This time of year colds and the flu are all around us and we need to keep our immune system strong to ward off their effects. Ginseng can help strengthen your immune system:
Long used in traditional medicine to boost energy and stimulate the immune system, ginseng got a shot in the arm after a much-publicized 2005 study from the Canadian Medical Association Journal. The placebo-controlled trial (which means that some subjects were given pills that contained active ingredients, while some were given pills that did not) examined the benefits of COLD-fX, a ginseng-derived product, on otherwise healthy individuals who had a history of upper respiratory tract infections. The results were impressive: When taken regularly, not only did the product, which is made from a proprietary extract of North American panax ginseng, reduce the frequency of upper respiratory tract infections, it also reduced the duration and severity of symptoms when subjects did get sick. Other studies on elite athletes and the elderly have produced similar results.
It seems that ginseng stimulates the immune system in a couple of different ways, though the mechanisms are only now being understood. For the average person, however, all they need to know is that it seems to help you feel better, faster. And for most people, it seems ginseng is safe, though it should be avoided by individuals taking anti-coagulents (like Warfarin), pregnant or breastfeeding women and those with kidney and liver problems. Of course, most of the research has been limited to this one particular – and proprietary – strain of ginseng; it remains to be seen if other preparations work as well.
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