Boosting Your Immune System ResponseTo The Swine Flu (NAPSA)—The quick spread of the swine flu, or the A (H1N1) strain of influenza, has people wondering what steps they can take to protect themselves—and, fortunately, there are a few easy ones. In addition to the obvious—frequent hand washing, a healthy diet, getting enoughsleep, exercising, and managing stress—there is some evidence that dietary supplements can strengthen the immune system. Supplements Becausethe virusis brand new, there is no research showing that any vitamin, mineral or botanical ingredient is effective against this particular viral strain. Therefore, it would be irresponsible to claim any dietary supplement can prevent swineflu. However, there are certain sup- plements—including vitamin D, probiotics and AHCC (active hexose correlated compound) from hybridized Japanese medicinal mushrooms—that have been shown to help boost immunity, which could increase a body’s resistance to the virus. Virus-Fighting Properties AHCC is of particular interest to the scientific community, having been studied at Harvard’s Faulkner Hospital, Yale University School of Medicine, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, SUNY Binghamton and Drexel Univer- ’ a SC F Japanese medicinal mushrooms have been shownto help boost immunity, which could increase a body’s resistance to the swine flu virus. sity. Animal research has shown that AHCC can effectively deter various viral infections, including the H1N1 influenza virus (common flu), the H5N1 avian in- fluenza (bird flu) and the West Nile virus. In study after study, mice treated with AHCC before being infected with these viruses experienced less severe infections, a shorter recovery time and a better survival rate than control mice. SuccessfulTrials AHCC’s ability to support immuneresponse has also been confirmed by several humanclinical studies, including a recent study at Yale School of Medicine on healthy elderly patients. There is good reason to hope supplements can help keep immune systems strong, which in turn can help bodies fend off viruses.
