Flu cures and better health....

Today's Post, Monday, 5-11-2009

1. Flu cures

a) Black elderberry extract was reported to have sped recovery from flu by double or more plus cutting the intensity of symptoms while people were still sick in a placebo-controlled, double-blind study. The lead researcher was Erling Thom, from the University of Oslo in Norway. Thom's findings were presented at the 15th Annual Conference on Antiviral Research; & the study was accepted for publication in the Journal of International Medical Research.

This was for type B flu. And according the report I read, it was effective for type A as well. Other studies have found similar results.

With the elderberry extract, people who got the flu were over the worst of it in two or three days while people without got over the worst of it in 6 or more days. And, with the elderberry extract, people needed less pain killers and other symptom removers.

Apparently elderberry extracts inhibits neuraminidase, an enzyme used by flu viruses to spread infection. And, the flavonoids, an antioxidant contained in elderberries, boost the immune system. Plus in the anthocyanins in the elderberry have an anti-inflammatory effect that likely helps reduce the symptom intensity.

The people in the group that got the elderberry extract took 15 milliliters of extract 4 times a day for five days.

The article I found quoted a health professional with experience using elderberry extract who said that it can be given to both children and adults, and has no known side effects or bad interactions.

Sambucol makes a liquid black elderberry extract I’ve found in most health food stores.

And, Nature’s Way makes a capsule with bilberry and elderberry extracts together that I’ve taken 3 a day of for its other benefits. This may also help prevent colds and flu as my wife gets many more of them than I do and does not take this supplement.

The antiviral medications that can help the flu require a doctor prescription and./or visit which delays getting them and recently have been out of stock at pharmacies. So far, elderberry extract is readily available and costs a good bit less besides.

b) Other helpful things that can boost your immune system or cut inflammation include:

3,000 iu a day or more of vitamin D. One doctor local to me even uses 50,000 iu a day for short periods of time to ensure desirable blood levels of vitamin D quickly. Taking 2,000 or 3,000 iu day may prevent the flu. Taking that much or more may help get over the flu faster.

c) 1,000 mg a day of vitamin C may not prevent the flu but does have significant anti-inflammatory effects.

d) Drinking LOTS of water during the flu helps you avoid dehydration, weakness, and dizziness plus making dangerous complications less likely. Doctors say to do this but mostly don’t explain that it increases your safety and keeps you from feeling horribly sick. So DO it.

e) Eating fruit and other foods with similar phytonutrients and antioxidants daily or several times a week also can help you avoid the flu or get over it faster.

Blueberries by the half cupful and other berries such as strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries have multiple health benefits. (I like mine with “Old Fashioned” oatmeal & milk while my wife likes hers with yogurt.)

And you do not need necessarily to pay more for expensive or rarer sources as this recent Early to Rise article indicates. Plus there are other inexpensive superfood fruits at your grocery store besides berries.

“This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to making money, improving health and secrets to success. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com .”

“The Undiscovered Superfood

By Jonny Bowden

With all the hoopla over drinks made with "superfoods" like acai, goji, and noni, we forget that some of the best superfoods on the planet are right under our noses. Better yet, they don't cost an arm and a leg (like some of those overpriced juices).

The latest superfood to emerge is - get ready for this - plums.

Food scientist Dr. Luis Cisneros and plant breeder David Byrne judged more than 100 varieties of plums, peaches, and nectarines, and found that their antioxidant and phytonutrient content matched (or even exceeded) that of highly rated blueberries. According to Byrne, one inexpensive plum contains about the same amount of antioxidants as a handful of blueberries.

"People tend to eat just a few blueberries at a time - a few on their cereal or as an ingredient mixed with lots of sugar," Cisneros said. "But people will eat a whole plum at once and get the full benefit."

The researchers didn't stop after measuring the considerable antioxidant content of plums - which, by the way, has been noted in other studies. (Plums consistently score near the top of the list of high-antioxidant foods.) They also tested the effect of the phytonutrients in the fruit on breast cancer cells - and found that they inhibited in vitro (test tube) breast cancer growth without adversely affecting normal cell growth.

"We suggest that consumers take seriously the recommendation to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables - or even more - every day," Byrne said, "and to make sure that plums are part of that."

[Ed. Note: For more information about natural methods that can improve your health - and help keep your weight down - check out nutrition expert Jonny Bowden's website, JonnyBowden.com . ….]”

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Another fruit with so many health benefits it can be called a superfood is kiwifruit.

2. Eating these kinds of fruit have many other health benefits besides preventing or helping cure the flu. Eating the dark purple fruit and berries such as elderberry or its extract and/or drinking concord grape juice or red wine also increases your HDL and helps prevent heart disease. More on that in tomorrow’s post.