Amazing elderberry syrup

[Mearwynna]

Hi,

 

I'm coming out of lurkdome to share some info about elderberry syrups and tinctures. Recently, with the swine flue I've heard a lot of talking about elderberry as a remedy for the seasonal flues and as a possible preventative for the swine flue. I bought a few pounds of sambucus nigra (the best variety) and I made a syrup with it.

 

We had been dealing with the flue for about a week. First my kids getting it, and then my husband and myself. It could have been the H1N1, but we'll never know. It was a little early for the regular flue and the weather was warm and beautiful. So I think the timing was good to try this out. I put one cup of dried berries into a pot with 5 cloves and a tsp of ginger and 6 cups of water. I brought this to almost a boil, and then simmered gently for about 30 minutes. The liquid was reduced to about half. I strained this out, added the pulp back to the pot and added 2 more cups of water and simmered again for 15 minutes then I strained that into the same liquid. I mixed the decoctions, and added a cup of raw honey to the liquid and 4 oz of vodka. (This acts as a preservative and will help keep it from spoiling as quickly.) I had about 6 cups of syrup. I split it into thirds and froze most of it but we all started taking some right away. A dose for an adult is about a tablespoon, maybe more if you are actually sick, every few hours. A childs dose is about a teaspoon or two depending on their size and how sick they may be. The pulp can be saved to make tea with, which I did because by the end of the day I was feeling really sick, and was starting to get chills. After I drank the pot of tea I felt a little better. Throughout the next couple of days, I took a tablespoon of the syrup every few hours and I didn't end up very sick at all. I had a mild sore throat which left in two days and a mild case of the sniffles. I have the real sense that it helped a lot. That it did prevent a more serious infection. I feel this because fore 3 weeks prior, since the start of our home school year, I've been dealing with a ton of stress, and about one week prior, I developed a nasty breast infection. So, I didn't want to face another week of being sick and not able to do my mommy duties. With all that stress, I wouldn't have been surprised to develop one of those nasty, lingering colds that I sometimes get.

 

So there is my first experience with elderberry and the cold/flue season. I want to repeat that I don't know if it was the swine flue or not, but I did think it was helpful for me, and for my children. I'm going to keep experimenting with it this year and we'll test it out when we can.

 

Does anyone have any experience to share with me about this? I'm sure somebody must know more than I do about it.

 

Since this worked so well, I've started a elderberry and echinacea tincture for the adults and will make more syrup for the kids. I do not like to use a lot of sugar when we are sick, so the amount of honey is really cut back. If you put more in it the keeping quality will improve, but I think freezing works, too.

[Christy]

Right you are Mearwynna. It is one of the safer methods to battle flu. Whatever kind of flu it may be.

We use it as well, have for 3 flu bouts now and see a difference in duration of illness and severety.

[Mearwynna]

This is the first recipe for elderberry syrup That I saw. As you can see it makes a very sweet syrup, that also has more alcohol in it than my recipe. My idea came from Mountain Rose Herbs, but I also decided to re-heat and simmer the berries to make sure I got all of the goodies out, just like we would do with jellies. There was a lot of juice left behind. Mountain Rose Herbs has a video on youtube about this. Their other videos are also very nice!

 

 

Elderberry Syrup Recipe

 

7 cups elderberry juice

8 ¾ cups honey

3 cups 80 proof vodka

 

 

(if you're starting with dried berries, to get "juice", put 1 cup of berries in a quart jar and pour 2 cups of boiling water over them. If they soak it up, add a bit more. Stash in the fridge or a cool, dark place for 24-48 hours.Then strain, and squeeze every bit of liquid you can out- you can twist the berries in a muslin towel and get most of it. You'll need three "jars" of the stuff to get enough for 7 cups. )

 

 

 

Warm the elderberry juice to “hot, but not boiling” temp… between 150° and 180°F should be plenty. Stir in the honey and stir until it’s completely dissolved and blended.

 

Remove from the heat, and stir in the vodka.

 

Pour into sterile jars or bottles (sterilize them by boiling for 5-10 minutes in boiling water, then let drip dry upside down until filling)

 

Cap and LABEL. Store in a cool DARK place (or bottle in dark brown glass)

 

Standard dose for adults would be:

 

Prophylaxis (prevention) 1 tablespoon (15 mls, or 1/2 ounce) 2x a day. If there is active flu in your office or family, double that, or take more often.

 

Treatment: 1-2 tablespoons every 3-4 hours

 

Children under 12: half the adult dose

 

Toddlers and infants: Talk to your doctor! But, lacking that, 1 tsp at similar intervals to the adult dose should be adequate.

