Blog — immune boost

A few months ago, we chatted about Vitamin C and all the great benefits of adding it to your daily regimen. Another Vitamin that shows up in our gummies is Vitamin D so we wanted to take some time to give you a snapshot of this powerful and beneficial vitamin!

Fun Fact- Vitamin D is the only vitamin your body makes itself (and it’s actually a hormone). Although there are many forms of vitamin D, the two most common types are vitamin D3 and vitamin D2.

When your body lacks Vitamin D, these are some of the things you might experience: 

• Fatigue
• Bone pain
• Muscle weakness, muscle aches, or muscle cramps
• Mood changes, like depression

One of the biggest indicators that you may be at risk for a lack of Vitamin D may be related to where you live. It is said that the further away from the equator you live, the less Vitamin D you’re receiving. Other reasons that you could be experiencing a lack in this Vitamin is the air quality, use of sunscreen, your weight or even your age.

The sun's rays are most powerful between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Being in the sun for 15-20 minutes a day can help your body get the Vitamin D it needs to function properly. 

Eating nutritious foods can also help get your body get the Vitamin D it needs. Wondering how to incorporate more foods rich in Vitamin D? Try these:

• Fatty fish- salmon, mackerel, and tuna. 
• Egg yolks
• Cheese 
• beef liver 
• Mushrooms 
• fortified milk 
• fortified cereals and juices. 

Sometimes doctors recommend taking a Vitamin D supplement to increase your levels. Here is the recommended dosage to help you better understand how much you should aim for:

Our Elderberry Gummies are a great source of Vitamin D as well as Zinc and Vitamins C and E... and they are a fun treat for your kid! They’re the perfect choice to help keep your family healthy on the go this summer while you’re out soaking up all the wonderful Vitamin D! 

Links-

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/15050-vitamin-d--vitamin-d-deficiency

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/best-vitamin-d-supplement#daily-requirements

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/6-things-you-should-know-about-vitamin-d

https://healthinspireddentistry.com/blogs/interesting-facts-about-vitamin-d/#:~:text=It%20is%20the%20only%20vitamin,getting%20enough%20from%20the%20sun. 

Ugh, allergies…specifically outdoor seasonal allergies can be so irritating and inconvenient. We live in the Ohio River Valley which often causes tons of allergy issues, especially in spring and fall. The snotty noses, constant sneezing, itchy eyes. It can be miserable! As moms, we dread those symptoms in our kiddos cause it often means sleepless nights and fussy attitudes. Finding natural and inexpensive ways to alleviate allergies can be a daunting task. We hear from SO MANY customers about our syrup and honey keeping our customers healthy during high pollen seasons.  Below are some more natural remedies I have come across that can help your family fight off seasonal allergies. As always, I’m not a doctor and encourage you to ask your doctor before starting any regimen. My hope is that these ideas can keep you and your family active and healthy all year long!

1. Raw Honey- The bees in your backyard are pollinating the plants that could be causing your allergies. By eating the honey of bees local to your area, your body can begin to build up immunities to your local allergens. In addition, raw honey (as opposed to processed honey) contains natural enzymes that can promote your health and wellness. We have an amazing and delicious product line of raw honeys, check them out here. We offer many infused flavors of raw honey, like vanilla, as well as, regular raw honey.
2. Humidifier- I don’t know any parent who hasn’t used a humidifier in their kid’s rooms to help with either a cold or allergies. They increase the humidity and purify the air. Rotating filter discs submerged in water remove larger pathogens (bacteria and viruses) and irritants from the air. These humidifiers need more regular cleaning and maintenance, but they can offer more allergy relief by filtering out pollen and dust.
3. Lowering sugar intake- Even in small amounts sugar suppresses immunity and worsens viral infections 
4. Vitamin C- Vitamin C is an immune booster to help your body fight against viruses and bacteria, It also aids in the support of a healthy immune system when it comes to allergies. Our Elderberry Gummies are a great source of Vitamin C, check them out here.
5. Essential oils- peppermint, eucalyptus, frankincense OR Lavender, lemon, and Peppermint are commonly used blend for allergies and healthy breathing. Many people will diffuse these in their homes to purify the air around them and safely experience the benefits of essential oils. Looking for a trustworthy company to get essential oils? Jubilee of Wellness is a dear friend of mine and the quality of her oils is AMAZING! You can order from her website or if you are local, we sell her oils at our shop in New Albany, IN.

