Immune health

Improving the immune system is one of the most important things a person can do for themselves. According to the conventional physicians I've worked with, it's a very common concern among people seeking conventional medical care. Unfortunately, there is a pretty limited range of what conventional medicine can do in this area. It is also, in my own experience, a common reason for people to seek out alternative medicine.

There are, I'm pleased to say, a lot of herbs that can help the immune system. But this is something that is widely misunderstood. To discuss it in more detail, it's pretty important to outline what the immune system actually is. It's not a system in the same way that the lungs and breathing passages form the respiratory system, or the heart and blood vessels form the cardiovascular system. Instead, it's a sum total of a set of functions, rather than structures, in the body, that serve a common purpose-- to protect the body from all enemies, foreign and domestic. The nuts and bolts of the immune sytem consist of the body temperature (which can rise in a fever to destroy germs), the white blood cells, and numerous chemical reactions that regulate things like mucous production and inflammation, which can serve to isolate or neutralize an invasion of germs or toxins.

Things that can activate an immune response, such as a fever or a runny nose, include bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, allergens like pollen and certain foods, cancers, and damaged tissues. In some conditions, for reasons that are hard to pin down, the immune system also attacks otherwise normal tissue.

Because the immune system consists of so many different parts and substances, herbs can act upon it in many different ways. Some herbs increase immune function by increasing the number or activity of white blood cells, which destroy pathogens. Echinacea falls into this category.

Other herbs, such as jewelweed, decrease the function of parts of the immune process, in order to prevent or decrease allergic reactions. Still other herbal substances, such as reishi and other medicinal mushrooms, help the body to mount a stronger immune response when needed, but can also mitigate an unnecessary immune response. These are called immunomodulatory herbs.

In some individuals in whom the immune system is already engaged in fighting off an illness, and therefore may be weakened, an herb like garlic or oregano can support the immune system by directly destroying the germs, and allowing the immune system to rest and recover. While garlic and oregano provide these benefits to someone coping with a bacterial illness, Usnea and lemon balm can provide similar benefits to someone with a viral illness such as HIV or hepatitis.

SO, depending on the type of condition and the person who has the condition (and any other substances they may be taking), there are a variety of ways to strengthen and support (or if necessary, tone down and pacify), the immune system using herbal medicines. All of these methods are backed by centuries of experience, and the vast majority of them have been pretty thoroughly studied in the lab and clinic as well.