 

There is NO way to overdose on this! Put it in juice, jello, pour it over ice cream- any way you can get the kids to take it is fine.

 

Alternatives:

If you do not want to use any alcohol in the syrup, use

7 cups elderberry juice

14 cups honey

 

Proceed as above, ignoring the reference to the vodka.

 

If you don’t want to use honey (probably best to NOT use it for babies under 1 year)

 

 

7 cups elderberry juice

11 ½ cups sugar

 

Stir until the sugar is dissolved in the hot juice, then bottle.

[Mother]

Please be aware that there is some controversy about using Elderberry for the more potent types of flu, like the Avian flu and even the Swine Flu was included in that. I believe because the Swine Flu is much lighter than was thought to have been that there aren't the cytokine storms that are seen with more severe forms of flu. Still, It never hurts to do research on what you are taking. There's lots of info here on Mrs. S about Elderberry and the flu including some recipes. Just do a search for it and then make your own decisions.

 

[Littlesister]

Bringing this one up because of flu season getting ready to start. Yes I do see a lot of these are old post and need to be bought up as reminders for everyone that may have forgotten about them over the years.  It really is hard to stay on top of all we need to do to stay prepared. 

[Mt_Rider]

Make sure to keep in mind what Mother posted just above.  If you're hearing it's a flu that's affecting the young to middle adults  -- the range not usually brought down by the various types of flu -- be very wary of taking elderberry.  The 1918 flu was that sort.  The "healthy" age range had their systems "overload" and they were dying more than the very young and very old.  Evidently, elderberry can have that same affect. 

 

The Usual:  I'm NOT a doctor.  DO research on this peculiar aspect of elderberry. 

 

But OTHER THAN THAT TYPE OF FLU..... DH and I have found it to be very effective if something gets us to that extent.  Haven't had to use it in .....5?  7?  years tho.  Ward off stuff before we totally succumb. 

 

MtRider   ...stay healthy, everyone! 

[Guest Joyfilled1]

So.... Coronavirus. Would you use elderberry syrup for it?

[Ambergris]

My first guess would be no.

[Littlesister]

Ambergris,  I would agree.  We need to do the research on what works for what illness.  I have been taking it for my head cold, which might be why I haven't felt as bad as I normally would with a cold. My ear is doing better as well but the left one is still a bit sore and aches just once in a while. So I think the elderberry pills was working for that. Flu is another ball game that needs to be researched.

[Guest Joyfilled1]

That's a bummer. I was really hoping for something that I could do at home. Thanks for your input, ladies. 

 

Also....we use colloidal silver quite a bit (for infections and open wounds). I've seen it work for my family a lot!! Do your own research, I'm not a doctor (nor do I want to be!)....but I wonder if it would help in this situation, too....

[Ambergris]

You know, I would not discount colloidal silver at all.

Also, they are saying now that a lot of people are recovering but having trouble shaking off the virus.  This makes me wonder if their immune systems are remaining weak, vulnerable.  If so, they would be walking targets for flu--and for that, your elderberry syrup would be right on the money.

[Littlesister]

Colloidal silver is great for cuts, etc. We use it all the time. for such things.  

My ear is doing better.  last night my ear was hurting, so I got out the ear syringe and filled it with peroxide and put it in there and let it bubble up. Then let it all drain out. This morning I woke up with no ear hurting. It has felt better so far all day. I had forgotten about using peroxide in the ears like that but did start using it in the canal with a q tip. But drowning the ear with it worked great. I don't remember where I had read that but it came back to me and I tried it. Feeling much better now. 

I had been taken the elderberry pills for about a week. I still think that is why the cold didn't get any worse. But still a lot to learn on natural healing solutions.  I am going to start reading up more on herbs and such.

[TheCG]

So, if I remember correctly, you wouldn't use elderberry for the Spanish Flu because the cytokine storm set off by the flu was basically your immune system on overdrive, and THAT was what caused the liquid pooling in the lungs and hemorrhages.  

 

Anybody else remember hearing that anywhere?

[Jeepers]

I use peroxide in my ears too. They say dilute it but I use it straight. I have a bottle with a dropper in the cap. I use that. Then I lay on the side not affected and let it snap, crackle and pop. Then I put a cotton ball in the ear, turn over and let it drain out. 

 

The only issue I have is if the peroxide is cold. It will hurt my ear. So I usually heat it up a little by setting the bottle in hot water for a couple of minutes.

