Anyone using Sambucus for cold/flu avoidance/recovery?

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ctviggen

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Anyone tried sambucus for cold/flu avoidance/recovery?  Sambucus is oral elderberry extract.  It's been studied somewhat:

They reduced flu symptoms four DAYS earlier using this extract:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15080016

Compare that with anti-viral medication:

Quote
Compared with a placebo, taking Tamiflu led to a quicker alleviation of influenza-like symptoms of just half a day (from 7 days to 6.3 days) in adults, but the effect in children was more uncertain. There was no evidence of a reduction in hospitalisations or serious influenza complications; confirmed pneumonia, bronchitis, sinusitis or ear infection in either adults or children. Tamiflu also increased the risk of nausea and vomiting in adults by around 4 percent and in children by 5 percent. There was a reported increased risk of psychiatric events of around 1 percent when Tamiflu was used to prevent influenza. Evidence also suggests that Tamiflu prevented some people from producing sufficient numbers of their own antibodies to fight infection.

See http://www.cochrane.org/features/tamiflu-relenza-how-effective-are-they

I took sambucus for a recent cold I appeared to be getting, and the cold never developed.  Whether that was happenstance or not, I don't know. 

Have you taken sambucus and if so, did you think it was helpful?

Rob Babcock

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Re: Anyone using Sambucus for cold/flu avoidance/recovery?
« Reply #1 on: 1 Apr 2015, 05:11 am »
Kind of late but yeah- I take Elderberry twice per day, once in the morning and once when I get home from work.  In the year or so since I've started doing it I get about 1/5 the colds and flues I used to, and when I get one it lasts a few days instead of a week.  Sometimes I get the dried berries and brew my own.

fex02

Re: Anyone using Sambucus for cold/flu avoidance/recovery?
« Reply #2 on: 1 Apr 2015, 08:54 am »
I use it at the first sight of a cold.Works great.always have it in the cold kit.a good zinc throat spray will also help.

Pneumonic

Re: Anyone using Sambucus for cold/flu avoidance/recovery?
« Reply #3 on: 1 Apr 2015, 01:10 pm »
Sambuca works great too  8)

ctviggen

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Re: Anyone using Sambucus for cold/flu avoidance/recovery?
« Reply #4 on: 1 Apr 2015, 01:16 pm »
Sambuca works well too!

I have not heard of the dried berries.  I'll have to check into those.

Well, I finally caught a cold/flu this winter season.  I've increased the Sambucus to several times per day.  I think it's helping, but honestly it's hard to tell.  I do feel as if I'm recuperating faster than I otherwise would be.

charmerci

Re: Anyone using Sambucus for cold/flu avoidance/recovery?
« Reply #5 on: 1 Apr 2015, 09:14 pm »
I used to get colds two or three times a year every year. Then I started eating an orange a day (which seems to reduce the incidence of my canker sores) and I more or less stopped having colds and getting sick for that matter. I did catch one, one time but I would have one three times a day and I could function fine with just a little loss of energy. A few times, I would feel a sore throat coming on, eat an orange immediately and it would go away.

So it seems to work for me!

Personally, I think the vitamin C is part of it but also the combination of its trace minerals.

I started eating an  orange daily in August of 2011.
« Last Edit: 2 Apr 2015, 01:43 am by charmerci »

Rob Babcock

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Re: Anyone using Sambucus for cold/flu avoidance/recovery?
« Reply #6 on: 2 Apr 2015, 06:17 am »

I have not heard of the dried berries.  I'll have to check into those.

I get organic ones from Amazon (they're even prime eligible).  You bring water to a boil and steep them for 10 minutes like tea.  They're like chokecherries if you know what those are- very astringent/tanic.  But a great complement for cranberry.  I sometimes mix the syrup with Ocean Spray in my Sodastream.

bladesmith

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Re: Anyone using Sambucus for cold/flu avoidance/recovery?
« Reply #7 on: 3 Apr 2015, 03:09 am »
I've had THE SHINGLES FOR THE LAST FOUR WEEKS, IT HAS BEEN AGONIZING....!

V.....

Rob Babcock

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Re: Anyone using Sambucus for cold/flu avoidance/recovery?
« Reply #8 on: 3 Apr 2015, 05:02 am »
Ouch!  I've never had shingles but a guy I once worked for did.  Agonizing, that's the word he used, too.  I hope you get better soon!