No flu shots for us! Instead our family relies on powerful elderberry. My non-alcoholic version is perfect for kids. First, I’ll tell you what’s so great about it – then I’ll tell you how to make your own!

Update: (Since many are asking), the demand for dried elderberries has skyrocketed this years due to an incredible awakening that elderberry WORKS and is safe, so dried elderberries are hard to find at a reasonable price. But the price for prepared (store-bought) elderberry syrup preparations isn’t near as high. Check out and compare: Ultra-Strength Elderberry Liquid (10x stronger) and Pure Synergy Rapid Rescue (with amazing ingredients and no added sugar). I consider both emergency-level products! Also Amazon has a lot of selection at near normal prices.

 

Get the free printable Elderberry Recipes PDF!

Get my free printable vaccine e-book here!

 

 

The World Becomes Aware!

I remember the day it was first reported worldwide. Dr. Madeleine Mumcuoglu made elderberries internationally famous through the well-publicized research and laboratory studies. It was demonstrated that Sambucus nigra species of elderberry was effective against a wide range of influenza viruses including human, swine and avian strains. This led to the development of a popular elderberry glycerin tincture preparation called Sambucol. Even if the preparation is taken too late to act as a preventative, controlled clinical studies demonstrated that Sambucol could reduce the severity and duration of influenza by half.

At a press conference held in 2006 at the Royal Society of Medicine in London, the results of exciting new research on the patented elderberry formula were presented and found to be at least 99% effective against the Avian Flu (H5N1) virus in cell cultures!”

Where you will find H5N1

Elderberry flavonoids bind to and prevent H1N1 infection in vitro. (Source PubMed)

Randomized study of the efficacy and safety of oral elderberry extract in the treatment of influenza A and B virus infections. (Source PubMed)

 

 

Elderberry Supplementation Reduces Cold Duration and Symptoms in Air-Travellers: A Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. (Source PubMed)

Now science is beginning to understand what Europe’s country folk and native Americans knew all along – elderberry is good for preventing colds and influenza, and traditional homemade elderberry tinctures and non-alcoholic (glycerin or honey-based) syrups work just as well as Sambucol.

No Flu Shots For Us

Elderberries are highly esteemed by herbalists and those in-the-know all over the world. It is considered to be nature’s answer to Tamiflu, a prescription drug that is commonly used to stop the flu. Recently, it has been reported that Tamiflu puts Adults & Kids at Risk For Neuropsychiatric & Behavior Disturbance

Traditionally, elderberry preparations are taken in a higher amount and early enough to head off a massive viral invasion right from the start.

Get the free printable Elderberry Recipes PDF!

 

 

Easy Elderberry Honey (or Glycerin) Syrup:

Ingredients:

– 2 cups fresh or 1 cup dried organic Elderberries
– 3 cups water
– 3/4 cup raw honey (only do not add it the boiling pan!!! – see why below)
– 3-4 Cinnamon sticks, fresh Ginger and 3 Cloves, (optional) (we all love this truly natural flavoring, plus their healing benefits)

Note: you can also use and equal amount of glycerin as many old recipes call for, but I don’t prefer it now as I know some glycerin can be corn-derived. If you want glycerin, this one is non-GMO, food grade and palm derived.

 

 

Directions:

1. Place elderberries, water, and optional spices in a saucepan. Bring to a very hot temp but do not boil, reduce heat, and simmer (with lid on and tilted to vent) on low for 40 minutes. Mash the berries to release remaining juice.

2. Let sit a few more minutes and then strain the liquid off from the berries using cheesecloth, a coffee filter, or a thin old towel. Be sure to squeeze all of the liquid out of the berries.

3. Allow liquid to cool completely. The raw honey will lose the powerful healing antimicrobial enzymes and natural antibiotic components if heated at all!

4. Add raw honey to the totally cooled liquid the berries were heated in only after straining off berries.

5. Bottle syrup and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 months. Shake before using.

 

 

You can also make the vodka-based elderberry tincture that keeps beautifully for 7 or more years!

 

 

Best Herbal Recipe Book I Know

For one of the oldest and finest resources on all-things-herbal there is Rosemary Gladstar’s Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health: 175 Teas, Tonics, Oils, Salves, Tinctures, and Other Natural Remedies for the Entire Family.

Very Important

The very best time to start treating a cold or flu virus with elderberry is at the very earliest stage, BEFORE the virus has gotten a foothold, as in, “I think I may be coming down with something, but I’m not quite sure”.

Cold and flu viruses multiply so rapidly that it is critically important to begin treatment while they are few in number, and before they have a chance to mount a massive attack.

 

 

[Need it faster? Ultra-Strength Elderberry Liquid (10x stronger) and Pure Synergy Rapid Rescue (with amazing ingredients and no added sugar). I consider both emergency-level products!]

Get the free printable Elderberry Recipes PDF!

Get my free printable vaccine e-book here!

 

 

Dosages For All Ages:

Adults: 

If the risk of exposure to ordinary flu is very high, we adults take 1-2 tablespoons of elderberry syrup (or a dropperful of the vodka-based tincture) every four to six hours or at the first sign of cold or flu. It is not meant to be taken long term as a preventative***.

Children: 

For children under 12 years old, administer 1 teaspoon elderberry syrup per day for prevention if exposed*** or 1 teaspoon per waking hour at the onset of cold/flu-like symptoms.

Toddlers

(2-3 years old) get half of that.

Babies: 

Do not give to babies under 1 year-old because of the honey and a risk of allergic reaction. Instead, bottle a small portion before the honey is added. Mark that bottle well. Consider adding 1/8-1/4 tsp. to applesauce, etc. at first sign of illness or when exposed.

*** Quick side note on dosing— elderberry, like anything that initiates an immune response, is promoting inflammation in the body. Usually this inflammation is nature’s process for bringing the heat on pathogens and clearing them. 
Two things to note on this— 1. It should not be used daily, indefinitely, or even through an entire season. Healthy Inflammation should be an acute response. Only take elderberry at very first sign of illness or exposure thru illness duration. 

***Those with autoimmune diseases, such as hashi’s ( low thyroid), RA, Celiac’s etc should use all immune stimulants carefully, if at all depending on your individual response. When the immune system is initiated, it can also trigger symptoms and change in your autoimmune condition— so, yes, small short dosing duration, and just watch your body and symptoms and use a sensible approach. No one size fits all. 

 

 

Are you nursing?

Drugs.com states, “Elderberry is most often used for influenza and immune stimulation. It has no specific lactation-related uses. No data exist on the excretion of any components of elderberry into breastmilk or on the safety and efficacy of elderberry in nursing mothers or infants. Elderberry preparations have rarely caused allergic reactions.”

If you don’t have a source of fresh elderberries where you live, it’s easiest to buy bulk dried organic elderberries.

 

 

 

Both Pliny the Elder and Hippocrates mentioned and recommended elderberry as a medicinal herb in their writings.

“All that man needs for health and healing has been provided by God in nature, the challenge of science is to find it.” ~Paracelsus (1493-1541)

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