Our resistance against infectious diseases determines whether we can fight the microbial attack on our bodies or fall prey to it. This resistance or the immunity as it is commonly called is the buzzword amidst the COVID19 pandemic.

The market is flooded with products that claim to boost immunity such as herbal kaadha (mixture of spices and condiments boiled in water), giloy (heart-leaved moonseed), black pepper, ginger, dried ginger, basil leaves, mulethi (liquorice root), and amla (Indian gooseberry).

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There is a whole new vigour amongst the people to use these ‘boosters’ in unprecedented amounts especially because mainstream medicinal techniques are also quite helpless in dealing with the coronavirus.

Gathering half-cooked knowledge about things and disseminating it among our friends and peers is something that our society considers to be its ethical responsibility. This can be counter-productive, no matter how genuine or altruistic the intention is.

Sarika Mathur, a cancer expert at a leading hospital in Jaipur, told me that the number of cases of peptic ulcer, gastric disorders, and gastro-intestinal issues that she has witnessed in her hospital during the pandemic have never been so frequent. This may be attributed to the over-consumption of these herbal immunity boosters.

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But the concern is not limited to the issues pertaining to the digestive system. What I dread are the ‘auto-immune disorders’. The reason being that when there’s an abundance of immunity then there is a dramatically increased level of antibodies in our systems and our immune system can possibly begin to attack our own body cells.

It happens because due to over production of antibodies, our body cannot differentiate between foreign invaders like bacteria and viruses and our own cells. In the absence of enemies to fight, the immune system attacks the cells of our body and this can possibly be worse than an outside attack. Such antibodies that attack our own cells are known as auto-antibodies.

These auto-antibodies target a specific part of our body. As an example, if they target our pancreas, it can lead to type 1 diabetes. 

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At times, these auto-antibodies target multiple parts and it results in ailments like rheumatoid arthritis. 

It is important to be close to the natural environment in order to keep our immune system active and our mind healthy.

Deepak Acharya is a herbal medicine expert and has studied the traditional medicine systems of tribal and forest-dwelling communities. Views are personal. 

Read this opinion piece in Hindi