Ancient herbs face-off with modern 'supergerms.'

Better Nutrition, Jan, 1998 by Victoria Dolby

An astonishing fact: "Most people don't realize that infections are the third leading cause of death in the United States," said Jack Challem, a medical journalist and co-author of a new book on "beating the supergerms," during a recent interview with Better Nutrition. "People are caught between an increasing number of supergerms and their own weak immune systems. But there are natural and effective ways to fight back."

The emergence of supergerms

Supergerms are any number of bacteria, viruses, or other infection-causing microorganisms that have an exceptional ability to cause serious disease -- while remaining largely impervious to medical treatment.

Newspapers have come to headline supergerm outbreaks almost every week: E coli and other germs in food, strep-A flesh-eating bacteria in the air we breath, staph germs in hospitals, and pneumonia in day-care centers. Even the common cold and flu viruses seem to be getting more potent.

The new threat posed by supergerms can be traced to a handful of key events. The overuse of antibiotics tops the list. Antibiotics kill off weak bacteria, leaving behind only the strongest bacteria. In time, strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria proliferate and cause serious illnesses that are often untreatable antibiotics.

Nutritional deficiencies are another culprit in the emergence of supergerms. A fairly innocuous germ can mutate into a killer during an infection of a nutritionally deficient individual -- bad news for the next person infected with this super-charged germ. Deforestation in Africa has brought people into contact with unusual germs -- and is believed to be linked to the emergence of both Ebola virus and AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). Modern transportation even shoulders some blame, since a supergerm-infected airline passenger can spread an infection around the world in less than a day.

Building strong immune defenses

"We can't live in a bubble -- there is no way to completely avoid supergerms and other disease-causing microorganisms," warns Challem. But the good news is that exposure to a particular germ does not mean that infection and disease are foregone conclusions. The strength or weakness of our immune systems determines whether or not a germ can gain a foothold in our bodies.

A healthful diet, one that will provide the immune system with the vitamin and mineral building blocks it needs to function at its best, stacks the deck in our favor when it comes to supergerms. Think of it this way, says Challem, "fighting an infection, whether the common cold or the flesh-eating bacteria, when our nutrient stores are low, is a little like baking a cake without flour. It's just not going to work."

Unfortunately, even in affluent America, nutritional deficiencies are relatively common. Processed and refined foods stripped of many of their nutrients form the basis of the average American diet.

"Under these circumstances, it comes as no surprise that large numbers of Americans walk around with compromised immune systems," Challem points out. Combine a poor diet with immune system attackers, such as sugar, alcohol, stress, pesticides, and anti-inflammatory drugs, and our immune systems can be overwhelmed by any number of germs.

Consulting ancient wisdom

Rather than relying on modern medicine to discover yet another antibiotic or other medication to stave off supergerms, ancient healing traditions can provide some immune-boistering advice. For thousands of years, herbs have been a mainstay for strengthening immunity and treating infections.

For colds and flu, James A. Duke, Ph.D., in his 1997 book, The Green Pharmacy (Emmaus, Penn.: Rodale Press), recommends: ginger and ginger tea (colds); black cherry (Prunus serotina, colds); Elderberry (flus); forsythia and honeysuckle (colds and flu); anise (congestion of colds); licorice (in conjunction with goldenseal and willow); marshmallow root, including okra and roselle (colds); mullein (flu); seneca snakeroot (phlegm); slippery elm (throat soother); and watercress (runny nose and cough).

For viruses, specifically, many herbalists recommend: dragon's blood, juniper, lemon balm, shiitake mushroom, and eucalyptus. For general immune-boosting, Challem would add: barberry root bark, Oregon grape root, and osha.

Victoria Dolby, an Oregon-based nutrition writer, is the co-author of two recent books: Homocysteine: The Secret Killer (Keats, 1997) and The Green Tea Book (Avery, 1997).