Countless immune boosters fly off the shelves year-round, particularly in the cold and flu season. But even some of the most popular immune supplements haven't been tested against cold and flu in well-designed clinical trials. No clinical trials, for example, have been conducted on goldenseal, a purported immune-booster sometimes used to fend off the common cold - and there's evidence the herb may interfere with blood pressure drugs, decrease the activity of anticoagulants and hamper absorption of vitamin B. Goji, sometimes known as lycium, is a popular immune booster based on evidence from the laboratory and animal studies, and some human research in China - but no clinical trials have examined its ability to keep flu or colds at bay. The same is true for supplements derived from tropical fruits noni and mangosteen. A few herbs popular for other indicat...
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