Blackmores Institute

Blackmores Institute Director, Dr Lesley Braun said: “As the world gets used to the ‘new normal’ conditions and living through a pandemic, there has been a sharp increase in interest about how natural medicine can be utilised to support optimal immune system health”.  “With winter approaching in Australia, there has been strong demand for evidence-backed recommendations on the role that herbs and nutrients can play in treating common respiratory viruses such as influenza and the common cold,” added Dr Braun.  The whitepaper explores how nutritional status can have a significant impact on immune system competence and play a role in determining the risk and severity of infections. In addition, the paper discusses some of the pharmacological activities of common herbal medicines, and role in practice. Nutrients discussed include vitamins A, C, D, and E, the mineral zinc, as well as probiotics. The herbs andrographis, echinacea, pelargonium, garlic, and elderberry are also examined. The review includes a summary of the evidence for each ingredient and links these findings to dosage recommendations based on the trials reviewed, and practice guidelines to support clinicians.  “As with all treatments, it’s important to consider individual patient risk factors, co-morbidities, other medications being used and special requirements. It’s also important to clearly communicate appropriate use and expectations of supplements and whether they are best suited to short term use such as in symptom relief, or bolstering nutritional status longer term” said Dr Braun.
 
The report is available to download <a href="https://assets.contentstack.io/v3/assets/blt948bd74310fc0ad0/blteedbea6b43a5e601/69f2ba89f3d0ca3f7598f66d/blackmores-institute-immunehealth-2020.pdf" target="_self">here</a>, with an online virtual classroom to follow for those practitioners looking to enrich the findings of the report, and delve deeper into the research covered. To be notified of the virtual classroom event, please nominate your interest <a href="mailto:education@blackmoresinstitute.org" target="_self">here</a>.

Blackmores Institute has today released a whitepaper for health professionals that investigates the evidence-based use of nutritional supplements and herbal medicines to support immune function, as well as the prevention, management and treatment of viral respiratory tract infections.

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