I, like many others, contracted Swine Flu a few weeks ago. As reported, the episode was mild producing a slight sore throat and fatigue. After three days of mild discomfort I pulled out the big guns and went to war. The ammo? Green Tea. This never fails for me…. and in order to encourage you to rely on natural substances (rather than dangerous injections and over the counter remedies), I have published study results that support the safety and efficacy of natural treatment. Something the FDA and CDC cannot state about big pharma’s untested and unstudied swine flu vaccine.

• Green Tea suppresses Influenza Viruses (due to the Tea Polyphenols content of Tea). The optimal dosage of Tea Polyphenols for therapeutic purposes is 240 – 320 mg per day: For Green Tea leaves used as a beverage this equates to three or four cups of Green Tea per day (approximately 3 grams of Green Tea leaves). For Green Tea capsules standardized to contain 83% Tea Polyphenols, one 280 mg Green Tea Extract capsule would contain 232 mg of Tea Polyphenols. For Green Tea capsules standardized to contain 52% Tea Polyphenols, three 200 mg Green Tea Extract capsules would contain 312 mg of Tea Polyphenols. Product suggestion: GreenTeaHP pixie powdered beverage contains 500 mg of Green Tea Polyphenols and actually tastes great.

Author, Study, Type, Intervention Results For Green Tea:

Nakayama, 1993 In Vitro Canine kidney cells were exposed to EGCG from green tea, and influenza viruses A and B.EGCG bound to the haemagglutinin of influenza viruses A and B, inhibited their adsorption to MDCK cells, and blocked the infectivity of influenza viruses.

Song, 2005 In Vitro Cell cultures were exposed to EGCG and EGC from green tea and influenza A virus. EGCG and ECG were found to be potent inhibitors of influenza virus replication.

Peer-Reviewed Professional Journals for Green Tea:

Nakayama, M., et al. Inhibition of the infectivity of influenza virus by tea polyphenols. Antiviral Res. 21:289-299, 1993. (-)Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg) and theaflavin digallate (TF3) (1-10 microM) inhibited the infectivity of both influenza A virus and influenza B virus in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells in vitro. Study by electron microscope revealed that EGCg and TF3 (1 mM) agglutinated influenza viruses as well as did antibody, and that they prevented the viruses from adsorbing to MDCK cells. EGCg and TF3 more weakly inhibited adsorption of the viruses to MDCK cells. EGCg and TF3 (1-16 microM) also inhibited haemagglutination by influenza viruses. These findings suggest that tea polyphenols bind to the haemagglutinin of influenza virus, inhibit its adsorption to MDCK cells, and thus block its infectivity.

Song, J. M., et al. Antiviral effect of catechins in green tea on influenza virus. Antiviral Res. 2005. Department of Biotechnology, College of Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea. Polyphenolic compound catechins ((-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECG) and (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC)) from green tea were evaluated for their ability to inhibit influenza virus replication in cell culture and for potentially direct virucidal effect. Among the test compounds, the EGCG and ECG were found to be potent inhibitors of influenza virus replication in MDCK cell culture and this effect was observed in all influenza virus subtypes tested, including A/H1N1, A/H3N2 and B virus. The 50% effective inhibition concentration (EC(50)) of EGCG, ECG, and EGC for influenza A virus were 22-28, 22-40 and 309-318muM, respectively. EGCG and ECG exhibited hemagglutination inhibition activity, EGCG being more effective. However, the sensitivity in hemagglutination inhibition was widely different among three different subtypes of influenza viruses tested. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that, at high concentration, EGCG and ECG also suppressed viral RNA synthesis in MDCK cells whereas EGC failed to show similar effect. Similarly, EGCG and ECG inhibited the neuraminidase activity more effectively than the EGC. The results show that the 3-galloyl group of catechin skeleton plays an important role on the observed antiviral activity, whereas the 5′-OH at the trihydroxy benzyl moiety at 2-position plays a minor role. The results, along with the HA type-specific effect, suggest that the antiviral effect of catechins on influenza virus is mediated not only by specific interaction with HA, but altering the physical properties of viral membrane.

Laypersons’ Publications for Green Tea:

Mitscher, L. A. & Dolby, V. The Green Tea Book. Avery Publishing Group, Garden City Park, New York, USA. 1998:109.The authors state that influenza viruses are rendered inactive by the tea polyphenols content of green tea. The EGCG content of green tea is known to bind to the influenza virus.