re: elderberry juice....does it work?

I can’t see the word elderberry without pronouncing it with a ridiculous French accent

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My wife was passing that shite around last night at the dinner table. Best way to describe it is sugary, clovey, butt water

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hmm... sounds like she's not doing it right... unless she's adding other ingredients that make it taste bad. More of an intense jammy, berry, compote taste depending on how extracted it is & whether you're using store-bought syrup or making your own... you can buy black elderberries off Amazon and make your own a bit cheaper.

I believe it's helpful, but it's not magic. There have been at least a couple of arguably legit controlled studies in which people with the flu recovered 3-4 days faster when taking black elderberry syrup than those on the placebo.

For my part (un-scientific / anecodotal), I've used it intermittently the past few years. When I've felt a bug coming on, I've used the store bought Sambucol syrup and I feel like it helped me fight off the bugs better than I would've otherwise. Had the flu once a couple years back and the worst of the symptoms only lasted about 4 days. Of course, the flu is better or worse any given year, so this isn't definitive.

LouisianaLady: I don't think elderberry qualifies as homeopathic, though it might. I do think some homeopathic medicines are based on the idea of hormesis, which is the process where ingesting low doses of something toxic can beneficially stimulate the immune system. (Ex: some compounds, like certain polyphenols in plants, are actually the plant's defense system (poisons) to fend off insects or bacteria... But when we eat them, they are in such low doses that they mildly stimulate / exercise our immune system in a way that makes us healthier.)

... But I think what mostly gets sold as homeopathic medicine industry is a sham. They take that concept of "a little bit is good", and take something that might arguably be an effective medicine and dilute it, then dilute it again, etc. until the concentration is absurdly low... sometimes down to a few parts per million, to the point you're ingesting sugar water / sugar pills. That is what I usually think of as homeopathic remedies and I think that's a waste of money.

The reason black elderberry is supposed to work against colds & the flu is that it has natural anti-viral properties... If that anti-viral property is tied to the plant's natural defenses (a toxin), and if the benefit is that it stimulates our own immune system via hormesis, it might tentatively qualify as homeopathic, but I'd hesitate to call it that. And, on the other hand, if you absorb the anti-viral component like a nutrient and it has a direct effect against viruses, then I definitely don't think it qualifies as homeopathic. When I take Sambucol, I find upping my dose is more beneficial, which leads to me think it's a direct nutrient effect.

Lastly, to any Joe Rogan fans... yes, I learned quite a bit about hormesis from his interviews with Dr. Rhonda Patrick.

Oregano oil/pills is better

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My friend will start telling me to crush up cloves of garlic and DRINK them mixed into vinegar or water at the first mention of my being sick.

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Everything else in here may be complete bullshite...but garlic is a known bacteria murderer.

I haven’t done shite for the flu ever and I’ve never had it. 39 years going strong. Secret potions don’t work.

If it actually worked, companies would have marketed the hell out of it already.

Goji juice is the shiznits

I figure it can't hurt ... and the gummies are supppsed to be pretty good lol. I've had friends tell me they're using it but haven't seen it marketed and haven't had anyone try to sell it to me. Just happened to talk with friends about hoping we don't get the flu and it led to the conversation.

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We eat honey fermented garlic

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How do you do this? Placing garlic cloves in an anaerobic environment, like submerged in olive oil, can grow botulism.