elderberry: a cold-season friend

I wanted to write a nice long post today about root medicine and, honestly, I don't feel up to it.  I think the long traveling wore me out and I've come down with the sniffles...  so instead of being online, I'm making some elderberry syrup.  This post is all  cut-and-pasted from Wiki (for the science wonks) and YouTube (for the DIY elderberry syrup instructions, courtesy LearningHerbs.com).  

Click here for video directions

Elderberry (Sambucus L.) is an easy, sustainable, and effective old-school recipe for health during the cold and flu season.  It grows all over the US, Europe, and in South America and South Africa too. It's honored wherever it grows as powerful medicine.  


And elder makes delicious remedies.  This recipe---> contains ginger, cinnamon and cloves--I'm also throwing in some astragalus.  For prevention, I'll be taking 1 tablespoon an hour or so, as I feel I need it.  Once I feel better, I think I'll still take 1 tablespoon a day as a preventative (and give it to my son as well, who loves it, as do the elders in my life.  Elder's hard not to love).  


To indulge the nerd in me--and to provide backup into for the skeptics--here's some "scientific proof" about Elderberry's efficacy, courtesy of Wiki:

In a placebo-controlled, double-blind study, Elderberry was shown to be effective for treating Influenza B. People using the Elderberry extract recovered much faster than those only on a placebo. This is partially due to the fact that Elderberry inhibits neuraminidase, the enzyme used by the virus to spread infection to host cells.^[3]

A small study published five years ago showed that 93% of flu patients given extract were completely symptom-free within two days; those taking a placebo recovered in about six days. This current study shows that, indeed, it works for type A flu, reports lead researcher Erling Thom, with the University of Oslo in Norway.^[4] Thom’s findings were presented at the 15th Annual Conference on Antiviral Research.

It’s likely that antioxidants called flavonoids—which are contained in the extract—stimulate the immune system, writes Thom. Also, other compounds in elderberry, called anthocyanins, have an anti-inflammatory effect; this could explain the effect on aches, pains, and fever. 

Elderberry extract could be an “efficient and safe treatment” for flu symptoms in otherwise healthy people and for those with compromised immune systems, such as the elderly, Thom adds.