Herbal Antivirals: Natural Remedies for Emerging & Resistant Viral Infections Kindle Edition

This is not your grandmother's little book of home remedies. This is 408 pages of superbly organized clinical information on the state of the medical arts' research and findings about emerging viruses, respiratory viruses, encephalitis viruses, CMV, Dengue, Shingles, Epstein-Barr just to name a very few, and the treatment protocols the author is using with varying degrees of success, how successful or not the protocols are proving themselves to be, the recommended forms and dosages for combining with amino acids, vitamins, protein supplements, and just about anything common sensical you can do to help yourself heal. It was published in 2013, so it's reasonably current. Pages 122-259 are a materia medica of common and highly accessible, antiviral herbs, alphabetically organized, including the plant taxonomy identification by family and species used specifically for medical applications, the parts of the plants used for acute vs chronic conditions respectively, the best forms for the conditions, the prep of these forms if you can't find it and have to make your own, possible side effects, herb/drug interactions, herb/herb interactions, cultivation and collection, and habitat and appearance. And if that isn't enough info on your herb of choice, there's a list of actions, a huge list of viruses and bacteria it's active against, what it's most frequently used successfully to treat, the not-so-commonly known uses it can be beneficial for, some vendor sources for finding it, an explanation of how the plant chemistry works in the body, and how and what the herb is used to treat in Traditional Chinese Medicine, indigenous peoples' medicine, Western Medicine and Ayurvedic medicine. Finally, there's a rundown of the state of research regarding the herb in lab studies and human medical trials as of 2012-13. There are 42 pages devoted to 3 commonly employed herbs for strengthening the immune system. Appendix A includes many home remedies for the things you really need help with, like childhood fevers and diarrhea. Appendix B has 10 sources for acquiring in bulk or having custom medicines made for you. There is a superlative bibliography (52 pages) in the back, and a 22-page Alphabetical Index to the book in the back.I bought this book last month, because I have had chronic fatigue syndrome since 2003, coming and going in varying degrees of severity. All our American doctors know to do is prescribe a pill for a symptom. That isn't healing; that's palliative treatment. That's what they do to keep you comfortable until you croak. The last 5-1/2 years, especially, as I approach 60 years of age, have been a down-hill slide into increasingly broken health. Three weeks ago I started the author's protocol for Epstein-Barr systemic infection and infection of the cornea of the eye. I also added the Sacred Seven mushrooms in powdered form once daily in my coffee and hyaluronic acid eyedrops and MSM eyedrops. In just 10 days, I've seen a rather dramatic upward curve in my health. The systemic inflammation is down by probably 75% after 15 months of rheumatic hell. My corneas are still touchy, but the virus is not active and they are stable for the first time in over 1 year. Today, I went out in the 96-degree Texas heat and humidity and used a heavy pole saw to cut a big, fallen pecan limb off my telephone line and garage roof, so I can take pics and file a claim for roof repair. The fact that I had the muscular strength to hoist a pole saw 14 feet into the air is remarkable. The additional fact that I felt only temporary muscle fatigue that faded after I showered and rested an hour and that I am not utterly exhausted and, in fact, feel good...like cooking a meal and practicing my musical instrument kind of feel good...is enough to bring tears to my eyes. Thank God for this author and this book, and for all the external sources he has pointed me toward. I feel better than I've felt in over 10 years. It's not a fragile shift toward the better. It's a roaring into the straightaway, clear- and bright-eyed, glowing-complection kind of shift. We don't build resistance to healing plant and food substances like we do pharmaceuticals. There's no reason to fear this immune-building protocol will stop working for that reason. My fingers are crossed, and I'm hopeful. I may actually get my life back. Please God, let it be so!

Herbal AntiVirals By Stephen Harrod BuhnerIt was about twenty years ago, and I still remember vividly an anxious middle aged man on oxygen sitting up on his stretcher in the waiting area of the Hospital Xray department outside my office. He was there for his daily chest Xray to follow his viral pneumonia. After a few days, he stopped coming down, and the hospital staff informed me he had succumbed to his illness. This was a bitter lesson. Although we doctors have effective antibiotics for bacterial pneumonia, we have no such drugs for viral pneumonia, and in fact, we have very little to offer these unfortunate people except supportive care. And yes, some die from viral pneumonia.Although modern medicine has made considerable progress in antiviral drug discovery such as Acyclovir for Herpes virus, most cultures and ethnic groups on the planet have successfully used anti-viral medicinal plants for thousands of years for prevention and treatment of a viral disease. The mechanism is fusion inhibition, which prevents attachment of the viral capsule to the host cell membrane, thus preventing entrance of virus into the cell where replication takes place.Buhner's Herbal Antivirals book has an excellent discussion of the Influenza epidemic of 1918 and discusses various herbal treatments for various viral diseases as well in depth discussion of each herbal. I must say the book is impressive for a number of reasons. One is the extensive reference to the medical literature as well as the ethnic herbal literature, pulling usually separated sources together. My only quibble is that reference numbers are missing in the text, so one is forced to search through the bibliography to find the reference if interested in reading it. According to Dr. Buhner’s book, the three top candidates as anti-viral herbals are Elderberry, Licorice Root and Chinese Skull cap. Perhaps the most widely available of the antiviral botanicals is Black Elderberry Syrup, which can be found at most health food stores and markets.' This is just the thing for little kids who pick up a new bug every week at child day care.Licorice Root is widely available at most health food stores as capsules or tinctures. One must be careful to avoid the DGL (deglycyrrhizinated licorice root) as this form has the active ingredient removed. Douglas Labs offers l Douglas Laboratories® - Licorice Root-V (with Glycyrrhizin)  which Dr Buhner recommends: standardized to 12% glycyrrhizin per each 500 mg capsule. I have given this product to family members during viral illness with good results. Licorice Root is also available from various herbal apothecaries as tinctures.Chinese Skullcap is one of Buhner's favorite anti-virals. Dr Buhner reminds us to avoid the American Skullcap which is a different species and less effective than Chinese skullcap which contains the active ingredients Baicalin and Baicalein. American skullcap is called Scutellaria lateriflora whereas the correct one, the Chinese skullcap, is called Scutellaria baicalensis. The Chinese Skullcap comes as a dried root, and best used as a tincture prepared in alcohol. Dr Buhner lists a number of herbal apothecaries that he likes for the tinctures.As an added bonus in the book, Buhner provides his favorite sources for the herbal preparations mentioned in the book. This list of herbal anti-virals is by no means final, as there are perhaps hundreds more, such as ginger, Olive Leaf, Garlic, Artemisinin, Berberine, Monolaurin, Humic Acid, Lactoferrin, colostrum etc.One should remember the importance of replenishing vitamin C and selenium levels in the critically ill patient with pneumonia as discussed in my previous article. A good Vitamin D level prevents viral infection as mentioned in my previous article.Jeffrey Dach MD

