Boosting our Immune System with Sambucol

The Germs are BACK. It’s that time of year again. The time that brings all parents out in a bit of a cold sweat at the prospect. The time when all the children have gone back to school and nursery, returned from their half term holidays, and when all those winter germs and bugs start to rear their horrible ugly heads. As a family of four with two young children, there haven’t been many winters that have gone by without one or both of them falling ill, and as working parents, it can be hard to manage school holidays AND days off to look after poorly children when we have a day job to worry about too.

As someone who is a bit of a health hypochondriac and suffers from health anxiety and emetophobia (fear of vomit) this is my least favourite time of year. I worry a lot about hygiene and encourage the girls to wash their hands regularly, but I often forget that its not just about staying clean, its also about giving our immune systems a boost. We try and eat well, but in Winter we tend to have more comfort food, and as a result, it isn’t always as healthy as it should be. With Neve being a terrible sleeper, I find myself exhausted a lot of the time and these last few weeks have felt like a real struggle. Whilst my friends without children have been gloating about their ‘extra hour in bed’, I have simply been moaning about the extra hour of “wishing i was in bed”, and when my alarm goes off in the morning there is a little part of me that wants to press snooze repeatedly, roll over, pull the duvet over my eyes and stay there for the rest of the day. If only that was an option eh!!!

With us all having suffered with our first colds of the season already, I’ve decided that this Winter, our entire family could do with a bit of an immune boost, and therefore over the last few weeks we’ve been trying out the range of vitamins from Sambucol.

What is Sambucol?

Sambucol is a high quality, great tasting food supplement made with the extract from black elderberries, which contain naturally occurring flavonoids. Although not widely talked about as a fruit in their own right, I’ve recently learned that black elderberries actually have twice the natural antioxidant capacity of blueberries! Sambucol also contains Vitamin C and Zinc which are known to help boost the immune system.

Research has shown that Sambucol is a dual action supplement – it boosts your immunity and helps fights the illness by ‘coating’ the virus, giving your body a better chance of fighting it off. In a randomised, double-blind, placebo controlled trial researchers found that Black Elderberry extract was an efficient, safe and cost-effective treatment for influenza.

Sambucol can be used all year round to support your immune system with an increased dose recommended in Winter months. It is also ideal for using when travelling or before important events where you need to be at your best.

The best part about Sambucol is that it is suitable for the entire family, not only protecting the little ones against coughs, colds and viruses, but us grown ups too, leaving us better equipped to cope with whatever the school term throws at us.

Here’s what we have been trying from the Sambucol range:

For children, Sambucol have a few items in their range that are specifically tailored for youngsters. Sambucol For Kids Liquid is a delicious berry tasting syrup with added vitamin C that is suitable for children aged 1 year and above. Neve really struggles with her food (and is currently under a dietitian) so I often worry about her immune system suffering from a lack of nutrients and vitamins, particularly as she doesn’t have a huge amount of fruit and vegetables in her diet. This liquid tastes fresh and fruity and is really easy to swallow, meaning that even she will take this without a fuss (and trust me that in itself is a success!). Erin has just gone into Year One and has a busy lifestyle with gym and dance classes before and after school. As such, giving her a boost in this way before she heads out the door in the morning is a definite plus. One teaspoon a day of the liquid is recommended, or two a day during the Winter months.

For the more picky recipient, Sambucol also offer Black Elderberry Chewable Teddies for Kids which are almost sweet like in appearance and texture – for any child who is a bit reluctant to take a vitamin or supplement, you can pretty much guarantee they will be happy to take these without question!

Our Experience of Sambucol

From the adults point of view, Mike and I have opted for different varieties of Sambucol. For me, it was a bit of a no brainer – I absolutely HATE taking tablets – the very thought of swallowing capsules or tablets whole makes me feel a little nauseous, so as a result, I always tend to opt for supplements in liquid, soluble or pastille format. I’ve therefore been taking the Sambucol Immuno Forte Pastilles – with vitamin C, Zinc and Honey. These pastilles are suitable for adults and children aged 6 and above, with the recommended dose is up to 8 pastilles a day. The dose may seem quite high, but they taste great and as such, I was more than happy to chew one of these regularly throughout my working day.

Mike instead opted for the Sambucol Immuno Forte Effervescent tablets, popping one tablet in his drink first thing in the morning before he heads off to the office. With the tablet dissolving to form a fresh fruity tasting drink, the effervescent tablets can be enjoyed either hot or cold.

Overall we’ve all been really impressed with the Sambucol range. It tastes great, and all of us have enjoyed adding it into our daily routine. The range of options available in the Sambucol range is really impressive, as no matter how and when you want to take your supplement, there is an easy way of incorporating Sambucol into your day. Whilst we are regularly advised that supplements and vitamins aren’t a replacement for a healthy diet, they can definitely help give our immunity a boost during the colder winter months, and I am hoping that by continuing to take daily along with small improvements to our lifestyle and meals, I will see less of the germs taking hold for the remainder of the year!

Sambucol is also alcohol free, gluten free and suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

You can learn more about the full range of options available on the Sambucol website.

*Disclaimer – This is a collaborative post*