Goji Berries Bring Flu Relief [Study]

Whether you are a true believer in getting an annual flu shot or not, the fact is that the flu bugs are out there, ready to terrorize any immune system that is not prepared to fight off the little pests. Here’s a little healthy living tip for fighting the flu this year, especially among the older crowd: goji berries.

Read more about goji berries

The flu vaccine does not fully protect anyone against the flu virus, and if only for that reason alone you should think about what you can do to improve your chances of avoiding the flu in the first place. So, whether you and your family lined up to get a shot or you are facing the flu challenge naturally, the antioxidant powerhouses goji berries (also known as wolfberries) can be your friend. Here’s what two studies of these fruits and the flu have shown us thus far.

I’ll start with a study from 2012, since its findings motivated scientists to pursue the association between the fruits and the flu even further. That study, conducted by researchers at Tufts University in Boston, found that a goji berry preparation given to mice infected with a flu virus provided several important benefits that supported the immune system. Namely, goji berries helped reduce symptoms, decreased factors that cause inflammation in the lungs, and resulted in an enhanced ability to produce interleukin-2, a protein that has a critical role in fighting infections.

Read more about flu vaccinations

Now let’s jump ahead another year and see what most of the same researchers at the same institution learned about goji berries and the flu. This time they focused on the impact of the ability of the berries to protect the immune system after influenza infection in older adults.

In this study, the researchers used older mice who were given a diet containing 5 percent goji berries or no berries for 30 days. Then the mice were administered a flu vaccine or saline (control) and later they were challenged with the flu virus. The mice who received the goji berries had better antibody levels and improved symptoms when compared with mice that received the vaccine but no goji berries. In addition, the goji berries were associated with increased activity of dendritic cells, which are a necessary part of the immune system.

Overall, the authors of the study concluded that goji berries enhance “the efficacy of influenza vaccination, resulting in better host protection to prevent subsequent influenza infection.”

Read about immune system boosting foods

As part of your flu fighting program this year, be sure to follow some important healthy living tips, and they include having antioxidant-rich goji berries and similar immune system boosting foods on your menu. A few other suggestions include washing your hands often, drinking plenty of fluids, staying home if you get sick, and covering your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze.

Image: The measure of mike