Swine flu cases are on the rise and the number is expected to rise in the Autumn. There are 9000 confirmed cases in the UK according to the Times Online.  Dr Nick Phin, who is head of pandemic flu planning at the Health Protection Agency, explains: “A person who is malnourished is likely to be more susceptible to infections and for most people, a healthy and nutritionally balanced diet will be an important factor in helping to maintain a healthy immune system.”

So boost up your immune system and do your best to protect yourself from catching the Swine Flu virus. A strong immune system will help you fight the swine flu virus, and a herbal remedy with immune boosting herbs can only but help the immune system become stronger. Immune boosting herbs include more notably Echinacea, Astragalus and Ashwagandha among others. All of these immune boosting herbs are formulated in Fushi’s Defence + Tincture.

• Echinacea is recommended widely by medical herbalists for boosting the body’s immunity against flu and influenza. Echinacea has been used by for centuries to trigger the body's natural ability to heal itself. It is very effective in boosting the body's immunity.

• Astragalus is also an important herb, and known for strengthening the body. Research shows Astragalus stimulates the immune system in many ways. It increases the number of stem cells in bone marrow and lymph tissue and encourages their development into active immune cells.

• Ashwagandha also known as Withania has a reputation as a strong and sure immune tonic and stress protector. This herb protects the body from stress related disease, and brings the immune system up to optimum levels of activity.

• Liquorice is widely used in Asia for its rejuvenating and nutritive properties. It is included in the formulation primarily as an adrenal tonic although it has notable influence on a number of systems including the immune function.

• Ginseng is also known for it body strengthening properties. Herbs such as Ginseng and Liquorice are adaptogenic herbs, adaptogenic herbs work on the body as a whole, encouraging a variety of body systems to cope with physical and emotional stress, recover from overwork and protect against disease.

Each of these herbs can be taken as a single tincture, or in a tincture blend such as Fushi’s Defence+ Tincture which contains all these great immune boosting herbs as well as other herbs such as Ginger and Cleavers . So start boosting up your immune system against the Swine flu virus, after all prevention is better than cure.  

And don’t forget eating healthy nutritious fruits and vegetables of course is very important. Include plenty of dark green vegetables, bright orange fruits, carrots, pumpkins, spinach and cabbage. Increase your intake of all fruits and vegetables rich in Vitamin C.  Zinc is an important mineral for defence, so make sure to eat zinc rich foods such as all bran cereal, pine nuts, cheese, wheat germ and eggs. Iron is also an important mineral for the immune system, dark greens vegetables such as spinach, beans, pulses, eggs, wholemeal bread and fortified breakfast cereal are also a source of iron.