Healthy Living: Immune support from our Limerick hedgerows

Nature never stops to amaze me – it provides us with exactly what we need right at our doorstep. Just as the cold season arrives it ripens some wonderful berries bursting full of antioxidants to support our immune function. Thankfully, the wise traditions are making their way back to our medicine cupboards. Two of my favourite wild food winter remedies are elderberries and rosehips.
Elderberries have been used for centuries in Europe – documents from France from the early 1600s revealed they used it to prevent or cure numerous ailments, particularly as winter tonic to treat fever, gut disorders, and rheumatism. There are increasing numbers of studies to unravel their important medicinal properties. Elderberries have both direct and indirect ways to help us fight viruses that cause the colds and flues. They are rich in the purple pigment, an antioxidant called anthocyanin, which may block the receptors a virus uses to enter our cells of the respiratory tract, thus preventing their replication and life cycle.
Its polyphenols have been shown to enhance the communication of our own immune cells, nourish the microbes that live in our gut also known to have immune regulating properties, and reduce inflammation. Human clinical trials confirmed that elderberry supplementation may substantially reduce the duration & severity of upper respiratory symptoms. It seems to be most effective when used before and throughout an infection, so it is best taken throughout the winter season. Don’t make the mistake of eating them raw! They need to be thoroughly cooked or processed to break down their gut-irritating toxins. Thalli Foods (www.thallifoods.com) sells it as incredible elderberry vinegar, juice, and dried powder. Of course, you can get various quality tonics from your pharmacy and health stores.

Update issued on planned expansion to Limerick Greenway

Rosehips bring back great memories – my grandma used to make jam out of them every winter. I pick these bright red shiny berries on my walks and runs with the dogs and make tea out of them, or add them to my smoothie, granola, or salads. They are known to have high levels of antioxidants – especially highly bioavailable form of vitamin C, and their antimicrobial actions have long been used in the traditional prevention and therapy of common colds and other infections.
The phenols in rosehips have antibacterial activity – they are able to increase membrane permeabilization, nutrient deprivation and extracellular enzyme inhibition – thus making a bacterium’s life particularly difficult. Antiviral and antifungal properties of Rosa species have also been reported, while its anti-inflammatory benefits have been studied in rheumatoid arthritis.
The best winter tonics are made with raw honey, which is one of the most appreciated ancient remedies. Honey has been used in traditional medicine for hundreds of years. In its raw state it contains natural sugars, enzymes, hydrogen peroxide and defensins, which all have been shown to be antimicrobial – fighting those microscopic creatures that are looking to make you sick. It also has wound healing and anti-inflammatory properties, which are responsible for that well-known throat soothing sensation, so comforting in the winter.