Top Prevention Supplements


Cold & Flu Headquarters
Top Preventive Supplements for Adults and Seniors

While the human body needs every vitamin and essential mineral for optimal immunity, certain supplements seem to be especially helpful: These herbs and nutrients may aid your body's defenses. Click here for special cold/flu prevention notes on kids and seniors.

Astragalus Vitamin C Vitamin A Selenium Zinc

Astragalus
Astragalus is one of the most highly valued herbs in Traditional Chinese Medicine, which employs it as an immunity "tonic." Extensive test tube, animal, and clinical experiments confirm that Astragalus membranaceus extract fights bacteria and viruses, and enhances many parts of the body's immune response. Astragalus is a common ingredient in Chinese soups, and is one of the world's safest herbs.

In the Chinese tradition, astragalus is almost always taken in combination with ginseng, or codnopsis, a ginseng-like herb?especially if the person suffers from general weakness of body or mind. Most astragalus products include complementary herbs, to provide balanced nutritional support for immune function.

Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a proven immune-booster, and probably the best researched cold-fighter. The Center for Science in the Public Interest recently reviewed the evidence, and concluded that regular consumption of large amounts of vitamin C (1-8 grams daily) reduces the duration and severity of colds.

One well-designed study found that participants taking 1,000 mg every day had 19% fewer colds, which were 38% shorter in duration. Vitamin C even seems to work when taken at the first sign of symptoms, and is very safe. High doses (500 mg or more) can produce mild diarrhea or gas in some persons, while others tolerate 8,000 mg or more with no side effects. If you experience any gastric symptoms, reduce the dosage until they disappear .

Vitamin A
Vitamin A attacks viruses directly, and keeps bacteria and viruses from penetrating protective mucous membranes in the mouth, nose, stomach, and lungs. People who limit their consumption of liver, dairy foods, and vegetables can develop a vitamin A deficiency. In men and postmenopausal women, up to 25,000 IU (7,500 mcg RE) of vitamin A per day is considered safe. In women who could become pregnant, less than 10,000 IU (3,000 mcg RE) per day is widely accepted as safe.

Selenium
Selenium is a critical component of one of the body's key anti-viral, antioxidant enzymes, called glutathione peroxidase. In recent years, selenium has become a focus of research into nutritional means of fightting cancer-causing viruses, AIDS, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, vira hepatitis, and other viral diseases?in many cases with great success. But few Americans get enough selenium from their diets to reach the intake levels associated with enhanced anti-viral immunity (approx. 200 mcg per day).

Zinc
Zinc, like selenium, plays a key role in general immunity, but it is also directly anti-viral, inhibiting the growth of the common cold virus. This may be why a majority of clinical trials have shown that sucking on zinc gluconate lozenges reduces the duration and severity of colds. How much should you take? Patients in the successful clinical trials sucked on lozenges containing 23 mg of zinc, taking one every two hours while awake, until symptoms disappeared.

See references.

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