COLD AND FLU FIGHTERS

COLD AND FLU FIGHTERS
By author Rick Stewart

It’s cold and flu season, again, and you want the best possible protection. Over-the-counter medications abound once you have a cold or flu, but with more than 200 viruses capable of causing the common cold, conventional medicine hasn’t been able to offer us a cure or effective preventive strategy.

While the medical profession continues to decry any possibility of getting the flu from a flu shot, for many of us the jury is still out. Some people dutifully line up for their flu shots-only to find themselves with the worst cause of the flu they’ve ever experienced. And for those of us who choose to work with our bodies towards wellness, the very idea of any kind of vaccination is simply out of the question.

Enter enchinacea, nature’s answer to skating through the cold and flu season without incident. The introduction of enchinacea to the modern market has been credited to Swiss doctor Albert Vogel. Few people are aware that through his friendship with a Lakota Sioux medicine man, Black Eagle, that Dr. Vogel became aware of the remarkable benefits of this herb.

There are three main species of Echinacea widely available on the market today, but here we’ll dead with just angustifolia. This is the species Dr. Vogel was shown by Black Eagle. After centuries of trial with many herbs, the elders and medicine man of Lokata Sioux tribe made Enchinacea angustifolia their species of choice. It also became evident to them that, of the entire plant, the most benefits were received from the root.

Modern science has now shown that enchinacea enhances the production of white blood cells, which fight infection and other invaders intent on sneaking past the body’s defence mechanisms. Current research has revealed that enchinacea works best when taken for a few weeks, then off for a few weeks, then back on again and so on throughout the year-the idea being that the breaks between dosages allow the immune system to harmonize and increase naturally in strength.

Another powerful weapon in the fight against cold and flu is larch tree extract, a lesser known herb that the Lokata Sioux blended with Enchinacea angustifolia. Of the pine tree family, larch possesses an inner bark with astringent and gently stimulating qualities. Traditionally, it has been used to treat metabolic dysfunction, inflammation, diahhrea, rheumatism, bronchitis and asthma. In the herbal classic Back to Eden (Back to Eden Publishing Co., 1939). J. Kloss recommended the weak tea as an eyewash and the warm tea dropped in the ears to relieve earache.

So, no need to fret this cold and flu season when you find yourself surrounded by sniffling, sneezing coughing crowds. Taken together, Ecchinacea angustifolia and larch tree can be your most powerful allies to prevent those microscopic invaders from sneaking past your defences.
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