If you’re reading this with a houseful of kids plagued with allergies (or maybe you’re the one suffering), know that you are NOT alone! As frustrating as the symptoms can be, we hear all the time about these natural ways providing relief for our customers. Interested in trying our Elderberry Syrup or Gummies? Use code BREATHEEASY10 to get 10% off your order! Happy Spring!

Referenced articles:

https://www.healthline.com/health/allergies/honey-remedy#purpose

https://www.healthline.com/health/allergies/humidity-humidifiers#:~:text=They%20increase%20the%20humidity%20and,filtering%20out%20pollen%20and%20dust.

https://acaai.org/allergies/seasonal-allergies

https://www.isabellemckenzie.com/blog/how-sugar-fuels-your-seasonal-allergies-how-to-fix-it

I’ll be honest, the first time I heard the word “elderberries” I thought it was something from Harry Potter. At the time, I was pregnant with a bad cold and I was looking for a natural way to stay healthy. So many moms on social media told me about elderberries! So maybe you are reading this and thinking, “What’s the big deal with elderberries, and do they actually help keep people healthy?” More and more, people are wanting to put whole foods in their bodies and use natural ways to care for and heal our families. Elderberries are just that: a natural plant, grown in soil, made by God with properties that promote health and wellness in our bodies (also created by God, right?). Now full disclosure, I’m not a medical expert...none of us here at The Elderberry Co are doctors. We will always point you to your healthcare providers when you have a question concerning your health or a specific ailment you are facing. We are careful to not make claims about our Elderberry Syrup beyond its proven strength to support a healthy immune system and other systems in our bodies. But the truth is, many of our customers are experiencing incredible benefits from elderberries. You can read it in their reviews, elderberries are powerful!  So here are a few ways elderberries provide our bodies with incredible benefits to your health and wellness: 

Many of the Elderberries benefits can be credited to anthocyanins- antioxidants that are a water-soluble vacuolar pigments that, depending on their pH, may appear red, purple, blue or black. Think any dark berry...full of anthocyanins! In fact, aronia berries (also in our formula) are an even HIGHER antioxidant level than elderberries.

1. Elderberries aid in immune support. In addition to high levels of Vitamin C, D and E, the anthocyanins present in elderberries are a huge reason they support and boost the body’s immune response. We were pretty interested in the results found in this trial. As far as current pandemic goes, there is a ton of misinformation out there on elderberry and coronavirus (claiming that it either helps or hurts treatment and recovery). We are very open with our customers in encouraging them to consult their doctor with those questions, as the research and conclusions of everything with such a new virus are still developing. Here is an article concluding elderberries and their immune-modulating properties.
2. Elderberries support respiratory health. Anthocyanins directly impact lung health. Check out this study and the results they concluded. In addition to respiratory health, elderberries can also aid our bodies’ defense of common seasonal threats from local pollens. 
3. Elderberries support digestive health. Anthocyanins aid in gut health making it easier to digest foods. Our digestive health and the occurrence of things like inflammation can oftentimes go unnoticed or misunderstood. Here’s some more information on elderberries and their impact on inflammation: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5075620/
4. Elderberries support healthy blood sugar levels. This study was helpful to us to learn more and understand why.

Whew, that’s a lot of information. Again, not medical experts but we have benefitted from the studies and research we have found in our journey. We’ve listed some above and encourage you to research for yourselves the incredible benefits of elderberries!

We are always hearing about how Vitamin C is good for our bodies but have you ever wondered why? I’m a big fan of simple fast facts, usually in a list form so I can read it, learn it and go on with my full day...so we’ve put together everything you need to know about Vitamin C and how you can get more into your diet so you can read it, learn it and get your kids to soccer practice! Let’s do this!

• Vitamin C is a water-soluble nutrient, it acts as an antioxidant, helping to protect cells from the damage caused by free radicals. Free Radicals are compounds formed when our bodies convert the food we eat into energy or when we are exposed to cigarette smoke, air pollution, and ultraviolet light from the sun.

