If you get the flu, most doctors prescribe you a drug… Most likely either Tamiflu or Relenza. Some experts believe they don’t work at all.1,2 But at best, these antiviral medications have a modest effect, shortening flu by only about half a day.3

Side effects from Tamiflu include nausea and bizarre psychiatric symptoms such as hallucinations. All for potentially 12 hours of extra relief.

That’s why you need to know about better ways to fight off the flu. Here are five natural ways to speed flu recovery.

1 – Go Green

Green tea contains L-theanine. It’s an amino acid that comes from Asian tea leaves. A Japanese study found subjects getting green tea and L-theanine were less likely to catch the flu. Only four out of about 100 people in the group became sick. Even more impressive? Those who did get the flu cut their recovery time by more than 70%.4

You should be able to get organic green tea at your local grocery. But try to find matcha green tea. Its antioxidant power is even more concentrated than normal green tea.

2 – Get Physical

Leading an active lifestyle helps your immune system fight the flu. Researchers at Appalachian State University discovered adults who exercised five days a week were half as likely to develop flu-like illnesses. And when they did? Their symptoms and duration were slashed by half.5 That beats the half-day relief you might get with Tamiflu by a long shot.

Exercise doesn’t have to be intense, either. Doing some sort of aerobic exercise five days a week is enough. That could be as simple as taking a morning walk or an evening bike ride. The more you can do, the better.

3 – Use Elderberries

These berries are full of antioxidants. They help lower inflammation. Research from Israel found subjects who received 15 mL of elderberry syrup four times a day saw relief from their symptoms four days earlier than the placebo group.6

Look for natural, organic black elderberry syrup at your local health food store. Or buy it online.

4 – Take the “King of Bitters”

The herb Andrographis has been a go-to treatment in Indian folk medicine for hundreds of years. Its extract may help keep you from getting the flu.7 And when combined with Siberian ginseng, it may shorten the duration of a flu infection. This combo can also ease symptoms faster than relying on your immune defenses alone.8

You can buy quality Andrographis and Siberian ginseng supplements online or at health food stores.

5 – Don’t Be Deficient

Much of the cropland in the U.S. is low in selenium.9 It’s a trace element you need to regulate DNA replication and prevent oxidative damage. Not having enough makes you more likely to get a severe case of the flu.

A study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows even mild strains of flu hit selenium-deficient mice hard. And when they did become infected, not having selenium made the virus more likely to mutate.10 This means your immune system has to work even harder to make you well.

Bring up selenium levels by eating Brazil nuts and beef liver. But remember, soil depletion could make these sources come up short. Your best bet is to take a quality selenium supplement.

Don’t fight the flu with prescription drugs. Their potential benefits don’t outweigh the risk of side effects. Use these safe, natural remedies to get back on your feet—and over the flu.

In Good Health,

Angela Salerno
Publisher, INH Health Watch

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References:
1https://uk.news.yahoo.com/scientists-call-urgent-trials-judge-flu-drugs-pandemics-230458104–finance.html#z7mIhfW
2http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-h-newman-md/tamiflu_b_4400584.html
3http://community.cochrane.org/features/tamiflu-relenza-how-effective-are-they?
4http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21338496
5http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21041243
6http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15080016
7http://naturalstandard.com/databases/herbssupplements/all/andrographis.asp?#undefined
8https://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/condition/influenza
9http://mrdata.usgs.gov/geochem/doc/averages/se/usa.html
10http://jn.nutrition.org/content/133/5/1463S.full