Health And Fitness News 

Supplement Your Immune System With Elderflower

When we think of boosting our immune system, or treating our colds and flu with herbs, we often think of echinacea. Now, echinacea is a great herb, but if you see a herbalist for relief from a cold or respiratory tract infection, they're likely to give you a mixture with elderberry in it.

You may have actually heard of elderflowers. Both the flowers and the berries of this plant (sambucus nigra for the botanical enthusiasts) are used, hence the differing common names.

They both have an expectorant effect (meaning you'll cough up phlegm), and they also promote sweating. Sweat is one of the body's elimination channels, and is considered a good thing by natural therapists (provided of, course, that this is not a chronic problem in and of itself).

The tincture and liquid extracts are generally used for conditions relating to catarrh - like hayfever and sinusitis. In this instance, one of the things elder will do is reduce congestion. Tinctures vary in concentration, and alcohol is usually used to extract he active constituents of the plant. Different methods of extracting these constituents are used because in some cases, alcohol is needed, and in other cases, hot water is preferred. It all depends on the types of active principles themselves.

Thus, if you want a particular effect, it's wise to take the type of preparation into consideration. It will affect the concentration (and type) of active constituents in that preparation, even when the same plant material is used. That's not to say that tea's (hot water extraction) are inferior. In fact, in the case of some things, like PSP coriolus supplements, hot water extraction is in fact superior to more 'technologically advance' methods.

Elderflower tea is excellent as a mouthwash that reduces oral inflammation. It can also be used as a gargle. And research from Bulgaria has found elderflower tea is an effective antiviral against herpes simplex type 1, which cause cold sores.

Research on the liquid extract of elder from Israel found it to be effective against 8 types of flu virus! It also boosts the immune system, literally - by increasing the production of cytokines, which are involved in the immune response.

So, the next time you need to supplement your immune system, check out elderberries. They can be made into a very inexpensive tea - just get dried herbs from your local health food shop. You can sweeten the tea with some good quality, unprocessed honey, and add some fresh lemon or lime juice for an additional immune boost.

References: Herb Garden Profile from Nature And Health, June-July, 2007