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Astragalus, Olive Leaf, and Other Herbs Fight Colds and Flu Naturally!
2. Astragalus Root
Astragalus root is native to Mongolia and China, and has been used for thousands of years to ward off illness, strengthen the immune system, and promote chi—the building block of all spiritual and physical energy. While over 2,000 types of astragalus exist worldwide, the Chinese version has been extensively tested, both chemically and pharmacologically.
Astragalus enhances immune function by:
- Increasing the activity of certain white blood cells
- Increasing the production of antibodies
- Increasing the production of interferon (an anti-viral, anti-tumor agent)
- Stimulating natural killer cells
Astragalus has antibacterial, adaptogenic, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral effects.
According to James Duke, Ph.D., a leading authority on healing herbs, astragalus increases production of the body’s own antiviral compounds alpha- and gamma-interferon, which generally protect against viral invasion.
Astragalus also enhances T-cell production and stimulates macrophages, which in turn help other immune cells fight bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi, toxins, and diseased cells.
Active constituents
Astragalus contains numerous components, including polysaccharides, flavonoids, triterpene glycosides, amino acids, and trace minerals. It owes most of its immune-enhancing effects to polysaccharides, a group of complex sugars responsible for initiating the immune response. Polysaccharides work with other key components to build a strong immune system.
Scientific studies
In a small Chinese study, 10 people whose heart muscles were infected with Coxsackie B virus—the cause of myocarditis or heart inflammation—received injections of astragalus extract for three to four months. The activity of their natural killer cells raised 11–45%.
European studies suggest that many of the immune-stimulating compounds in astragalus are active when taken orally.
Another Chinese study found that astragalus increased immune function in patients with congestive heart failure.
A recent Japanese study tested the effect of astragalus (and two other root extracts) on laboratory animals and found that it did in fact stimulate immune response.
Is it safe?
Astragalus is safe to take on a regular basis and has no known side effects when used as recommended.
3. Olive Leaf Extract (Olea europaea L.)
The olive tree, a small evergreen native to Mediterranean regions, has been revered throughout history for its contribution to the culinary and healing arts. It has been used for thousands of years as a folk remedy for treating fevers, wounds, infection, and for skin rashes and boils.
Current scientific research has shown that the active ingredients in olive leaves do indeed have vast healing powers. Olive leaf extract has been used effectively against:
- Viruses
- Retroviruses
- Bacterium
- Parasites
- Yeasts
- Protozoans
- Fungi
- Molds
- Other microbes and diseases in laboratory testing
Researchers also believe that the natural antioxidants found in olive leaves prevent cardiovascular disease by inhibiting the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) the “bad” cholesterol. This slows the formation of atherosclerotic plaques.
Olive leaf extract also plays a role in supporting normal blood pressure and in reducing the risks associated with stroke, by inhibiting the production of thromboxane—a factor in blood clotting.
Active constituents
Olive leaf has a variety of active constituents including several types of flavonoids (apigenin, luteolin, chrysoeriol, hesperidin, rutin, quercetin, and kaempferol). Its most abundant active ingredient, called oleuropein, has proved to be a powerful antioxidant and antimicrobial.
Scientific studies
The components of olive leaf extract inactivated every cold and flu virus they were tested against!
In other words: nothing could beat it!
Oleuropein may also have antibacterial properties. When unheated olives are brined in order to preserve them, oleuropein is converted into another chemical called elenolic acid. Elenolic acid has shown antibacterial actions against Lactobacilli and Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilus in a test tube study.
An in-vitro study revealed that oleuropein and its derivative hydroxytyrosol act as natural antibiotics against a range of bacteria. Most impressively, these two components of olive leaf inhibited Staphylococcus aureus, the bacteria responsible for many hospital-acquired infections.
Staphylococcus aureus is notorious for its ability to mutate against antibiotics.
In other studies, oleuropein was found to be effective against dozens of different viruses, such as Staphylococcus, Haemorrhagic septicaemia, and HIV-1 infection.
Is it safe?
Olive leaf extract has been demonstrated to be safe and effective in animal experiments and by the hundreds of health practitioners around the country who have used it to treat their patients with remarkable results.
4. Elderberry Extract
Elderberry extract has traditionally been used to ease cold and flu symptoms, sinus problems, fevers, and muscle pain. In the 1980s, virologist Madeline Mumcuoglu, Ph.D, researched how elderberry fights the flu.
According to Mumcuoglu, flu viruses are covered by tiny protein spikes of hemagglutinin, which they use to attach to and infect healthy human cells.
Elderberry extract contains active substances that are able to prevent viral hemagglutinin, or the process of the invading cells using their spike-like projections to introduce its enzyme into healthy cell membranes. She further noted that the viral enzyme is also neutralized in the presence of elderberry extract.
Active constituents
Elderberry contains rutin and quercertin (flavonoids), vitamin C (anti-oxidant), and anthocyanins.
Scientific research
In 1993, a team of Israeli scientists studied the effect of elderberry on flu patients. During a flu epidemic at an Israeli Kibbutz, half of the flu patients were given elderberry syrup, the other half a placebo.
Within only two days, 90% of the group treated with elderberry extract had a complete recovery, whereas it took six days for 91.7% of the control group to recover.
