Improve the immune system's ability to resist colds & flu

Step 1: If you are going to get the flu shot
If you are going to get the flu shot and want to make sure your immune system gets the most benefits from it, the following steps are recommended.

1. Get enough sleep
2. Get a moderate amount of exercise
3. Decrease your stress levels
4. Supplement your diet with a standardized ginseng extract
5. Take some extra vitamin C
6. Consider taking a multiple vitamin that has zinc, selenium, and calcium

Step 2: Whether or not you get the flu shot
Improving the capabilities of the immune system before we get sick is a far more proactive health strategy than would be waiting to support the immune system after we are already sick. With this in mind, nutritional and herbal strategies can help our immune system to (1) protect us from getting a cold and/or flu, and (2) accelerate our recovery time should we get sick by the viruses that cause these infections (fewer sick days).

The 1, 2, (& 3) punch to knock out colds and flu and get the best immune system results during the upcoming cold and flu season are:

1. Ginseng
2. Andrographis
3. Vitamin C

References:

GINSENG
Scaglione F, Cattaneo G, Alessandria M, Cogo R. Efficacy and safety of the standardised Ginseng extract G115 for potentiating vaccination against the influenza syndrome and protection against the common cold. Drugs Exp Clin Res. 1996;22
".the frequency of influenza or common cold between weeks 4 and 12 was 42 cases in the placebo group, it was only 15 cases in the (ginseng) group."

McElhaney JE, Gravenstein S, Cole SK, Davidson E, O'neill D, Petitjean S, Rumble B, Shan JJ. A placebo-controlled trial of a proprietary extract of North American ginseng (CVT-E002) to prevent acute respiratory illness in institutionalized older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2004 Jan;52(1):13-9.
"CONCLUSION: . (ginseng) was shown to be safe, well tolerated, and potentially effective for preventing ARI (acute respiratory infection) due to influenza and RSV." [Note: RSV is a virus that causes the common cold]

ANDROGRAPHIS
Cáceres DD, Hancke JL, Burgos RA, Wikman GK. Prevention of common colds with Andrographis paniculata dried extract. A Pilot double blind trial. Phytomedicine 1997; 4(2):101-104.
After three months, group taking Andrographis was 2.1 times less likely to catch a cold than the placebo group. This was a more than 50% reduction in colds compared to the placebo group.

Caceres DD, Hancke JL, Burgos RA, et al. Use of visual analogue scale measurements (VAS) to assess the effectiveness of standardized Andrographis paniculata extract SHA-10 in reducing the symptoms of common cold. A randomized double blind-placebo study. Phytomedicine. 1999;6:217-223.
"At day 2 of treatment a significant decrease in the intensity of the symptoms of tiredness (OR = 1.28; 95% CI 1.07-1.53), sleeplessness (OR = 1.71; 95% CI 1.38-2.11), sore throat (OR = 2.3; 95% CI 1.69-3.14) and nasal secretion (OR = 2.51; 95% CI 1.82-3.46) was observed in the Andrographis SHA-10 group as compared with the placebo group. At day 4, a significant decrease in the intensity of all symptoms was observed for the Andrographis paniculata group."

Coon JT, Ernst E. Andrographis paniculata in the treatment of upper respiratory tract infections: a systematic review of safety and efficacy. Planta Med. 2004 Apr;70(4):293-8.
".the data suggest that A. paniculata (andrographis) is superior to placebo in alleviating the subjective symptoms of uncomplicated upper respiratory tract infection. There is also preliminary evidence of a preventative effect."

Gabrielian ES, Shukarian AK, Goukasova GI, et al. A double blind, placebo-controlled study of Andrographis paniculata fixed combination Kan Jang in the treatment of acute upper respiratory tract infections including sinusitis. Phytomedicine. 2002;9:589-597.
".has a positive effect in the treatment of acute upper respiratory tract infections and also relieves the inflammatory symptoms of sinusitis."

Kulichenko LL, Kireyeva LV, Malyshkina EN, Wikman G. A Randomized, Controlled Study of Kan Jang versus Amantadine in the Treatment of Influenza in Volgograd. J Herb Pharmcother. 2003;3(1):77-92.
".differences in the duration of sick leave and frequency of post-influenza complications indicate that the (andrographis) not only contributes to quicker recovery, but also reduces the risk of post-influenza complications."

VITAMIN C
Hemila H. Vitamin C intake and susceptibility to the common cold. Br J Nutr. 1997 Jan;77(1):59-72. Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Finland.
".in four studies with British male schoolchildren and students a statistically highly significant reduction in common cold incidence was found in groups supplemented with vitamin C (pooled RR 0.70; 95% CI 0.60, 0.81). Thus, these studies with British males indicate that vitamin C intake has physiological effects on susceptibility to common cold infections."

Van Straten M, Josling P. Preventing the common cold with a vitamin C supplement: a double-blind, placebo-controlled survey. Adv Ther. 2002 May-Jun;19(3):151-9. Herbal Health Centre, Battle, East Sussex, United Kingdom.
"Compared with the placebo group, the active-treatment group had significantly fewer colds (37 vs. 50, P<.05), fewer days challenged virally (85 vs. 178), and a significantly shorter duration of severe symptoms (1.8 vs. 3.1 days, P<.03). Consequently, volunteers in the active group were less likely to get a cold and recovered faster if infected."

Gorton HC, Jarvis K. The effectiveness of vitamin C in preventing and relieving the symptoms of virus-induced respiratory infections. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1999 Oct;22(8):530-3.
"RESULTS: Overall, reported flu and cold symptoms in the test group decreased 85% compared with the control group after the administration of megadose Vitamin C. CONCLUSION: Vitamin C in megadoses administered before or after the appearance of cold and flu symptoms relieved and prevented the symptoms in the test population compared with the control group."