Stress lowers your resistance to disease by suppressing your immune system. The following list provides an overview of some of the best-known immune boosters, which stimulate your immune system or strengthen it to help fight diseases, including cancer:

• Echinacea. A f lower belonging to the sunf lower family, echinacea is believed to increase the number of disease-fighting cells in your immune system.

• Essiac. This mixture of four herbs (Indian rhubarb, sheepshead sorrel, slippery elm, and burdock root) is believed to strengthen the immune system, improve appetite, supply essential nutrients to the body, possibly relieve pain, and ultimately, prolong life.

• Ginseng. A root used in Chinese medicine, ginseng is believed to enhance your immune system and boost the activity of white blood cells.

• Green tea. This is a popular Asian tea made from a plant called Camellia sinensis. The active chemical in green tea, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), is believed to neutralize free radicals, which are carcinogenic. Green tea is thus considered an anticancer agent, particularly for stomach, lung, and skin cancers.

• Iscador (mistletoe). Iscador is made through a fermentation process, using different kinds of mistletoe, a plant known for its white berries. More popular as an antitumor treatment in Europe, iscador is believed to work by enhancing your immune system and inhibiting tumor growth.

• Paul d’Arco (Taheebo). This usually comes in the form of a tea made from the inner bark of a tree called tabebuia. It’s believed to act as a cleansing agent and can be used as an antimicrobial agent. This tea is also said to stop tumor growth.

• Wheatgrass. This grass, grown from wheatberry seeds, is rich in chlorophyll. Its juice contains over one hundred vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients and is believed to contain a number of cancerfighting agents and immune-boosting properties.

The following herbs and spices also are said to be tumor busters: garlic, turmeric, onions, black pepper, asafetida, pippali, cumin, poppy seeds, kandathiipile, neem f lowers, mananthakkali, drumstick, basil leaves, ponnakanni, and parsley.