produce and stock enough medicine to treat it. Differentiations between this flu virus and other strains have not yet been published, although doctors report that this virus manifests with more symptoms of dizziness and light-headedness. The good news it that there are natural remedies that we can use to both prevent and treat such viral infections like swine flu. Generally, the protocol is to increase the dosage of preventative measures if you end up contracting the disease.
Prevention
1. Build up the immune system
• Get sufficient rest
• Eliminate sugar from the diet (2 ounces of sugar – one soft drink -, suppresses the immune system by about 40% for at least five hours)
• Get fresh air, sunshine, exercise (taking deep breathes) daily
• Take supplements daily
Vitamin C 1000-2000 mg (1-2 grams)
Vitamin E 100-200 IU
Vitamin D3 4,000 IU
Vitamin A 25,000 IU (preferably as beta-carotene)
Zinc 40 mg
Selenium 200 mcg
Essential Fatty Acids Evening Primrose Oil or Cod Liver Oil
2. Botanical Preparations
Useful herbs include Echinacea, Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum), Elderberry or Elder blossoms (Sambucus nigra).), Lime Blossom (Tilia europia), Peppermint, Astragalus, Shitake or Miatake Mushrooms, Garlic, and Ginger. Drink various combinations of these herbs as a tea and sweeten as you like (Honey, Stevia, Elderberry syrup). Include mushrooms in your diet 3 or 4 times a week and put lots of garlic in everything that you possibly cook. (Garlic sandwiches, anyone?)
Suggested Preparations
Immune-Stimulating Soup:
Broth with garlic, shitake or maitake mushrooms, astragalus root, ginger, parsley. Add some garlic oil in last 3 minutes of cooking.
Hot cider with elderberries, lemon juice, ginger slices, cinnamon and cloves
Tea made with equal parts elder flowers, lime blossoms and chamomile flowers. Make tea with 2-3 teaspoons of the herb mixture steeped in 1 cup boiling water. Leave to infuse 10 minutes and drink immediately.
Treatment Suggestions
• Black Cohosh as tincture or as a tea
• Boneset and Yarrow tea with Elderberry syrup
• Echinacea and Astragalus tincture in tea of licorice root, thyme, ginger and elderberry syrup
• Salt & Pepper Tea: Mix to a paste: 1 ½ tsp. cayenne, and 1 tsp salt; add to 1 c. boiling water. Steep until cool and add 1 c. apple cider vinegar. Take 1 tablespoon every hour
• Garlic Lemonade: Infuse a few chopped garlic bulbs in 1 qt. hot water; add juice of 2 lemons and honey or Stevia to taste
When you say “include mushrooms in your diet 3 or 4 times a week”, do you mean the shitake or maitake mushrooms, or will any kind of mushroom do?
Cherie Reply:
April 30th, 2009 at 10:07 am
All mushrooms contain chemicals that have medicinal qualities – mainly polysaccarides. These have anti-tumor and immunostimulating properties. So if you are eating mushrooms, you are getting benefits. Of course, some have been proven to have stronger effects and if you are hoping to boost your immune response, it would be well to go with these specific species. I mentioned two, but more have been added to the list in the last few years and commercial preparations (capsules) containing great combinations are available at health food stores. You can buy dried shitake mushrooms (even at places like Costco) and these are great to have on hand to reconstuct in soups and even in water to saute or to add to other dishes. Here in Oregon we have access to mushroom growers so I buy fresh miatake, shitake and oyster mushrooms. I preserve them by sauteing them briefly in butter, cooling them and putting them in serving-size bags in the freezer. They freeze well and I have a constant supply. Works great! Combining mushrooms with seaweed in miso soup is wonderful for boosting the immune system, too.
Timely Mom Reply:
April 30th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
@Cherie, Thanks! That’s really helpful.