Star anise tea for influenza. [View all]

Of course you should see a doctor if you have serious symptoms (flu can be dangerous) but I know of a potential home remedy that worked for me, and might help you recover faster.

During the swine flu epidemic a couple of years ago, I got sick and tested positive for Influenza A via a nose swab. Because I have asthma, I got a prescription for Tamiflu but the pharmacy was all out of stock. I did some research on the drug and found out that the active ingredient in the drug Tamiflu (shikimic acid) comes from star anise. Since I was sick and scared and desperate, I decided to go directly to the source and see if it made any difference.

I made myself a concentrated flask of tea made from a LOT of star anise, plus ginger, orange zest, cloves, spearmint leaves, and honey. I simmered it down for a few hours until it was reduced by half and then let it cool to room temperature before straining it, so the end result was a lot stronger and more concentrated than ordinary tea. I drank a few ounces of this tea 3 times a day, and also took ibuprofen to help fight the high fever.

Not only was it absolutely delicious, but instead of it taking 2 weeks to recover (what my doctor predicted), it only took me 4 days to start feeling better. Now, I don't know for sure if the tea is what did it. I am ordinarily VERY skeptical of this sort of thing, which is why I don't really post much in this forum. I am also neither a chemist not a doctor, and I admit that it's POSSIBLE that the shockingly-quick recovery had nothing to do with the tea at all, and was just coincidental, or might even have been due to some kind of placebo effect. I honestly can never know that for sure.

However, making tea like this certainly can't HURT, unless you substitute it for actual medical care (which I do not recommend). But assuming that you see a doc and he sends you home to recover with a flu diagnosis and orders for bed rest and fluids, why not try the tea? The worst that can happen is that you'll get a few extra ounces of a very tasty fluid every day that makes your sore throat feel better. At best, you very well might recover faster.

Take it for what it's worth. I have nothing but my own experience to share here--no links with proof, and no websites that recommend this (at least not that I know of). But it worked for me, and for Rhythm too.