The science of an old herbal remedy.

The cold and flu season is upon us.  Since colds and the flu are caused by viruses there is nothing that antibiotics can do to help so we are pretty much depending on our immune systems as our only means of defense.

I have to put a little plug in here for Vitamin D3.  Vitamin D is actually a hormone and helps the body perform many different functions. Since we are all not out in the sun as much we all need to supplement with D3.

The cells in the body have walls or membranes that are made up primarily of fat.  Yes, I said it, fat.  It is called the bi-lipid layer.  The cell membrane is actually made up of  two layers of fat molecules, one facing in and the other facing out.  This keeps things outside of the cell that should stay outside and things inside the cell that should be inside.

Viruses replicate by penetrating the membranes of cells and hi-jacking the cell.  Viruses cannot reproduce on their own. 

This is where elderberry tea comes in.  Elderberries signal cell membranes to tighten-up, close ranks if you please making it more difficult for a virus to get into the cell.

I learned all of this from the one and only Tammi Sweet who is a master herbalist and my former anatomy and physiology instructor from massage school.    I can’t count the number the of people that have tried elderberry tea over the years and have come back with a positive report.

You can buy the tea bags on line in bulk very in-expensively.  The next time you feel a sniffle coming on or a cold or have some lingering crud that you just can’t seem to shake, give elderberry tea a try.  Let me know how it works for you!

There is also a little P.S.  Just use soap and water to wash your hands.  The soap kills bacteria by breaking down the bi-lipid layer of the bacteria’s membranes.  Using hand sanitizer is primarily marketing when soap is just as effective and may even be safer.  Hand sanitizer dries out the skin making it more susceptible to infection.  Just use soap!