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study, scientists assessed the effect of elderberry extract on the healthy immune system—namely, its effect on cytokine production. (Cytokines are small secreted proteins which mediate and regulate immunity and inflammation.) The production of inflammatory cytokines was tested using blood-derived monocytes from 12 healthy human donors.
The results: Production of inflammatory cytokines was significantly increased, leading the researchers to conclude that elderberry extract might be beneficial to the immune system activation and in the inflammatory process in healthy individuals or in patients with various diseases.
Elderberry extract could also have an immunoprotective or immunostimulatory effect when administered to cancer or AIDS patients, in conjunction with chemotherapeutic or other treatments.
Is it safe?
Elderberry is very safe for adults and children. No adverse effects have been reported.
5. Echinacea
Echinacea purpurea is a perennial herb native to the Midwestern and southeastern United States. Native Americans used it more than any other plant for treating illness and injury, including wounds, snakebites, burns, toothache, and joint pains.
Although echinacea’s popularity waned with the advent of antibiotics, it became respected among herbal practitioner's clinical applications. Researchers have discovered that the herb contains a diverse range of active components affecting different aspects of immune function.
Echinacea’s polysaccharide and phytosterol constituents support the immune system by activating white blood cells (lymphocytes and macrophages).
Echinacea also promotes nonspecific T-cell activation, a type of white blood cell important in providing resistance to mold like bacteria, yeast, fungi, parasites, and viruses (including herpes simplex, Epstein-Barr, and viruses that cause hepatitis).
The T-cells then increase the production of interferon, an important part of the body’s response to viral infections.
In addition, echinacea contains several components including the glycoside echinacoside and the polysaccharide echinacin, which have mild antibiotic and antifungal activity.
The polysaccharide constituents of echinacea roots have been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory properties, which promote tissue repair—which is why echinacea has a long history of use for the external treatment of wounds, burns, eczema, and other conditions.
Scientific studies
Several double-blind studies have confirmed the benefit of echinacea for treating colds and flu.
Vast amounts of positive outcome clinical studies support the use of echinacea for preventing and treating cold and flu, preventing and treating upper respiratory infections, and increasing general immune system function.
What about the brouhaha over the study published in the July 28, 2005, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine?
In case you didn’t read about it, it concluded that certain extracts of echinacea were statistically ineffective in lowering rates of infection or severity of symptoms of an induced cold virus in a group of 399 college students. And the media did a fantastic job of smearing echinacea as a reliable herb with powerful benefits.
It’s important to understand that the study was flawed. Although a majority of the scientific community acknowledges that the study was performed in a scientific manner by a reputable institute, Wayne Silverman, Chief Administrative Officer for the American Botanical Council, pointed out three main flaws of the study:
First, the extracts used in the study were made in a university lab, and they were not comparable to any echinacea products currently sold.
Even in the published discussion of the study, researchers said, “Given the great variety of echinacea preparations, it will be difficult to provide conclusive evidence that echinacea has no role in the treatment of the common cold.”
The second problem was the dosage administered. Silverman said, “We believe that with more frequent and higher dosage, the results might have been different. The dosage used in the study was probably one-third of what it should have been.”
The real problem is that all echinacea products are not equal. The right active constituents must be identified and standardized. Researchers make a huge mistake when they test an echinacea product without these qualifications.
The third problem was that using a group of college students in a sequestered environment would not likely produce the same results as using subjects with weaker immune systems, such as the elderly.
“Unfortunately,” said Silverman, “the results [of this study] have been extrapolated to mean echinacea is not effective, period. This study should not be used as a reason to think echinacea is not effective at all.”
Additionally, some health care professionals believe that coverage of the study was biased, since media sources positioned such a poorly designed study as front-page news.
The question that comes up, then, is why does the media ignore news pieces on well-designed studies such as the study that appeared in The Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics in 2004?
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study on standardized echinacea preparation [Echinilin], a commercially produced echinacea preparation, clinically proved that echinacea significantly reduced the severity and duration of the common cold.
The 282 subjects aged 18-65 years with a history of two or more colds in the previous year, but otherwise in good health, received either echinacea or placebo. They were instructed to start the echinacea or placebo at the onset of the first symptom related to a cold, consuming 10 doses the first day and four doses per day on subsequent days for 7 days.
The severity of the symptoms and dosing were recorded daily, and a nurse examined the subjects on the mornings of days 3 and 8 of their cold.
128 of the subjects got a common cold; 59 took echinacea and 69 took a placebo. The total daily symptom scores were found to be 23.1% lower in the echinacea group. Throughout the treatment period, the response rate to treatments was greater in the echinacea group.
The researchers concluded that early intervention with a standardized formulation of echinacea resulted in reduced symptom severity in subjects with naturally acquired upper respiratory tract infection.
Is it safe?
Most of the studies of echinacea have shown it to be a safe herb with very limited side effects.
Conclusion
You now have the information you need to protect yourself and your family from getting sick this winter. Stock up on the immune-enhancing herbs, cut down on sugar and alcohol consumption, get plenty of rest, and use common sense. If there’s a flu epidemic in your neck of the woods, go to the grocery store when there’s less likely to be a crowd. Don’t go to the movies. Instead, rent videos. Wash your hands frequently.
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