 

I have a keloid scar. I got it after a mole removal. They are the raised, dark pink, angry looking ones. It is about the size of a pencil eraser. Maybe a tad bigger. This happened about 15 years ago. They don't respond well to treatment. It can make them worse. I started using colloidal silver on it and it disappeared. Completely gone. I can't remember how long it took. Months I'm sure. I'm not saying the C.S. faded it. Maybe it would have gone away on its own. Maybe I got good results by starting on it early. I don't know. I didn't expect it to ever go away but it did. I keep C.S. I'm my med arsenal. 

[Jeepers]

I don't remember hearing that TheCG but I do remember hearing that if people survived the first wave of the Spanish Flu, the second wave is what hit them the hardest. 

 

I don't know if they let their guard down thinking it was over or if their immune system was weakened. 

[TheCG]

6 minutes ago, Jeepers said:

I don't remember hearing that TheCG but I do remember hearing that if people survived the first wave of the Spanish Flu, the second wave is what hit them the hardest. 

 

I don't know if they let their guard down thinking it was over or if their immune system was weakened. 

Weird, because I heard the opposite. That those who got the early flu in the spring were infected at a lower rate and generally fought it off better. Guess I better read the books again. 

[Jeepers]

I heard it that way too TheCG. The first people who got it had a milder case. But the second time it swept through, it hit harder. 

 

I hope that won't happen with this virus because many of the people who are getting it have few symptoms and seem to have a quick recovery time. At least the ones outside of China. 

[Mt_Rider]

TheCG is correct.  The 1918 [Spanish or Kansas....which ever theory you wish] WAS EXTREMELY UNUSUAL. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine_release_syndrome

 

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/review-1918-pandemic-flu-studies-offers-more-questions-answers

 

 

The unusual part was that it was fatal to the populations that usually survive any influenza......the young and middle aged adults.  It was not so virulent with the babies/children ....nor the elderly.  EXACT OPPOSITE of most 'flu'. 

 

THIS is the circumstances in which ELDERBERRY MIGHT spawn off the cytokine reaction.  That's what killed them - a strong immune system response that went OVERBOARD.  Elderberry increases immune system response so.....follow the dots. 

 

And .....COVID-19 is killing off the elderly....more male than female maybe.....and ODDLY, doesn't seem to be as deadly to children.  UNDERSTAND.....this is data China is releasing....  And we know we can't really count on that yet.  So the answer to this question of Use Elderberry or Not......WE DON'T KNOW ENOUGH YET. 

 

VERY GOOD QUESTION.  We all need to pay attention for the answer......when we have more data.  I'd guess most of us have an elderberry product in our homes. 

 

MtRider  .....be very careful to know when and when not to use an immune system booster.  We use a couple of them, besides elderberry.  

[Guest Joyfilled1]

On 2/14/2020 at 6:42 PM, Ambergris said:

You know, I would not discount colloidal silver at all.

Also, they are saying now that a lot of people are recovering but having trouble shaking off the virus.  This makes me wonder if their immune systems are remaining weak, vulnerable.  If so, they would be walking targets for flu--and for that, your elderberry syrup would be right on the money.

I've heard that the virus can hit again....harder....

[The WE2's]

We pick our own Elderberries from a friends farm and I make my own syrup...as well as I jarred up (pressure canned) 7 quarts of just the juice so I can make more syrup when needed.  We take 1 tablespoon every morning with our breakfast. I cut the top off of a cardboard juice container, trim it to fit my pint canning jar, and then put a canning ring on it.  Makes my syrup EZ to pour...just twist the little cap off, pour and put cap back on!

 

Edited February 21, 2020 by The WE2's

[Mt_Rider]

I posted this in more detail over in Flu Clinic....COVID-19 Data .....{something like that}..

 

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-22/coronavirus-may-be-the-disease-x-health-agency-warned-about?utm_campaign=news&utm_medium=bd&utm_source=applenews

 

Quoting..... =-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

He died five days later with lung damage reminiscent of SARS and MERS, another coronavirus-related outbreak, doctors at the Fifth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital in Beijing said in a Feb. 16 study in the Lancet medical journal. Blood tests showed an over-activation of a type of infection-fighting cell that accounted for part of the “severe immune injury” he sustained, the authors said.

Controversially, he had been given 80 milligrams twice daily of methylprednisolone, an immune-suppressing corticosteroid drug that’s in common use in China for severe cases,.....

End Quoting=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 

This is only one article.  IF this turns out to react like the 1918 flu.....THIS is when immune-stimulation would be a bad idea...  They gave him immune system suppressants.   OTOH....he died.... so what does this really tell us????   So watch for this type of data...

 

MtRider   No doctors here....do your own research