7 Healthcast: Green tea

When it comes to tea, there's a new reason to go green! Compounds in the tea help fight the viruses that cause colds and the flu, but it takes more than just one cup a day.

"We found that you needed five to six cups a day at least to get the effect," said Dr. Jack Bukowski of Harvard Medical School. "Which is an amount that a lot of Americans aren't comfortable drinking."

That's what prompted Dr. Bukowski to help create the supplement Immune Guard.

"We made a capsule with the correct amounts of the active ingredients that we already knew what they were, combined them together in a capsule to give the equivalent of about 10 cups of tea," Dr. Bukowski said.

A study out of the University of Florida found that people who took Immune Guard twice a day during flu season had their cold and flu symptoms decrease by 36 percent, and their need to seek medical treatment for the symptoms decreased by 58 percent. A blood test showed their immune systems were boosted by 28 percent.

"I've been taking it for three years, I've barely had a sniffle, same with my family and wife and kids and they've had great success with it," Dr. Bukowski said.

No matter what supplements you're taking, Dr. Bukowski says, when it comes to staying healthy, it's still important to wash your hands, get enough sleep, and eat plenty your fruits and vegetables.

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