Stay Well and Get Well Sooner! Herbal Immune Support

Hello loves!

Can you believe it? Just like that, we’ve passed the threshhold of Labor Day again! And, just like that, folks are heading back to school and other indoor environments, which means that we’re all more vulnerable to colds and other bugs. So we thought we’d share share some information about a few of our favorite herbs for a robust immune system. Keep reading to learn more, or head on over to our shop to get the herbal support you need!

Food as Medicine

Before getting into herbal details, I want to remind us all of the empowering truth that we have so much agency over our health simply by eating a generally anti-inflammatory diet full of colorful fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, sustainably sourced meat, and a variety of culinary herbs and spices.

Garlic, onions, ginger, mushrooms, bone broth, wild fermented foods, sage, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and parsley are particularly helpful for staying well and fighting off colds, so we love to make big batches of soup packed with these ingredients and freeze them in large yogurt containers for easy eating throughout the fall and winter. And I know other folks who eat a raw clove of garlic a day to stay well! Whatever floats your boat…

Herbal Resilience

The more I learn about herbs, the more I understand that most herbs offer immune support because they all need to protect themselves from predators, fungus, viruses, and bacteria too!

So, if you want to stay well or nip a cold in the bud, drink lots of herbal tea and considering dosing yourself with just about any tinctures you have in your cupboard, no need to be too picky.

For example, if you have St. John’s Wort tincture to alleviate your depressive symptoms, you may be surprised to learn that it is also antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and an expectorant. Motherwort, an herb most people work with for anxiety relief, hormonal balance, and cardiovascular support, is also a diaphoretic—meaning that it can help promoting sweating to drive out a fever.

Herbal medicine can be effective at alleviating uncomfortable symptoms and quickening recovery time when you’re down for the count. And, when worked with on a consistent basis, it can be incredibly effective at preventing illness from happening in the first place. Aside from a few tickles in my throat and one mild bout of COVID, I have not been sick since we started making our own medicine from wild herbs six years ago!

Not only can herbs help fight off nasty bugs that make us sick, they help us stay well by supporting all the systems in our body to be more resilient and less vulnerable to harboring microbes in the first place. So, once again, a steady stream of culinary herbs and teas build a sturdy foundation for daily wellbeing. But when your pre-schoolers start playing with other pre-schoolers or you’re traveling in close quarters with others or you feel that familiar scratchy throat, you might want to work with some of our favorite herbs for immune activation and support. Keep reading to learn more about them!

Red-Belted Conk, Fomitopsis pinicola

This variagated polypore mushroom grows on decaying trees in our moist forests, so collecting it is always a healing journey in itself. It is known as an “immonomodulator”, meaning that it helps with general immune function and has been used to support auto-immune disorders including rheumatoid arthritis. It also supports digestion and intestinal inflammation, and is a systemwide anti-inflammatory. Anti-tumoral, it has been used to prevent and treat cancers, and supports healthy liver function. It has been traditionally used for fevers and chills, as well.

Watch our conk-harvest video on our YouTube Channel!

Blue Elderberry, Sambucus cerulea

Elderberries have a lot going for them. They’re delicious, for one. They also are rich in vitamins and nutrients, including flavonoids, vitamins A + C, potassium, iron, and betacarotene. They have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties, and can support cardiovascular wellbeing and deep restoration of health.

And yes, as most folks know, they are excellent at stimulating the immune system. Elderberries have been used to prevent and shorten the duration of colds and flus, and they are both antiviral and antibacterial. I think every medicine cabinet should have some elderberry in it.

Not only are the berries amazing, the flowers of the elder tree have also traditionally been used to support chest colds and can help induce sweating to drive out fevers. You can find Elderflower in our Seasonal Resilience Blend.

Lemon Balm, Melissa officinalis

This baby can do it all! It tastes amazing and is one of the best herbs for our nervous system, helping to calm frayed nerves and lift the spirits at the same time. It also helps with nausea and rumbly tummies… AND, it’s antiviral! It can help manage colds and flus, and is particularly effective at treating the herpes and shingles virus.

Because it’s so soothing to the spirits as well as helpful in fighting off infections, it’s a great one to take when you’re feeling under the weather, no matter what the cause. You can take it by the dropperful with a little bit of water, or make instant hot or cold tea by adding a few droppersful of the tincture to water and sipping it throughout the day. It’s powerful yet gentle enough for kids and elders, so it’s a great remedy for the whole family.

You can get it as a single-herb extraction, or find it in our Mellow Mood and Root of Wellness blends.

Witch’s Beard Lichen, Usnea spp.

This lichen looks like wild, light green tinsel hanging from forest branches—or, some say, a wizard’s beard! It is sensitive to air pollution, so you can only find it in places with clean air. Blessedly, we have an abundance of it in the woods surrounding our home. Thriving in wet forests prone to fungal, viral, and bacterial infections, this lichen is excellent at stimulating the immune system and helping us fight off microbes. It has a particular affinity for the respiratory, urinary, and reproductive systems, and the tincture has been used to resolve pneumonia, strep throat, and herpes. We include Usnea in our Seasonal Resilience Blend.

References

Kloos, Scott. 2017. Pacific Northwest Medicinal Plants. Timber Press: Portland, Oregon.

The Botanical Institute. Five Benefits of Elderberry. Website.

The Botanical Institute. Four Benefits of Usnea. Website.

Hearthside Healing. Red Belted Conk. Website.

The Herbal Academy. A Family Herb: Lemon Balm Benefits. Website.

The Herbal Academy. Motherwort Monograph. Website.

The Herbal Academy. St. John’s Wort: Not Just for Depression. Website.

Ultimate Mushroom. Fomitopsis pinicola. Website.

Disclaimer

For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.