Three of Our Favourite Flu Fighters
/
Our immune systems are complicated and they are constantly at work. There's no magic bullet that will allow our bodies to immediately defeat all flus and colds, but there are a lot of amazing natural substances out there that can help support our health. Because we're heading into sniffles season once again, we've put together a quick overview of three of our favourite immune boosters: elderberry, echinacea, and oregano.
Elderberry, pictured above, has a rich and well-known history as a traditional medicine that has been used in many countries for many years to ease flus and colds. Though more research needs to be done to officially clinically support this, elderberries definitely are packed full of vitamin C and other great things, like vitamin B and iron, which your system can make very good use of. It’s now widely available and very popular in syrup form, which makes it super convenient to get a concentrated dose—that also happens to be very tasty. (Always a bonus, especially when you’re feeling kind of down!)
Echinacea is a flowering plant with a few different varieties. It’s actually part of the daisy family! Echinacea purpurea is the specific variety that’s used so widely as a natural health remedy. There are many different ways to prepare different parts of the plant and there are many different cold and flu strains out there—overall studies have shown that echinacea can boost white blood cell counts (white blood cells are your ‘fighter’ cells) and shorten the duration of colds and flus. It’s available in many forms, including tinctures, capsules, and teas, and is often added as an ingredient to natural health preparations like lozenges and syrups.
Yes, this is the herb you use for your spaghetti sauce. But when we say oregano is one of our favourite flu fighters, we’re talking about oil of oregano. Oil of oregano is created by steam distillation of the herb. It is clinically recognised as having strong antimicrobial properties that can even help subdue infections like strep throat. It’s often taken as a dose of a few drops in a glass of water, but even diluted people can find it very strong. Fortunately there are capsules available for those who just aren’t into the taste at all!
As a final note, we’d like to remind you that this is not medical advice, and we would always encourage you to see your health care professional for guidance regarding any illness you are fighting or supplements you are taking or planning to take. And don’t forget that one of the very best ways to avoid getting knocked out by the common cold is just the plain and simple remedy of plenty of good sleep combined with lots of nutritious food to keep your immune system in top shape!