• Vitamin C can be found in all kinds of foods (including our Extra Strength Elderberry Gummies) and is a popular supplement to take especially when you’re needing extra immune support.

• For the kids, it is important to take because as their little bodies grow, Vitamin C can help repair bones and tissues. It can help your children's gums stay healthy and because of the aid to help repair blood vessels, it helps minimize the bruising from a heavy fall or scrapes from playing in the yard.

• For adults, the results you see when taking this specific vitamin are significant. Vitamin C can help reduce Chronic disease, manage high blood pressure, lower your risk of heart disease, help prevent iron deficiency and boost your immunity. Young or old, Vitamin C is key to your overall health!

• The amount of Vitamin C dosage your body needs is based around your age or stage of life. Here is a chart to show each age and the recommended dose.

Our Elderberry Gummies are a great source of Vitamin C as well as Zinc and Vitamins D and E... and they are a fun treat for your kiddos. For a limited time, use code GUMMY15 to get 15% off your order of our Extra Strength Elderberry Gummies!

Foods Rich in Vitamin C

Want more foods that are rich in Vitamin C added to your diet? Grab ahold of these fruits and make a fruit salad out of it and you’ll be consuming all sorts of Vitamin C!

• Cantaloupe
• Citrus fruits and juices, such as orange and grapefruit
• Kiwi fruit
• Mango
• Papaya
• Pineapple
• Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and cranberries
• Watermelon

Here is one recipe you can make- https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/vitamin-c-superfruit-salad

FUN FACT (for those who need a little fun):There is a fruit called the Kakadu plum which is an Australian native superfood containing 100 times more vitamin C than oranges. It has the highest known concentration of vitamin C, containing up to 5,300 mg per 100 grams. Hmmmm...I wonder how I can get that into our Elderberry Syrup recipe??

Articles referenced:

https://www.babycenter.com/toddler/feeding/vitamin-c-in-your-childs-diet_10324695#:~:text=Vitamin%20C%20helps%20form%20and,and%20keeps%20infections%20at%20bay.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-c-benefits

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-c-foods#TOC_TITLE_HDR_7

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-Consumer/ 

If you’re new to our elderberry syrup, let us catch you up to speed. We make our syrup fresh every week using a delicious blend of berries, spices and honey. Our customers love our syrup because every ingredient we use serves a purpose that empowers our customers to support their immune systems. We don’t waste time with preservatives or unnecessary additives. In this blog, we want to dive deeper into the spices we put in our syrup and the benefits they give to the health of our customers. 

The three spices we use in our elderberry syrup are ginger root, ceylon cinnamon and cloves. All three spices are well-known to be high in antioxidants and aid in digestive health. As a mom, the digestive health of my kiddos is something that I can overlook until their tummies get upset. Using elderberry syrup has helped keep them regular, especially when we take road trips (do any other parents have kids that have a hard time pooping on vacation?? Just me?). The high antioxidant content of our spice blend is another benefit in our syrup that as a mom gives me some peace, knowing I’m giving my family a strong defense for their bodies to support a healthy immune system. In addition to these benefits, the spice blend we use gives our syrup a great taste that can best be described as “Christmas”. 

For some of our customers and their taste preference, our syrup may be too sweet or too spicy. For that, we have our Elderberry Syrup Kits, which gives you the dry ingredients of our syrup so that you can make a batch on your own stove top. This gives you the freedom to add more or less honey to your batch to match your taste preference! Many of our customers love this option.

Kids can be picky. If your kiddos don’t love the taste of our syrup, our Elderberry Gummies are a GREAT solution. These are the only gummies out there made with our actual Elderberry Syrup. And compared with the other gummy brands, we pack 300mg of Elderberry Immune Strength in each gummy which means your kids only have to take one gummy per day (not 9-10 gummies of the other brands). Also, our gummies are a great on-the-go option if you are in a rush to get your family out the door or if you’re literally on the road :-)

So there you have it! We love giving our customers an inside look into our cozy small business. We truly take care of every detail in our products and believe 100% that our quality is unmatched. If you have any questions, we now have a live chat feature on our website where you can connect directly with us. You can also shoot us an email at info@theelderberryco.com. Thank you for journeying with us as we empower families with a natural & effective way to support their immune systems!

Jenny