The Not-So-New Super-Herb: Astragalus

It seems as though every time you turn around you are being inundated with news of a new virus that has gone pandemic. The swine flu is the latest and most widely known threat that is on people’s minds. This is causing individuals like yourself to seek out whatever form of protection they can find from these seemingly vicious illnesses. Many are even willing to get vaccinated to avoid the effects of this lurking attacker while complications and long-term side effects of such vaccines are still widely unknown.

What Can Astragalus Do?

There are a number of beneficial affects of Astragalus on the human body. Let’s look at a few of them:

• Strengthens digestion
• Stimulates the immune system
• Assists the adrenal gland function
• Acts as a diuretic
• Dilates blood vessels
• Inhibits the release of histamines from mast cells, thus has been known to be used for allergies

This wonderful herb is used to jolt the immune system of those that frequently suffer from colds and other infections to a new and improved level. It can be used against illnesses, to assist in cancer treatment, and to help the recovery process from chemotherapy. However it should not be used in cases of fever or very serious infections.

Astragalus Compared to the Ever-Popular Echinacea

Echinacea has long been popular and very effectively used at the onset of various illnesses. Astragalus, one of the best researched immune system stimulants available, works much like Echinacea. Both increase the number and activity of immune cells. Astragalus works on building the immune system. Unlike Echinacea, Astragalus can be taken daily. This is a big plus for Astragalus users.

This wonder herb has been known to be combined with any of a variety of other Chinese herbs, such as ginseng, which take the tag-team approach at strengthening the body’s natural defense system. Known to treat everything from the common cold to cancer and everything in between, this potent weapon aims to build and maintain the body’s immune system and let it do what it was designed to do. This means the human body actually fights off invading pathogens when the immune system is functioning at its optimal level of performance.

With the swine flu in the news on a daily basis, one of the smartest things that anyone can do is to strengthen his immune system. Astragalus has been researched extensively and is now available from a wide variety of sources. This is very comforting when you realize how many other defense mechanisms have little or no research to back up their claims. There is no better time to begin building up your immune system than now to avoid future illnesses on a wide scope.