A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in August, 2011 revealed that Chinese herbs resolves fever in influenza as quickly as Tamiflu. The median time to resolution was 20 hours with Tamiflu, 16 hours with the Chinese herbs (maxingshigan-yinqiaosan) and 15 hours with a combination of both. The authors conclude that these herbs can be used as an alternative when Tamiflu is not available.

COMMENT: When Tamiflu is not available? They must be kidding. The study shows that Chinese herbs are better than Tamiflu, so why not use them first? In addition, Chinese herbs are much cheaper than Tamiflu.

You might recall that Tamiflu was stockpiled during the bird flu scare, costing millions of dollars, yet studies revealed that it was ineffective for that strain of virus (see my book, The Bird Flu Primer). I have recommended Chinese herbs to both prevent the flu and shorten its duration for years. I have found that the combination of Yin Chao Jin and Elderberry packs a powerful punch.