As if there isn’t enough fear mongering about the regular old flu, now this year we have to worry about the coronavirus too. Luckily there are plenty of immunomodulators and immune boosters in the herbal world to help keep us stay healthy despite the extra viruses and germs that love to play their games in the wintertime. Immunomodulators are herbs that help the immune work optimally in any condition, so if you have an overactive immune system for example, an immunomodulator will help take it down a notch, but if your immune system is suppressed and sluggish, or just fighting off too many invaders at once, an immunomodulator will help beef up the system. An immune booster has one direction it acts in, it boosts an immune system that needs reinforcements. An immunomodulator can be used all winter long, but a booster is used when you feel yourself coming down with something, or you know you are inundated with germs around you such as at a school with lots of sneezing-coughing-touchy kids around you, and you do not have an overactive immune system issue such as crohns disease, endometriosis, graves disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or any others. You use a booster when you first feel like maybe you might be coming down with something, the sooner you start the better, and then use it through the sickness and a day or two after, then stop. Even if you still get sick, the herbs will help you recover more quickly and not get as sick, kind of like a light version of the virus. If you are lucky and able to rest a bit in those early moments, the herbs just might kick your immune system into gear enough to beat it before it has the chance to take you down at all. The most popular of these herbs is the familiar echinacea, and with good reason. It packs a powerful punch if you get it in at the start of a sickness. The most popular immunomodulator is astragalus. My herbal mentor always said that in China, grandmothers put a slice of astragalus in thier soups all winter long to keep everyone in their families healthy. This is a slice the dried root:
I use the powdered version myself and put it in my sons’ and my smoothies in the mornings. Mushrooms are incredible for the immune system and can seriously overhaul an immune system within three to six months. I have a post on them here and you can check out this website for more information about mushrooms from their biggest supporter and fan and founder of Fungi Perfecti, Paul Stamets.
One thing all those herbs above have in common is that they are an *acquired* taste. You can take any of them in capsule form of course, but tinctures and teas are best for avoiding the questionable digestive system and being sure to get the herbal goodness into your blood stream. That’s where elderberry shines. Elderberry is an herb you can take all winter long and also will help fight a cold or flu once it has taken hold. (You just take a higher dose if you feel you are coming down with something, and continue with the higher does until it has been gone a day or two.) And elderberry isn’t a root or rhizome or mushroom like the others mentioned, it’s a berry, which means it’s berry delicious! OK, maybe it’s not going to be your favorite fruit, but as far as immune boosting herbs goes, it is the top flavor winner any old day, especially among kids. I had my sons try a sample that I was just sent of elderberry gummies and both liked them a lot and one threatened to eat the whole bottle right then and there so they are definitely a hit (which apparently I will need to hide and dole out in a reasonable fashion). They sent a syrup too, and elderberry syrup is a classic way to take the herb as well so I’m excited to see how my boys like that one. If you have kids who are around other kids, I highly suggest adding elderberry into their winter wellness repertoire, and it certainly doesn’t hurt us adults either!
Another thing I would like to also mention is that cooking with herbs, any herbs, is going to boost the health of the meal and contribute to your own health. Almost all herbs found in the average kitchen cabinet have benefits ranging from antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, digestives, etc, that contribute to just a healthier life. It is well known that the star ingredient in Tamiflu is truly a star~ star anise that is. Many pharmaceuticals are in fact made with herbal foundations, though of course by the time they are through with it and can patent a drug it is not a natural product anymore whatsoever, but star anise has been used for hundreds of years for it’s health promoting properties and you can still work with the herb yourself at home all winter long. Adding such common herbs as thyme, oregano, and rosemary to your soups and sauces will impart excellent health-promoting properties, and of course the more garlic you cook with, the better! As Hippocrates famously said, “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine by thy food.”
Thank you Sambucol for the samples of elderberry gummies and syrup! We appreciate their taste as well as their immune support powers for sure because all three of us go to schools every day and there is so much sneezing, sniffling, and coughing right now that I am spraying my little room with an essential oil room spray after every single class period. I see kids using antibacterial hand goop all day long too and I really want to tell them that it’d be a lot more effective to boost their immune systems from the inside out instead of relying on that quick ‘fix’.
Stay well out there friends! Spring is on its way….