I was sick with the first serious flu (longer than one day) of my life when this book coincidentally arrived. I spent five minutes to find that elderberry, etc, were good things. Went to my local store and said 'I want elderberry,etc". She smiled and said 'You want this" - ACF by Buried Treasure. Elderberry syrup, etc. Had all the ingredients. I was coughing every ten seconds, even my first bronchial spasms (ouch!). Took a drink. Coughing STOPPED in seconds and went down to once every 5-10 minutes. 24 hours later I was no longer sick. 48 hours later I felt great. I added Source Naturals Mushroom Immune Dense to my already large supplement stack. For seven years I have had no flu, cold, anything that lasted more than an hour. I sing at karaoke 5 nights a week where there is tons of stuff going around, and nothing spreads like singing. A lot of others get sick with flu or cold. Not me, or the several others I have shared with. Dozens of karaoke singers got covid, most sick for a couple days, a few hospitalized (but we are an older crowd, age 65-90). Not me. I practice routine hygiene, no disinfectants, no masks. About two dozen family and friends now swear by ACF. All this is anecdotal evidence to be sure, but IMO it is strong anecdotal evidence.

I heard about this book listening to a recent Revolution Health radio podcast by Chris Kresser. I am generally super healthy but last summer had whooping cough and am still recovering from the damage caused to my larynx and chest. I was amazed at how helpful both turmeric (for the inflammation) and Mullein tea (for the congestion) were and this opened my mind to the possibility that some herbs might be more powerful than 'over the counter' medicines. However nothing prepared me for the contents of this book. I found it quite simply mind blowing.I am a biological scientist specialising in vaccines by trade so the scientific descriptions in this book were music to my ears. I am used to reading (and instantly dismissing) overblown claims for various health suppliments and herbs. But the approach in this book spoke to my educated self. I don't have time to fully describe how well presented this book is to do it justice but I will say that it is thorough and scientific, with references to both academic papers and clinical studies. It describes exactly how and where in the body the different herbs advocated work in fighting infection. I had no idea so much was known (and proven in random double blind clinical studies). The book has recipes for herbal combinations/formulations to treat various ailments and or boost the immune system. It also has a very detailed section on each of the anti viral herbs recommended with references to studies evaluating them. It gives advice on how to take, how much and what form. This is particularly important because when you search for the ingredients often a whole load of options come up: powder, root, leaves, mixtures of roots and leaves, tinctures... some in a variety of strengths. Sometimes the particular plant variety also matters. I almost can't wait to get sick again!My only gripe is that the herbs recommended were chosen partly for their availability in the US. I have yet to find as many in the UK.

Very interesting and accessible to read a book. However, almost pointless because almost none of the proposed herbs for treatment are available in the UK, Which is very frustrating

If you are interested in herbal medicine, this will be of interest to you. If, like me, you have the misfortune to have a chronic illness (M.E.) that is barely recognised, yet alone treated, in the UK, this book may just rock your world. I wanted to research herbal antivirals as I believe that a virus was implicated in the origin of my condition. This book explains how viruses behave, how they can hide, how they can cause inflammation and other symptoms. It goes on to describe the properties of the best anti-viral herbs and how they work. As a result of reading this book I consulted a medical herbalist and am now taking a bespoke herbal medicine blend daily. It's early days, but I am seeing an improvement.

Currently having a severe acute Epstein Barr episode with wide ranging symptoms, I found this book disappointing. It covers Epstein Barr, one of the most common viruses in human beings, in the chapter titled "A brief look at other viruses. The main mention gives two patented medicines as potential treatments, with no herbal treatments. Because there is no index(!) I had to use the Kindle search to find a later section with more information, but overall my impression is that this author has not given even reasonable coverage of this virus which is being linked to so many named conditions. According to Medicalexpress.com, for example, there is evidence of involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), celiac disease, and type 1 diabetes, and several types of cancer. In short, this book has a huge gaping hole in my opinion.

I like to think I'm pretty well informed on herbs and herbal remedies having studied the subject for 40 odd years and having read hundreds of books on the subject, but I'm always willing to learn more on the subject and this book and it's sister book Hebal Antibiotics are pretty well up to the task.I now have a better understanding and respect for viruses and bacteria and their place wihin our evolution and ecosystem.I agree with another reviewer, some of the science is a bit overwhelming and may not be to every taste.The remedies are obviously sound, based on Mr Buhners experience and what he has seen to be effective.The best part of the book for me was the infomation on the over use of antibiotics/antivirus drugs and the devestating outcome that has prevailed from this practise. Certainlly made me think. Worth a read just for that.