Cold and Flu Season

Rebecca Adams, MH

It’s that time of year, again. School is back in session, you don’t have enough hours in the day to get through your to-do list, you’re shopping for holiday gifts and you (or the kids) have the flu.

Each year in the US, on average 5-20% of the population get the flu (according to the Centers for Disease Control). More than 200,000 people are hospitalized for the flu each year and an estimated 36,000 people die each year from the flu.

Symptoms of the flu include:

• Fever (usually high)
• Headache
• Extreme tiredness
• Dry cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle aches

You can catch the flu by touching something (the telephone, doorknob, stair and wall rails) that has been contaminated with the flu virus. Occasionally, you can also catch the flu by inhaling small droplets of mucus infected with the flu virus. You can’t catch the flu by getting cold or wet. You are, however, more prone to catch the flu when your resistance (immune system) is down.

The time to prevent a cold or the flu is when you don’t have them. To help your immune system keep you healthy, here are some things you can do:

• Wash your hands! Washing your hands frequently, and keeping them away from your mouth, nose and eyes is one of the best methods of preventing infection.
• Eat right. This means lots of fruits and vegetables. Every year, more and more antioxidants are found in fresh fruits and vegetables. If your diet is deficient, your body becomes deficient in response.
• Take time for yourself. Stress is one of the leading causes of a compromised immune system. Take the time each day for prayer, meditation, and exercise. Remember, with all the hustle and bustle, that you can’t take care of everything else if you don’t first take care of yourself.
• Drink plenty of fluids. Keeping yourself hydrated helps your body flush out toxins, bacteria and ‘unwanted’ creatures. A healthy adult should drink as much as 64 ounces of fluid each day.
• Get plenty of rest and sleep. Your body needs this rest as well as good sleep to ‘fix’ itself.

What if you have already come down with the flu or a cold?

Drink plenty of liquids! Hot liquids such as herbal teas and chicken soup enhance the helpful effects of these fluids. Irwin Ziment, M.D., pulmonary specialist and professor at the UCLA School for Medicine, says chicken soup contains drug-like agents similar to those in modern cold medicines. For example, an amino acid released from chicken during cooking chemically resembles the drug acetylcysteine, prescribed for bronchitis and other respiratory problems. Stephen Rennard, M.D., chief of pulmonary medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha tested his wife's grandmother's chicken soup recipe in his laboratory, finding it did have medicinal value because it limited the movement of neutrophils, the white cells in the blood that fight infection. Neutrophils actually remove bacteria from the body, but in the process they stimulate the production of mucus - one of the irritating symptoms of colds and the flu.

The Nebraska study, published in the October 2000 issue of Chest, did not clarify what in the soup produced the health benefit. But it suggested the ingredients - which included chicken, onions, sweet potatoes, parsnips, turnips, carrots, celery, parsley, salt and pepper - somehow worked together to create a beneficial brew. Some liquids with high concentrations of sugars, fructose, sucrose or orange juice have been shown to reduce the body’s abilities to fight off bacteria and flu bugs.

Astragalus, Elderberry and Echinacea herbal extracts are very good supplements to help prevent infection with the flu and are also very good in reducing the severity and duration of the flu. In scientific studies of astragalus in the United States and China, the root of this herb has been shown to increase nearly every phase of immune-system activity. One study showed that long-term use (thirty-five days) heightened immune-cell activity ranging from the speed with which immune cells develop to the speed with which they travel in the body. Another showed that astragalus increases the production and storage of interferon, a substance that alerts the body to invading viruses and bacteria and stimulates cells to begin their defense, and to increase interferon's effects in fighting illnesses such as the common cold.

Several good herbal tea formulas which contain ingredients such as Elderflowers and Elderberries (anti-viral), sage (anti-inflammatory), garlic (anti-bacterial, anti-viral and contains vitamins A, C and E), Licorice (throat soothing), cinnamon/cayenne/ginger (warming herbs which help ‘burn off’ a fever) can be very helpful in relieving the symptoms and duration of the flu.

Supplementing with elderberry during the flu may reduce its symptoms. Elderberry is an herb that causes an increase in viral antibodies. While elderberry is available as an individual supplement, it is also frequently combined with other vitamins, minerals, glandular extracts, or herbs for maximum cold and flu symptom relief.

Garlic:  Garlic is known to kill influenza virus in test tubes. It also stimulates the immune system and wards off complications such as bronchitis.  Garlic contains several helpful compounds, including allicin, one of the plant kingdom's most potent, broad-spectrum antibiotics. This herb's aromatic compounds are readily released from the lungs and respiratory tract, putting garlic's active ingredients right where they can be most effective against cold viruses.

Using Eucalyptus oil, Tea Tree Oil, Lemon Oil, Peppermint Oil and Lavender Oil in a vaporizer, diffusing them into the room or using them in bath salts are also helpful to make breathing easier when you suffer from upper respiratory symptoms associated with colds and flu.

Holistic practitioners often recommend taking several cloves of raw garlic per day during an infection. A garlic vinegar is a wonderful addition to your diet as a salad dressing or even mixed with a glass of water.

According to the World Health Organization, acupuncture has been shown to help the Common Cold and Acute Sinusitis. Acupuncture can help rebalance energy, regulate the Qi and stimulate the immune system. Several clinical studies have demonstrated that acupuncture and herbal medicine in particular reduce the incidence of upper respiratory tract infection and shorten the length of time one is ill. When you get sick with the flu, do not wait. Start acupuncture treatments in the early stages.

Reiki Therapy also helps balance the body’s energy which then boosts the immune system.

There is a full spectrum of health care services available in the treatment of colds and flu.

Individuals should seek care from a licensed health care practitioner if they have a fever that lasts longer than three days, are coughing up yellow-green mucus, or have chest pain that occurs with breathing. These symptoms may signal more serious conditions.

- Rebecca Adams, Master Herbalist

Oral elderberry extract safe and effective treatment for symptoms of influenza A and B virus infections.

J. Int Med Res. 2004 Mar-Apr; 32(2):132-40, Department of Virology, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.

Elderberry has been used in folk medicine for centuries to treat influenza, colds and sinusitis, and has been reported to have antiviral activity against influenza and herpes simplex. We investigated the efficacy and safety of oral elderberry syrup for treating influenza A and B infections. Sixty patients (aged 18-54 years) suffering from influenza-like symptoms for 48 h or less were enrolled in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study during the influenza season of 1999-2000 in Norway. Patients received 15 ml of elderberry or placebo syrup four times a day for 5 days, and recorded their symptoms using a visual analogue scale. Symptoms were relieved on average 4 days earlier and use of rescue medication was significantly less in those receiving elderberry extract compared with placebo. Elderberry extract seems to offer an efficient, safe and cost-effective treatment for influenza. These findings need to be confirmed in a larger study.

The above mentioned herbal and essential oil products can be purchased through Integrated Health Concepts. Visit our office resource center at 1927 Highway 11W in Bristol, TN

(This article is from our 4th Qtr 2005 Newsletter)

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