Gary Null, Ph.D.
See book keywords and concepts |  Studies have proven that this herb can reduce the frequency and duration of colds and the flu by boosting the immune system rather than by killing viruses directly. astragalus can be taken as an extract, or the root can be added to soups.
•Echinacea...Taking echinacea at the first sign of a cold or flu often results in the disappearance of all symptoms the very next morning. This extract of the purple coneflower was well appreciated by Native Americans and was used by early American doctors before the widespread use of drugs. | | Herbs that strengthen the immune system include garlic, astragalus, echinacea, ginseng, wild cherry bark, and horehound.
Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia
_Causes_
One possible cause of Alzheimer's disease is atherosclerosis, a condition in which the diminished flow of blood within the body affects the brain and produces common Alzheimer's symptoms.
Also implicated in the onset of this condition is heavy-metal toxicity; in autopsies performed on victims of Alzheimer's, an accumulation of aluminum and mercury deposits is usually present in the areas of the brain affected by dementia. | | Modern scientific research confirms these claims, demonstrating that cells damaged by cancer and radiation are stimulated to full function with the introduction of this herb. astragalus is considered a life energy or qi (pronounced "chee") tonic that strengthens vitality, and increases white blood cell and phagocytic activity. It is safe to take on a daily basis, making it an ideal preventive tonic.
•Ginkgo Biloba...This antioxidant herb, long used by the Chinese, works to counter a substance in the body called platelet activation factor, or FAF, which may act to encourage tumor growth. | | However, astragalus concentrates on building the immune system, and unlike echinacea, it can be taken on a daily basis.
•Echinacea...Echinacea boosts immune system activity and promotes fast recovery, especially when taken at the onset of symptoms. The most potent formulas have a peculiar tingling and numbing effect on the tongue. Since the body cannot sustain such high levels of immune system activity without rest, echinacea should be used for short intervals at a time. In Europe, where echinacea is extensively used, people take the herb in a pattern of four days on and four days off. | | The power of intravenous vitamin C drips is further enhanced with the addition of antibiotic and immune-enhancing herbs such as garlic, chaparral, red clover, pau d'arco, echinacea, goldenseal, lobelia, ginger, astragalus, ganoderma, and licorice root.
•Vitamin B6...This vitamin, recommended in dosages of 100 mg daily, is important for building up red blood cells and activating natural killer cells. Deficiencies in B6 have been related to suppressed natural killer cell activity.
•Beta-Carotene...Studies show that beta-carotene increases T cell numbers, which protects against infections. | | Some of the herbs that keep coming up again and again on such lists are astragalus, panax ginseng, ganoder-ma, and ligustrum. |
Gary Null, Ph.D.
See book keywords and concepts |  The Effect of astragalus Polysaccharides (APS) on Cell Mediated Immunity (CMI) in Burned Mice], Chung Hua Cheng Hsing Shao Shang Wai Ko Tsa Chih, 10(2), March 1994, p. 138-141.
¦ BEE PROPOLIS
Antibacterial Effects
Results of this study indicated that propolis exhibited antibacterial activity against various commonly encountered cocci and Gram-positive rods such as human tubercle bacillus.
—J.M. Grange & R.W. Davey "Antibacterial Properties of Propolis (Bee Glue)," Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 83(3), March 1990, p. 159-160. |
Dr. Gary Null
See book keywords and concepts |  TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE
F3, a form of carbohydrate derived from the traditional Chinese medicinal herb astragalus membranous, was shown to have a beneficial effect on chronic fatigue syndrome patients by enhancing natural killer cell activity.
D.T. Chu et al., "The Effect of F3 on Natural Killer (NK) Cell Activity in the Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)," Proc. Annu. Meet. Am. Assoc. Cancer Res. 35 (1994): A3074.
HOMEOPATHY
Remedies for fatigue include gelsemium (yellow jasmine), kaliphosphoricum, arsenicum album, Pulsatilla (wind flower), and sulphur. |
Robyn Landis
See book keywords and concepts |  As I mentioned in an earlier chapter, Chinese herbs can be radically cheaper at Chinese markets than at an herb pharmacy—the most dramatic example being the astragalus I purchase from a Chinese grocery at $8 a pound, where the same stuff at the herb pharmacy costs $80 (eighty!) per pound.
A qualified local herbalist can be a huge help in this process, directing you to the best sources for the best herbs both for price and quality. | | You simply cannot compare whole astragalus to purified acetaminophen.
"Drugs offer exact dosages. It's too hard to dose herbs." How much to take is simply not as much of an issue with herbs, particularly if you talk to an herbalist, have a reputable herb source, and work up gradually until you get the results you want. Science is simply focused on the issue of dosage, because it is so much more relevant with drugs, and drugs are what science knows about. |
Donald R. Yance, j r.,C.N., M.H., A.H.G., with Arlene Valentine
See book keywords and concepts |  Immune-Strengthening Soup
Saute:
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 chopped onion 3 to 5 sticks astragalus 3 to 5 cloves garlic 2 to 3 pieces burdock
1 piece ginger 1 to 2 reishi mushrooms, crumbled
Add: lA to 1 cup cubed tofu
2 cups chopped vegetables of choice (carrots, celery, beet greens, cabbage, kale, daikon, lotus root, turnips, etc.)
