For the third time in six years we hover on the brink of an apparently serious flu epidemic, the solution for which, if it were to strike, is a drug called Tamiflu. Are they any natural alternatives and how do they compare?
One of those tricky science areas since you can hardly run a double-blind placebo controlled trial on swine flu. So you are left with two alternatives: to test the remedy in infected people with other flu strains, or to test the remedy on cells infected with one of these nasty strains.
Tamiflu has been shown to reduce time to recovery from flu by between one day and 1.5 days if started within 40 hours of symptoms. In contrast there have been three studies giving 6 to 8 grams of vitamin C within the first 24 hours of flu symptoms which have reported reducing time to recovery by three days up to complete relief within 24 hours for almost half of the participants (R Douglas, Cochrane Review, 2007).
Antiviral drugs, such as Tamiflu (oseltamivir), work by inhibiting something called neuraminidase, produced by viruses and essential for their ability to replicate.
So too does vitamin Caccording to recent research which tested the effects of a combination of ascorbic acid, green tea extract, lysine, proline, N-acetyl cysteine, selenium among other micro-nutrients on cells infected with influenza (R.Jariwalla, Biofactors, 2007).
This combination was also put to the test on cells infected with bird flu, in many respects similar to swine flu (P.Deryabin, Biofactors, 2008). The nutrient mixture “demonstrated high antiviral activity evident even at prolonged periods after infection. Antiviral properties were comparable to those of conventional drugs (amantadine and oseltamivir); however, the nutrient mixture had the advantage of affecting viral replication at the late stages of the infection process,” say the authors.
Neuramidase inhibition is only one of a dozen ways that vitamin C knocks out viruses, both by inhibiting the virus itself, and by strengthening the body’s own immune response. In high doses, it has been well proven to be non-toxic.
The other nutrients given included the amino acids lysine, proline, N-acetyl cysteine, and selenium. N-acetyl cysteine and selenium both promote glutathione levels, which has anti-viral activity. Zinc, in doses of at least 50mg day, is anti-viral (D.Hulisz, J Am Pharm Assoc, 2004).
The body’s immune system has the ability to detect and destroy bacteria and viruses, so it is in our best interests to see that it is functioning well. Regular exercise, a healthy diet and of course echinacea and even garlic can all help.
I would recommend to take the above plus 2 grams of vitamin C every day. If a pandemic flu epidemic breaks out I’m doubling that to 4 grams — one every six or so hours, as well as supplementing zinc, selenium, black elderberry extract and echinacea on a daily basis.
IMHO the outbreak might occur with more severity towards the end of this year – so be prepared. Viruses are considered the last real predator of mankind!
More information on swine flu can be found here:-
>Government info
>Homeopathic task force
>How proportionate is the pandemic response?