Berry boosting

Our native Elder tree/shrub in the UK is commonly found in woods, hedgerows and on scrubland, especially around farms and rural dwellings. Nowadays we also know it as a powerful medicinal plant.

Its creamy white elderflowers develop into dark purple or black berries (Sambucus nigra) that ripen with the early autumn sun. They provide us with a warming, nourishing and strengthening tonic, helping us to resist the winter cold, damp, the chills and viruses that beset us at this time of year in the northern hemisphere.

Elderberries have been proven to be protective, boosting our immune response, and are both anti-viral and anti-bacterial. The berries contain Vitamin C, zinc, iron and calcium, and also anthocyanins (flavonoids) with antimicrobial actions against bacteria and viruses. Studies show that anthocyanins can also inhibit viral replication at cellular level, preventing viral infections from incubating and multiplying.

One of the key ingredients of the Defence Supplement is Elderberry, which is why is it ideal to take it daily as a preventative measure, or as and when the onset of autumnal and winter bugs occur.

Julie x