1 cup chopped mushrooms of choice (shiitake, cordyceps, etc.)
V2 cup wakame or kombu (seaweed)
8 cups spring or purified water Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. | | The most common herbs used in fu-zheng are blood-vitalizing herbs, including astragalus, milletia, reishi, panax ginseng, schizandra, jujube, ligus-ticum, hoelen, salvia, ho shou wu, cordyceps, atractylodis, and codonopsis. Studies continue to demonstrate that these herbs have a dramatic impact on the enhancement of an immune system weakened by chemo and radiation therapies. They not only protect the immune and endocrine systems but also inhibit such diseases as influenza, upper respiratory infections, fungal infections, and chemically induced hepatitis. | | Schizandra {Fructus schizandrae)
The dried berry of schizandra, like astragalus, bupleurum, ginseng, and ligus-ticum, is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine for its adaptogenic properties and as a restorative remedy for immune enhancement. Schizandra is referred to as the five-flavored seed because its taste includes the five tastes of sour, bitter, sweet, acrid, and salty. In Shen Nong's Herbal Classic (written about two thousand years ago) and in the Compendium of Materia Medica (written by L.I. | | Astragalan, an extract of the whole plant, has demonstrated immune-enhancing abilities, but the active constitutents of astragalus are believed to be the result of a combination of ingredients rather than one single agent.48
Atractylodes {Atractylod.es macrocephala)
Atractylodes contains three cancer-inhibiting components: atractylin, atracty-lon, and butenolide B, which have demonstrated the strongest activity against esophageal cancer. Atractylodes improves defective IL-2 production and restores immunity in people with cancer who have had immune-suppressing therapies like chemotherapy. | | When combined with astragalus, ligustrum has shown notable immunopo-tentiating actions, far beyond the effects of either herb alone. This synergy has also been demonstrated when ligustrum is combined with echinacea, baptisia, and thuja.86 Ligustrum's active ingredients include an alkaloid, tetramethylpyrazine, ferulic acid, chrysophanol, sedanoic acid, and 1 to 2 percent of essential oils.
Lotus Seed [Nelumbinis nuciferae)
Lotus seed is traditionally used in Chinese herbal medicine as a spleen tonic. It is excellent at stopping diarrhea, both chronic and acute. |
Earl L. Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D.
See book keywords and concepts |  Echinacea, astragalus, goldenseal capsules or tincture for cold and flu prevention.
/ Zinc lozenges combined with vitamin C and propolis for cold prevention.
Zinc has a direct effect in boosting the immune system and may have some antiviral properties as well. ' ::
/ An herbal throat spray that includes echinacea and goldenseal to prevent a sore throat from taking hold. / White willow bark capsules or tincture to treat a headache or other types of pain.
/ Kava or St. fohn's wort capsules, tablets or tincture for stress and anxiety. |
Dr. Gary Null
See book keywords and concepts | | Substances that have shown promise in combating CFS include malic acid (extracted from apples); magnesium sulfate and magnesium chloride: broad-spectrum amino acid preparations; vitamins B6 and Bl; high-dose immunoglobulin therapy; essential fatty acid supplementation; potassium and magnesium aspartates; evening primrose oil; licorice, which seems to increase the glucocorticol hormone activity that is deficient in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome; and an extract of the traditional Chinese medicinal herb astragalus membranous, which enhances natural killer cell activity. (See below. |
Robyn Landis
See book keywords and concepts | | For example, when 1 boil into a broth astragalus that has already been dried, I have gone about two steps down the processing line (drying the herb; cooking the herb), but the broth has definitely worked wonders for me as a cold and flu preventive.
Going for perfection, and then achieving nothing because that goal made life impossible and you gave up, is the most ineffective way to use herbs. If we dismiss processing because it might reduce effectiveness by some unmeasurable but probably marginal degree, we would eliminate the use of many herbs. |
Dr. Gary Null
See book keywords and concepts | | Good herbs to include are sage, rosemary, cayenne, echinacea, goldenseal, red clover, astragalus, and burdock root. Beneficial bacteria, such as those found in yogurt, or supplements of lactobacillus and acidophilus, support the digestive processes necessary for the maintenance of the immune system. Other nutrients that directly enhance the immune system include garlic, quercetin, zinc gluconate, buffered vitamin C, and beta carotene or vitamin A. In addition. 500 mg of the amino acid L-lysine, taken 2 to 4 times a day, can produce excellent results. | | Or try Astra-8, a combination of astragalus and other immune-strengthening remedies in capsule form, found in health food stores.
