Elderberry Hysteria

There has been an internet sh*tstorm of debate going on among herbalists when it comes to COVID-19 and herbs, and none more so than Elderberry. Over the last week I have been inundated with requests by folks to address this and/or share resources because they are feeling confused and do not know what sources to trust for accurate information to help them make the best choices for themselves and their loved ones. People are asking me because I am a community herbalist as well as a source for Elderberry syrup which I have been making for 10 years. I am writing this short blog so that I can refer you all to it, rather than me spending too much time sitting down answering each of you individually when I should be working on getting your orders ready and shipped out. Lol. Usually, as many of you know, I do take the time to discuss things with you personally and at length but right now I have simply been too overwhelmed with this. So here we go: 

To put it bluntly, there is no compelling evidence that directly connects Elderberry or any other herbs to Cytokine Release Syndrome, otherwise known as "cytokine storm" which occurs in advanced stages of infection. It is not caused by taking herbs to protect yourself from circulating viruses or from taking them when you are infected with a virus. And I am simply astonished to see so many people--including some people in my herbal education lineage--jumping on the Elderberry hysteria bandwagon. I have read the information that they are referring to, to base their opinions on and that information is inaccurate to me. While it is true that Elderberry and some other immunomodulating herbs do effect Cytokines and are considered capable of playing a role in causing symptom flare ups for small numbers of people with autoimmune dis-eases, that is not a problem for most people. And Cytokine activity is not the same thing as a Cytokine storm.

I am not going to regurgitate the deeper information here that you can easily read straight from the actual sources themselves. So here are some of my trusted sources which happen to include the Sambucol USA company. I think including their perspective is important because not only do they sell the most widely used Elderberry product that I know of, but many of the Elderberry naysayers are referring to a study that was done with their syrup:

Sambucol USA: 
https://sambucolusa.com/blogs/news/elderberry-and-covid-19-what-are-the-facts

Rosalee de la Foret:
https://www.herbalremediesadvice.org/elderberry-side-effects.html

Aviva Romm -- MD, midwife, herbalist, educator, author:

https://avivaromm.com/covid-19-natural-prevention/

Paul Bergner--Medical Herbalist, Clinical Nutritionist, Director of the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism: 
https://c1c17220-5aa6-46c5-a11f-1b9d7595d5fa530d_7e9336fad1014196be4c39e3c4e30418.pdf.filesusr.com/ugd/ee

Maria Noel Groves--Clincal Herbalist, Herbal Author, Health Journalist, Health Educator:  
https://wintergreenbotanicals.com/203/120/08der//elder

I consider it foolish to skip protecting ourselves with this potent and proven anti-viral with a long history of use at a time like this. I will continue to take Elderberry as needed to protect myself from viruses just like I have for the last 16 years, as will a family member of mine with 4 autoimmune dis-eases that Elderberry does not aggravate what-so-ever. In fact their naturopath that has been in practice for over 20 years in WA state not only okay's it for her but recommends it.

Oh and I would like to add a little side note here...you CAN eat raw Blue or Black Elderberries...at least in small amounts...and you CAN tincture them raw without ill effects. I have been doing so for 5 years now even though the majority of info "out there" tells you different. 

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