5 Herbs to Fight Swine and Bird Flu

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What Herbs Fight Swine and Bird Flu?

Herbs For Immune Support

By Amy Jeanroy, About.com

These herbs are easy to find and make great cold and flu fighters. By no means exhaustive, try to find some of these herbal powerhouses for your immune support. In no particular order, here are 5 herbs that can help your body fight off the swine and bird flu.

Mullein is a very useful herb for lung congestion, helping in clearing them. The leaf is made into a tea, and due to the tiny hairs it is recommended to filter the resulting tea at least twice. You can avoid this by making your mullein into a tincture, but be warned: It is extremely bitter.

 

Lemon balm has known anti viral properties, and also tastes wonderfully lemony. It can be used to fight colds and flu, to help make a more bitter herbal brew more palatable for children, and just provide a soothing cup of comfort for those who need it.

 

Sage is perfect for cold season. It makes a soothing tea for coughs and sore throat symptoms. Dried leaves are used for making a tea to gargle with. It bears repeating, that sage is to be used with caution for breastfeeding moms, due to its ability to dry up milk.

 

Elderberries are a wonderful remedy for flu symptoms. Use this tasty berry in tincture, cordial or syrup to fight off the flu virus. Elderberry makes itself even more useful since these remedies can be made from dry or fresh berries.

 

Slippery Elm is actually the inner bark of the Elm tree. It mucilage properties make it a good herb to know, when suffering from a sore throat and upset stomach or diarrhea. Slippery Elm is highly nutritious, and can be fed the same as oatmeal or simply mixed in to the cooked cereal.