... Make elderberry syrup, of course!
The recipe I made is a classic elderberry syrup but with the addition of a couple other immunity-boosting ingredients. I found some great, concise information on the herbs through Mountain Rose Herbs and thought I'd share them here.
Elderberry -- Elder is touted as one of the strongest anti-viral herbs. "It's flowers and berries have a long history of use in traditional European medicine...Elderberry's real claim to fame is as a cure for the flu. Israeli researchers have developed five formulas based on elderbery fruit that have been clinically proven to prevent and ameliorate all kinds of influenza..." (mountainroseherbs.com)
Echinacea -- Echinacea (specifically angustifolia) "is herbal medicine's first choice of treatment for colds." It works specifically through stimulation of the immune system. "...administered in times of need, this helpful ally can assist the body's immune system in treating a wide range of disorders". (mountainroseherbs.com)
Astragalus -- "...research shows that simple preparation of astragalus...stimulate[s] the immune system in several ways. It increases the number of stem cells in bone marrow, and encourages their maturity into active white blood cells. [Astragalus] appears to help signal the white blood cells known as neutrophils to migrate to places they are needed to fight infection. [Astragalus] stimulates the "germ-eating" white blood cells known as macrophages, activates T-cells and natural killer (NIK) cells, and increases the production of immune globulins. Usually taken with a variety of other herbs, astragalus...eases chronic respiratory infections..." (mountainroseherbs.com)
It's hard to not just drink this stuff for a little pick-me-up during the day. It is so darn tasty! I decocted the herbs with a variety of mulling spices to come up with a mouth-watering, natural tonic for boosting your immunity. How perfect! It's good for you and it goes down easily, too!
4 comments:
Mmm! One of my college roommates kept a bottle of elderberry syrup in the fridge and took a spoonful every day when colds and flus started to go around.
It's definitely a good idea to have it around!!
I too use Elderberry prophylactically throughout the Winter only I mostly use a homemade tincture. You should share your recipe and technique for making the syrup.
Alan, yes, I will do that! I think I will have some time tomorrow. :)
I was going to make tincture this year but with the crazy drought we had, the berries came at an unusual time and the birds ate all of them before I could collect any. Thankfully though I had some dried berries leftover that I had collected from the year before.
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