In a World Without Medicine, These Plants Could Save Your Life
Protection when the government has failed.
Things were already getting pretty bad.
Now the Trump administration, via RFK Jr. and his anti-vax crusaders, has halted work on next generation Covid vaccines. They’ve also canceled a crucial meeting to determine this fall’s flu shots. They’ve even started to consider canceling the $500 million allocation for Moderna’s H5N1 bird flu vaccine.
Five years ago, we looked to plants to protect us from pathogens because vaccines and treatments weren't coming anytime soon.
Well, here we are again.
I’ve combined all my work on this topic into one super post that overviews the available research, dose recommendations, and brands—because it’s not just whether they work, it’s who sells them. I’ve done a ton of digging and found many, many plant-based compounds that can help your body fight off infections. Some of these, like star anise, rival Tamiflu when they’re used effectively. Not everyone can use them, and you should always consult a doctor if you’re taking a medication or have a health condition that could impact their use. Some of these supplements aren’t meant to be taken every day all year long. You take them when you think you’ve been exposed to something. You take them for a few weeks. Then you should give your body a rest, because too many supplements are hard on your liver.
So, do they even work?
Yeah, they do.
A 2024 review of studies in Viruses identified 10 different plant compounds with broad antiviral properties and effectiveness specific to Covid—and in many cases several other viruses. As they write, "plant-derived molecules can tackle viruses by acting on different aspects of their infection process" and "inhibit coronavirus/host protein pathways" by blocking them. The authors initially identified 45 different compounds and then narrowed them to the 10 most effective.
Plants work because they contain terpenoids, flavonoids, phenols, and alkaloids that all demonstrate "high anti-viral potential against SARS-CoV-2 particles" as well as other viruses. They do this in a variety of ways that work across variants because they block virus entry while also tamping down replication and essentially "stopping its life cycle." Sounds good to me...
Let's get into it.