A few weeks ago, a post was circulating on social media
literally scaring people out of taking elderberry syrup for the
current virus that's circulating based on a 19 year-old study
they said showed that elderberry could stimulate a "cytokine
storm" leading to worsening of infection or death. A "cytokine
storm" (in case you're wondering), is a rare and severe
inflammatory immune reaction where an overproduction of immune
cells ( [link removed] ) and cytokines are released
into the blood stream too quickly. In a flu infection, this is
associated with a surge of activated immune cells into the lungs.
​​Now admittedly, I own a supplement line (
[link removed] )and we manufacture elderberry. I
heavily researched each and every single product in the line
before it launched. I'm also a naturopath with training in
herbology who has been using and recommending elderberry as
needed for years. I've taught people how to make it (
[link removed] )and use it and I understand how it
works on a physiological level. You should know that I have not
been to medical school to gather information on elderberry. You
should also know that neither has your medical doctor. With that
being said, this is my *personal opinion* on the subject. ​​Let's
first examine the facts: ​This is how many "cytokine storms" have
been caused by elderberry: ZERO.​​This is how many people have
died from taking elderberry syrup: ZERO.​​This is how plausible
it is that elderberry syrup can cause a phenomenon known as the
"cytokine storm:" It isn't.​This is how long people have been
using elderberry: Centuries. ​This is how many studies I've found
on elderberry syrup: 836. ​​​Elderberry is an immune system
modulator that has been heavily studied for its use with
influenza viruses. It is true that you cannot approach COVID-19
the same way as you would a cold or flu virus, but there have
been studies done using elderberry on similar coronaviruses. What
do they show? That elderberry has the ability to prohibit viruses
from entering the ACE2 -- a "back door" into your cells, that it
blocks glycoproteins, and that it can destroy the lipid membrane
of viruses (including similar viruses to that of COVID-19), thus
preventing infection, reducing the severity of it, and/or helping
post-infection. ​Enter the post on social media that has you
running from elderberry like its the plague: People are talking
about cytokines like they're "bad," but cytokines may be ''good''
when stimulating the immune system to fight a foreign pathogen or
can be "bad" when their expression causes inflammatory diseases.
According to the Int. Journal of Toxicology (
[link removed] ), "Therapeutic modulation of
cytokine expression can help the "good" cytokines to generate or
quench the immune system and block the "bad" cytokines to prevent
damaging inflammatory events." ​​Elderberry is an
IMMUNE-MODULATOR that activates a healthy immune system to fight
an infection. The cytokine storm involves dysregulation between
pro-inflammatory cytokines, anti-inflammatory cytokines, and
regulatory cytokines. According to Elisa Song MD, elderberry has
been shown to increase BOTH pro-inflammatory cytokines and
anti-inflammatory cytokines, while REDUCING oxidative stress and
REGULATING inflammation. The belief that you should avoid
elderberry is based off of a misunderstanding of how elderberry
modulates the immune system and a very limited understanding of
the pathophysiology of a "cytokine storm." ​To date, there have
been no elderberry-induced cytokine storms and there is no
credible research that would support avoiding elderberry syrup
(but quite a bit of research supporting the opposite). That
doesn't mean you should just go out and down a bottle. Elderberry
is powerful and you should use it wisely. If you have a severe
autoimmune disorder affecting your lungs, it's not a bad idea to
work with a health practitioner directly if using any natural
health supplement, including elderberry. ​For those who don't,
Dr. Chris Masterjohn has a COVID-19 protocol and he recommends
700-1,000mg of elderberry syrup per day during this time, and
then reducing that to 300mg when the threat has subsided. If
you're using Living Whole's brand ( [link removed]
), 2 teaspoons is approx. 6400mg and that is one serving. So you
would take about 1/2 teaspoon 1-2x daily over the course of 12
weeks if you're following his protocol. As with anything, be
smart when using any natural supplement and consult with a
healthcare practitioner if you need to. ​More about this on the
blog soon. Until then, don't believe everything you read on the
internet. ​Love, Megan ​Join the discussion HERE (
[link removed] ).Check out the supplement line HERE
( [link removed] ). Make your own elderberry syrup
DIY recipe HERE ( [link removed] ).Make elderberry
lozenges HERE ( [link removed] ). ​​​​Disclaimer:
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug
Administration. This post is not intended to diagnose, treat,
cure or prevent any disease.

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