Flu Fact 2: You SHOULD (or SHOULD NOT) take daily immune boosters during flu season?

This is a tricky question, but there really is a helpful answer. For my family, we do not. Maybe I’m too cheap or too lazy, or maybe I have too much confidence in just hitting first symptoms early with my home remedies. But while I don’t bother with daily immune boosters, I can *totally* see why families with babies, elderly members, or those who may be immune compromised *would* want to know what they can do to boost their immunity during flu season.  and what NOT to use. Now buckle your seatbelt, and take notes, because this is where Dr. Rob takes over with AMAZING info. This is one you’ll want to pin and share!

Dr. Rob’s Opinion: Yes, yes, yes, you should! But, you should only take certain ones. For example DON’T take herbs like Echinacea daily unless you feel like you are getting run down or are starting to get sick. Echinacea can lose its effectiveness on the immune system when taken on a regular basis for more than 14 consecutive days.

Astragalus has the opposite reaction than Echinacea as far as duration is concerned. If taken too long Echinacea seems to have less of an effect on immune function, where astragalus may have a building effect on immune function.

A report from the University of Maryland’s Medical Center stated that taking astragalus can actually help prevent colds, the flu and upper respiratory infections. I strongly recommend astragalus as soon as we start to approach cold and flu season. As a preventative measure I like to do about 100mg to 300mg of a tincture daily. Of course check with your doctor on any of the below but here are some other good ones to take for cold and flu prevention:

• 1-3 Betaglucan—This is a fiber that can be found in foods like oats, seeweed and mushrooms that attaches to and activates different white blood cells. I recommend taking 15mgs to 50mgs daily for cold and flu prevention.
• Elderberry—Research on this herb seems that it can deactivate the flu virus, almost like turning off a light switch. It is perfectly safe to take daily and I recommend beginning it right at the start of cold and flu season.
• Vitamin D—Vitamin D activates 200 different genes related to immune function. In fact, it is my opinion that God thought that vitamin D was so important that he put it in the sun….LOL. Notice that the flu seems to be at its worst when sunshine exposure is at it’s lowest. Get your levels checked and supplement with the correct amount of vitamin D3. I personally take between 2,600 IU’s and 4,600 IU’s per day. I think a good maintenance dosage is about 2,500 to 5,000 IU’s per day.
• Zinc Oratate—Zinc is need for healthy immune function. Zinc orotate is a chelated form of zinc that is more readily absorbed by the body compared to other zinc supplement available. I recommend between 15mgs and 50mgs per day. There is research indicating taking too much zinc can have a paradoxical immunological reaction causing your immune function to decrease.

Wow!

What about Flu Fact #3:

You can have the flu without fever.

True or False? Click to find out!