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Natural Ways to Boost Your Immune System
Have you ever noticed that there are some people who never (or rarely) seem to get sick, and others pick up everything that’s going around? Have you ever wondered why? While there are many factors that affect our immune systems ‘ including our age and exposure to good bacteria early in life ‘ there are a few additional secrets to warding off sickness and staying well.
As well as getting enough sleep, spending time in the sun, and eating a balanced, quality, whole-foods diet, herbal plants and their uses include helping to boost immunity. Here are some of the best healing plants and flowers for staying well and fighting off disease:
Vitamin C-Filled Herbs
It’s no secret that Vitamin C is a superb natural immune-booster, but you might not be aware that this superfood for health can actually be found in several spices and herbal plants in their use as condiments. According to Diet & Fitness Today, there are in fact 44 different herbs and spices that contain this all-important vitamin, including:
- Fresh thyme, with 160.1mg per serving
- Fresh dill, with 85mg per serving
- Saffron, with 80.8mg per serving
- Red or cayenne pepper, with 76.4mg per serving
While you can get a certain amount of Vitamin C from your food, it’s important to keep in mind that the amount of C needed to achieve significant and acute immune-boosting effects is many times higher than the official 60mg daily requirement. To illustrate this point, the study above used granulated buffered vitamin C in water given at a dosage of 60mg PER kg of body weight. However, when considering herbal plants and their uses for immunity, it’s good to know there’s some C in the mix!
Echinacea
Echinacea purpurea can sometimes get a bad rap among healing plants and flowers for its ‘imaginary’ role in helping with the common cold. Its immune-boosting properties, however, are supported by human research. A 2005 study of this popular flower showed that a standardized extract called Echinilin reduced the symptoms of a cold and increased the number of circulating white blood cells, monocytes, neutrophils, and natural killer cells ‘ whereas the placebo given to the control group did not. The dosage given to participants was 8 x 5ml on the first day of the cold, followed by 3 x 5ml on subsequent days.
Kratom
Our discussion of herbal plants and their uses for immunity would not be complete without a mention of Mitragyna speciosa ‘ known to our readers as kratom. Among the pharmacological constituents thus far identified in kratom, at least two have been classed as immunostimulants: Isopteropodine and Isomitraphylline. Furthermore, Mitragynine has been observed to have antitussive properties, meaning that it can help to calm a cough.
Until human clinical trials are conducted, we cannot know for sure how effective kratom is as an immunostimulant compared to other herbal plants and their uses, and we are forced to rely on anecdotal reports. The good news is that dozens of online users report that kratom seemed to reduce their cold symptoms drastically, so we think it’s definitely worth a try!
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If you haven’t already taken a look, be sure to check out the articles on healing plants and flowers and herbal plants and their uses in our botanical-focused blog. We also invite you to take advantage of our free, 2-day U.S. shipping offer to try our pure, lab-tested kratom today!
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