Beet juice is great for the immune system. If you are experiencing the flu or symptoms such as coughing, sniffling, or fever, try this recipe:
1 tbsp echinacea juice or tea
1 tbsp sage juice or tea
1 tbsp thyme juice or tea
2 tbsp red beet juice
4 tbsp acerola juice or juice from half a freshly squeezed lemon
2 tsp honey
Mix well with apricot nectar and rosehip tea and drink slowly in small sips.
Also a cup of strongly made green tea 3 times a day.
A recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition looked at the effect of green tea on health during the flu season. The study followed 118 healthy adults for three months during flu season; the participants ingested a capsule twice per day. The capsule was either decaffeinated green tea extract, which contained a standardized amount of the two immune-activating plant components found in green tea - L-theanine and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG); or a placebo.
The green tea group when compared with the placebo group experienced 32.1% fewer cold and flu symptoms. The green tea group reported 22.9% fewer illnesses which lasted two or more days. Of the green tea group that did experience illness only 5.7% of them became ill enough that they sought medical care, in comparison to 12.7% in the placebo group. Other studies have also shown that gargling with green tea can aid in the prevention of cold and flu. The Japanese study showed that the virus which causes the flu can become non-infectious by having 5 seconds of contact with green tea.
Forget the vitamin C, get vitamin D instead.
http://www.naturalnews.com/029760_vitamin_D_influenza.html
A clinical trial led by Mitsuyoshi Urashima and conducted by the Division of Molecular Epidemiology in the the Department of Pediatrics at the Jikei University School of Medicine Minato-ku in Tokyo found that vitamin D was extremely effective at halting influenza infections in children. The trial appears in the March, 2010 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Am J Clin Nutr (March 10, 2010). doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.29094)
The results are from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 334 children, half of which were given 1200 IUs per day of vitamin D3. In other words, this was a "rigorous" scientific study meeting the gold standard of scientific evidence.
In the study, while 31 of 167 children in the placebo group contracted influenza over the four month duration of the study, only 18 of 168 children in the vitamin D group did. This means vitamin D was responsible for an absolute reduction of nearly 8 percent.
Flu vaccines, according to the latest scientific evidence, achieve a 1 percent reduction in influenza symptoms (http://www.naturalnews.com/029641_v...).
This means vitamin D appears to be 800% more effective than vaccines at preventing influenza infections in children.
See a homeopath to help with strengthening your immune system and to help you get through this.