What Is Immunity, Really?

So I "finally caught that cold that's been going around"? You betcha. Not as immune as I thought.

This past XMAS I blended an "Immunity Tea" for buddies comprised of Mate, Astraglus and Ashwaghanda. Three herbs to build immunity over the long term. Then there's Echinacea for the short term. But what else? I want to learn more. At Dandelion Botanicals there's a class soon on "Herbs for the Immune System" which I would love to invest in. Instead I am researching this online.

Genevieve Kiger says the top 5 herbs are Astragalus, Cat's Claw, Echinacea, Elderberry and Ginseng. Gail Faith Edwards is hailing astragalus, usnea, sage, garlic, honey, shitake and reishi mushrooms, hyssop, and St. John’s wort. Christopher Hobbs touts herbs from the standpoint of Traditional European Medicine (TEM), cateogorizing them into 4 types (tonics, specifics, heroics, protectors/cleansers) according to the degree that they address surface all the way to deep immune ailments. Obviously this cold I'm dealing with is a surface problem that will leave me in a few days. Echinacea would be considered a "specific" (emergency medicine) to use as long as I have this cold "surface ailment". But I should also be using cleansers to help remove toxins from my body, like Burdock. Hobbs says Astragalus and the mushrooms are "deep immune" herbs.
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I have Astragalus, Garlic, Honey, St John's Wort and Burdock all at my disposal. Now I just have to sit and wait it out.