OTHER DETOXIFICATION THERAPIES
EXERCISE. Dr. Schachter notes, "Any activity that removes accumulated toxins in the breast reduces the chance of women developing breast cancer. Studies show that aerobic exercise is associated with decreased cancer risk, as exercise promotes lymphatic drainage and sweating helps remove toxins from the tissues. | | An excellent old Chinese recipe for an immune-enhancing soup combines a whole astragalus root with onions, garlic, ginger, and either free-range chicken, fish, tofu or tempeh. Some fresh green vegetables and a handful of brown rice are added to that. The soup is brought to a boil and then simmered. Some miso is added for flavor. This is highly nourishing, easy to digest, and excellent for helping a weakened individual regain strength.
"Drink plentv of pure water daily. In colder seasons, unsweetened herb tea, such as immune-supportive echinacea tea, is a very good source of liquids. | | Zhao, [Effects of astragalus Membranaceus and Tripterygium Hypoglaucum on Natural Killer Cell Activity of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus], Chung Kuo Chung Hsi I Chieh Ho Tsa Chih 12, no. 11 (November 1992): 669-71, 645.
Findings of researchers working with autoimmune-prone mice support traditional Chinese herbal medicines, specifically sairei-to, as a promising systemic lupus erythematosus treatment.
H. Kanauchi et al. |
Robert S. McCaleb, Evelyn Leigh, and Krista Morien
See book keywords and concepts |  In a clinical study with 1,000 participants, astragalus tablets and nasal sprays helped reduce the incidence and severity of colds by raising levels of immune-enhancing immunoglobulin A (IgA) and G (IgG). IgA prevents invading substances from attaching to mucous membranes in the respiratory tract and other parts of the body. IgG is the main type of antibody found circulating in the blood and is involved in most immune responses. In this study, researchers found that levels of IgA were directly correlated with the severity of cold symptoms. | | Some formulas blend shiitake with reishi or maitake mushrooms as well as herbs such as astragalus, Siberian ginseng, and schisandra. According to well-known naturopath Don Brown, vitamin C may help enhance absorption of the complex polysaccharides found in medicinal mushrooms.14
For general health maintenance
• Fresh shiitake mushrooms: 3 to 4 a day
• Capsules: 1 to S a day (400 mg each)
• Tincture: 1 dropperful two to three times a day
For therapeutic purposes
If you are using shiitake for cancer or other serious health conditions, consult a practitioner to determine the right dosage. | | Overall Well-Being
Ginseng, Siberian ginseng, and astragalus show intriguing benefits in improving both mental and physical performance. Ginkgo increases the circulation of blood and oxygen to the brain to help improve and maintain memory and mental function. The medicinal mushrooms, revered as longevity tonics in the Orient, have protective effects against cancer, heart disease, and liver disease, and also stimulate the immune system. | | Clinical research shows that echinacea stimulates the immune system and is effective in lessening the severity and shortening the duration of colds and flu. astragalus also decreases the duration and frequency of colds.
Migraine Prevention
Although migraines are rarely life-threatening, they can seem that way to those who suffer from them. Feverfew leaf is a safe, inexpensive migraine preventive that has been shown to work even for some individuals who do not benefit from conventional treatments for migraine. |
Donald R. Yance, j r.,C.N., M.H., A.H.G., with Arlene Valentine
See book keywords and concepts | | For example, bromelain and quercetin are especially compatible with most chemotherapies used in cases of breast, ovarian, and colon cancers, as well as leukemia and most melanomas, while reishi, coriolus, astragalus, and Siberian ginseng work well with all chemotherapies for all types of cancers.
Using herbal support produces a more effective attack upon the cancer, reduces the overall toxicity of the chemotherapy, and lowers the chance of eventual cancer-cell mutation. |
James A. Duke, Ph.D.
See book keywords and concepts |  Also known as huang qi, astragalus is an immune booster and the Asian answer to our own echinacea. There's no reason not to use both.
VV Baikal skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis). Experimental data from China show that the root of this plant, which is close kin to our own skullcap, has broad-spectrum antimicrobial action. It inhibits flu viruses and several pneumonia-causing fungi. Chinese physicians sometimes inject a mixture of Baikal skullcap, goldthread and amur cork tree extracts to treat pneumonia, flu and other respiratory infections.
I'm not recommending injections. |
Textbook of Natural Medicine 2nd Edition Volume 1Michael T. Murray, ND
See book keywords and concepts | | Enhancement of the immune response in mice by astragalus membranaceus. Immunopharmacol 1990; 20: 225-233
62. Chu DT, Wong WL, Mavlight GM. Immunotherapy with Chinese medicinal herbs. J Clin Lab Immunol 1988; 25: 119-129
Introduction 489
Small intestine 489
Bacterial overgrowth 489
Colon 490
Constipation 490 Diverticular disease 491 Dysbiosis 492 Parasites 493
Intestinal dysbiosis and dysfunction
Michael T. Murray, ND Joseph E. | | This chapter focuses on two of the most popular immune-enhancing botanicals - Echinacea and astragalus. These two herbs were selected based on their ability to exert broad-spectrum effects on immune functions. They stimulate the body's natural defense mechanisms via slightly different mechanisms and are in many ways the prototypes of the hundreds of plants with known antimicrobial and immunological activity.
Echinacea sp.
Perhaps the most widely used Western herb for enhancement of the immune system is echinacea. |
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