Flu Fighter!

It's that time of year again! No, no .. not quite the deck the halls and fa la la la la time of year but, my friends, flu season is upon us. Everywhere you look you'll see the signs advertising that the flu shot is available and people everywhere are lining up. Except some .. like myself.

Perhaps slightly controversial but I don't get a flu shot nor do I have the kiddos get one. My biggest reason for this is that there just isn't enough guarantee that the flu shot will protect us from getting sick. Some swear by it and that is okay but let's face it - it is designed to protect against the maybe 10 most common types of flu for that year and there are literally thousands of strains. So, I'm always looking at natural ways to strengthen our immunity and help fight the germs without standing in line down at the nearby CVS and getting a shot of stuff I might not really want.

If you feel the same way (and it's ok if you don't) I'd like to introduce you to the Elderberry:

You can find Elderberry syrup at natural food stores or online but it is fairly pricey. If you have the extra money and not the extra time I'd recommend purchasing some as it has been proven to reduce the duration of the flu and has immunity boosting superpowers when taken at the first sign of symptoms or daily as a preventative measure.  Elderberries have anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties, contain a key antioxidant for immunity, and are high in vitamins A and C.

As it turns out, with a little research, a handful of ingredients, and one hour of your time you can make your own Elderberry Syrup for significantly less than what you'd spend buying it in the store. I found two variations on Elderberry Syrup recipes. The first contains Elderberries, cinnamon, raw honey, cloves, water, and ginger root. Prep time is only 5 minutes and cooking time is an hour. Not too bad in the grand scheme of your health.

Check out the details on how to make the syrup and more info on Elderberries in general here:

http://realfoodrn.com/homemade-elderberry-syrup/

The other variation is similar with the addition of echinacea. Personally, this is the recipe I'll use since a little extra boost for immunity from the echinacea certainly isn't a bad thing. This recipe also takes about the same amount of time as the other one so you can't lose either way!

http://www.crunchybetty.com/your-natural-medicine-cabinet-elderberry-echinacea-syrup-recipe

Happy germ fighting!