Natural Remedies & Herbs for Immune System Support

In general, human studies have found that echinacea taken orally stimulates the function of a variety of immune cells, particularly natural killer cells. The balance of evidence currently available from studies suggests that echinacea speeds recovery from the common cold, via immune stimulation (as opposed to killing the cold virus directly). Evidence on preventing the common cold with echinacea is largely negative, suggesting its immune-stimulating activity may be mild in generally healthy people. Other studies on oral echinacea have not found that it stimulates activity of the white blood cells known as neutrophils. Many doctors recommend 3 to 5 ml of tincture three times per day for up to two weeks to improve immune function. Echinacea in capsule form is also commonly available.

Andrographis has been shown in a double-blind trial to successfully reduce the severity of the common cold. A preliminary study also suggests it may prevent the onset of a cold in healthy people. These actions are thought to be due to the immune system enhancing actions of the active constituents known as andrographolides.

Asian ginseng has a long history of use in traditional herbal medicine for preventing and treating conditions related to the immune system. A double-blind study of healthy people found that taking 100 mg of a standardized extract of Asian ginseng twice per day improved immune function...