Why I haven't blogged in a while ....

<---That is Sambucus (elder or elderberry)

Hi Annie,
Sorry I've been out of the loop. Been feeling crappy, cranky, kind of sick. Finally gave in and went to our doctor. His approach is let your body work through things until it's seriously serious. He's not afraid of antibiotics but I do really like the fact that he won't just dose me so I feel better, which seemed to be the case with nearly all my previous doctors. (when i look back and think about the amount of times i took antibiotics for bronchitis....ah nevermind....preaching to the choir)

Anyway, he said I had a low-level flu virus and gave me Sambucus. (Must admit I also love this doctor because his pharmaceutical solutions all come in cute little, glass, brown bottles and he hand writes [legibly] what the dosage is. Eg, 20 drops in mouth every 4 hours.)

Turns out this "Sambucus" is elderberry. Check this out:

In a placebo-controlled, double-blind study, Elderberry was shown to be effective for treating Influenza B. People using the Elderberry extract recovered much faster than those only on a placebo. This is partially due to the fact that Elderberry inhibits neuraminidase, the enzyme used by the virus to spread infection to host cells. (Kelly, Greg and D'Adamo, Peter. "Blood Groups and Influenza" (2000-2009).)

Now I will say, I've felt pretty shitty for well over a week but I have turned a corner. Also got to thinking had I popped a Z-Pack this feeling would have been long gone. But at what cost? Well, we know the answer to that one.

So keep in mind the next time you feel all fluish...get thee to the elderberry plant STAT.

To your health. Much love,
Marianne