Immune mix is what I have used as an immune booster. Immune mix is what I used when my horses had AHS a few years back. They all survived. I doubt it ‘cured’ them. But I do like to think that it played a small part.

Let me tell you why I chose the herbs that go into Immune mix. (I always take two things into account when deciding what herbs to use in my products – safety and efficacy. And not just from stories, from proper documented scientific double blind trials – see references below.)

Echinacea:

Echinacea is very widely used in Europe as a medication for colds and flu, as well as otherinfections. (In Germany it is the number one precribed remedy.) The best scientific evidence about echinacea concerns its ability to help you recover more quickly. The old saying goes that “a cold lasts 7 days, but if you treat it, it will be over in a week.” However evidence tells us that echinacea can actually help you get over colds much faster.

In one double blind, placebo controlled trial (in humans), 80 flu patients were given either Echinacea or a placebo. The average recovery time for the patients given placebo was 9 days. The patients given Echinacea recovered in 6 days.

It seems to work by increasing antibody production, raising white blood cell counts, and stimulating the activity of key white blood cells.

Echinacea is generally safe. Even when taken in very high doses, it has not been found to cause any toxic effects. It has been shown to be safe in pregnancy and for youngsters.

Siberian Ginseng(Eleutherococcus senticosis)

The main advantage of Siberian Ginseng is it’s adaptogen properties.  What is an adaptogen? An adaptogen should help the body adapt to stresses of various kinds, whether heat, cold, exertion, trauma, sleep deprivation, toxic exposure, radiation, infection, or psychological stress. Furthermore, an adaptogen should cause no side effects, be effective in treating a wide variety of illnesses, and help return an organism toward balance no matter what may have gone wrong.

It has been found beneficial in several diseases, including herpes and upper respiratory infections.

According to studies performed primarily in the former Soviet Union, Eleutherococcus appears to present a low order of toxicity in both the short- and long-term. Human trials have not resulted in any significant side effects. Safety in pregnancy or lactation is not known.

Garlic

Garlic is brilliant. It strengthens the immune system, wards off insect bites,  fights offbacteria, viruses, fungi and even (recently) cancer. And, of course, it is 100% safe. (The only adverse effect being bad breath!)

In addition to these herbs, and to enhance their immune boosting properties, I have added Vitamin C, kelp, bioflavonoids and phytosterols.

References

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More about this article

Title

Taking a natural route with African Horse Sickness or AHS

Written by

Beryl Shuttleworth

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The Herbal Horse and Pet