Herbal Q & A
By Bodil Meleney
October 2006
Q : Several
people I know succumbed to the flu/cold that went around this summer. How
can I protect myself and minimize my risk of becoming frequently ill this
winter?
 |
Local herbalist Bodil Meleney answers your questions in our quarterly Health sections. If you have a question for her, send it to herbalist@takoma.com.
|
A: Fall
is a good time to start protecting your immune system, one of our most
important tools for remaining healthy, even as others fall ill around us. To
protect oneself, one first needs understand what the immune system is and
what undermines it.
The Immune system includes the thymus, spleen, lymph nodes, tonsils, bone
marrow, skin including mucous membranes (a large part of the
immune system resides in the gut), liver and various immune cells and is
separated in the deep (from the ground up) and the surface (which can be
stimulated) immune system. Among the things that undermine our defenses
are; an immune system weakened by constitution or illness, poor
nutrition, chemical pollutions; environmental and other, alcohol,
tobacco, excess use of prescription and over the counter drugs, illicit
drugs, continuous lack of adequate sleep and rest, as well as inadequate
exercise and finally ongoing/unrelieved stress.
We are surrounded by viruses, bacteria and people who are ill all the
time, but with a healthy immune system, you can survive in style. To
do that one needs to work on several levels, both the physical and the
mental/emotional. There are certainly herbs that help, but you have to
lay the groundwork. Good nutrition from clean, preferably organic
food sources gives the body and the brain the nutrients, macro and micro
that it needs to function properly. There are many nutrients that
are vital. Clean water is also necessary, since so many chemicals
are leeched into our water supply. Adequate sleep on an ongoing
basis makes it possible for the body to unstress, the brain to defragment
and the body's "maintenance crew" a chance to "sweep" the system clean. Adequate
exercise is necessary, also to promote good circulation of blood and lymph
and also a circle of supportive people, friends, family, etc. An
ongoing system of stress management is another key point, with components
that can be used in especially stressful critical situations. .
There are many models around.
There are of course a number of herbs that help the immune function, but
they should be employed as an addition to aforementioned strategies. These
herbs are categorized as immune potentiators, immunostimmulants and adjunct
categories as lymphatic tonics, alteratives, etc. The herbs come
from a variety of herbal systems; Western, Chinese, South American, Native
American, etc. Many of the herbs straddle more than one herbal category
in how they work. Immune potentiators are herbs that "build" the
immune system in the deep, they include; the mushrooms (maitake, shitake,
reishi, cordycept, etc), astagalus, schizandra, rhodiola, ligustrum,
licorice, etc. The best know herb that stimulates the immune system
is probably Echinacea, but there are others; cat's claw, andographis, isatis,
thuja, garlic, elderberry, yarrow, etc.
While herbs are sometimes given singly, in my view a well constructed
formula to "catch" the various aspects of protecting the immune system
is better. There are tinctures, teas, pills and capsules. Remember
that some individuals are allergic to certain herbs, for example Echinacea. But
a few others may have idiosyncratic reactions to individual herbs. Individuals
who have auto-immune problems need to be especially careful of the immune
stimulating herbs as they will push an already heightened immune system. As
always, if you are concerned with either an herb in a formula or which
formula or herb to get, consult with a trained herbalist. They will
in addition to the formulas available over the counter have others that
may be better suited to your needs.
No comments have been posted to this article.
Want to post a comment to this article? Click here.
|
