Elderberry Syrup

by Michelle Gill

2/3 cup dried elderberries
3 1/2 cups of water
2 Tbsp. organic ginger root (shaved or grated)
1 tsp. cinnamon, ground 
1 tsp. whole cloves
1 cup raw honey
Bring the elderberries and water to a boil and add ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.  Simmer for an hour.  Remove from the heat and cool.  Pour through a strainer.  Add the honey and stir until dissolved.  This recipe yields about 2 pint jars of elderberry syrup.

It is great for immunity.  I give my daughter 1 teaspoonful before school each day.  If we catch a cold or something, we take it every 3 to 4 hours.  It keeps for several months in the fridge.  

(I order my elderberries from www.iherb.com.  Use the coupon code WES681 to save $5-$10.  I am sure you could also get them at your local health food store.)

My Measures of Prevention for Good Health

by Lois Breneman

Rather than getting a flu shot, I do the following to build up the immune system and keep from getting colds or the flu:

1. Barley Juice - Drinking a glass of one tablespoon powdered barley juice in pure water first thing each morning.  I used to get two terrible sinus infections every year on a regular basis before starting to drink barley juice twenty-three years ago.  It made a huge difference! 
You can find it here:
www.theaimcompanies.com
http://www.hacres.com

 
2. Little or No Sugar - Sugar is known to break down the immune system, and comes in many different forms - white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, glucose, and the list goes on.

3. Probiotics - Taking a good probiotic each day helps the immune system.  probiotics.mercola.com/probiotics.html‎

4. Green Pasture Blue Ice Royal Butter Oil/Fermented Cod Liver Oil Blend - Cinnamon flavor is my favorite.  I only take about half of a teaspoon each day.  http://www.greenpasture.org/public/Products/CodLiverOil/

5. Vitamin D-3

This does not mean I am guaranteed not to ever get a cold, sinus infection, or the flu, but it seldom happens.  After starting barley juice, I went from getting two severe sinus infections a year (lasting six week each), to going more than seven years without even a cold.  That was proof enough for me. 

Cold and Flu Buster Tonic

by Lois Breneman - Heart to Heart - 2012
Revised 2016

This stuff really does work!
Put equal amounts of the following immune-supporting ingredients into a blender and give it a whirl:

onion
garlic
horseradish
ginger
jalapeno peppers

Blend with plenty of apple cider or apple cider vinegar.  The apple juice will give it a better flavor.  Blend well and pour into a glass jar.  Fill the jar with apple cider.  Let set on the counter for 2 to 4 weeks, shaking every day.  Open the lid every day as well, because pressure builds up inside.  Next bottle it, and refrigerate.  It keeps for a very long time.  No mold dares enter that concoction!  I froze some as well for later.

But what we did-----was to use it right away, and that worked great.  Some say to strain it, but I just put it all in the blender to use as is.

If you feel the cold or flu coming on, take a teaspoon or tablespoon of the tonic in a small glass of orange juice, apple cider, or water.  You can take it as often as every hour.  It works, especially if you begin when the symptoms appear!

When I first made this tonic, we didn't have time to let it set for two weeks.  My husband felt like he was getting a cold, so he took it several times a day for two days and his cold disappeared like magic, saving him lots of misery!  I haven't needed to take it yet, but will if the need arises.

Someone I know also eats ground horseradish at the first sign of a cold of flu, and that works as well!  Whatever works!

Additional notes:
More recently (2015) I made a tonic of only equal parts of raw onion, garlic, ginger root, and Bragg organic apple cider vinegar in the blender.  I used 1 tablespoon of this tonic in a glass of orange juice or apple cider (not vinegar).  This was done 3-4 times a day to knock out a scratchy throat that was just beginning.  It was completely gone the next day!  

I know that eating too much sugar the week before resulted in the scratchy throat!  I rarely eat sugar, but gave in to my sweet tooth.  

Sugar definitely breaks down the immune system!  I've been off sugar now for almost a year again and haven't been sick, even while being around others who had been.

Stay well, everyone!