Elderberry Extract and an Allergy to Crab Meat

I'm glad I blogged about my friendship incident in my previous post because I have more clarity on it now and realize that I do not have to suffer the complete loss of a friendship with her. I just have a more accurate picture of that relationship now. I always knew I wanted more... intimacy... closer association... perhaps BFF status with this lady but I fully realize now that that is not going to happen.

That does not mean I have to eliminate what I do have with her. I still like her and pray for her and her husband and kids. Even though what she said was a little harsh, I'm sure she said it out of frustration at a combination of things -- mainly what I had said -- but perhaps it caught her at a bad time, too. Anyway, I'm no longer worried about it and I'm grateful that God also showed me that I simply am how I am. Not that I cannot improve, but that I don't have to try to transform myself into something other than what I am. I do intend to be more circumspect with my opinions, in all areas, as well as I can, though. The Lord wants us to develop self control, so this seems to be an area where I need that.  Thank you, Lord, for guiding me.

On Sunday I noticed that I seemed to be kind of extra swollen and I'm not sure what to attribute it to. It could possibly be from any one of three things:

1. Slow cooker soup that I had made for the first time on Saturday
2. Eating crab meat at the buffet on Saturday
3. Taking a dose of Elderberry extract Sunday morning

The soup: I chose a large slow cooker as one of my bank rewards and it has been sitting in a corner for months so I decided to give it a go on Saturday. This was a spur of the moment thing so I had not gone shopping with a particular recipe or dish in mind. I just pulled out four pork chops, some Italian green beans, some cut green beans, and some okra along with some left over fresh grape tomatoes and some spicy spaghetti sauce and threw everything in the pot with some water and set it on high.

When it got hot I turned it down to medium and left it for the rest of the day. I also applied all my favorite herbs including some cinnamon. It came out pretty tasty, but I think I'll leave out the cinnamon next time. It was not bad or repulsive or anything like that. It just had a little bit of oddness to it. Other than that, I loved it and really liked the slow cooker method. The pork chops fell apart with a spoon and I was able to fish nearly all of the bones out beforehand. So. I'm thinking the swelling could be from that, but it does not seem likely. I'm crossing that one off the list.

The crab meat: At the Hot/Cold Chinese Buffet that I visited on Saturday I paid attention to including more fresh raw salad and other vegetables to my plate, along with protein. I remember noting that my plate was about 50/50 so I felt I did well. I did have another smaller plate with 50/50 portions too, but did not have any dessert. I think the problem may be that I did eat more of the crab casserole that they make than I usually do. I had a serving spoonful on both plates and, since, I have, in the past, gotten swollen from eating crab meat, I can only assume that my current swelling is very likely from that. Even though I think it was made from imitation crab it is still "seafood" and is flavored with crab juices during the manufacture. So I think that may actually be the culprit and I need to lay off of it.

That is too bad because I had discovered that their cheesy crab casserole reminded me of macaroni and cheese and since there was no macaroni, I thought it was safe to consume. It may also have simply been that particular batch because I've eaten it before without noticing any additional swelling, but I also know that allergies can creep up on you. So no more crab casserole for a while.

The Elderberry extract:  I discovered through reading on the internet that elderberry extract has been scientifically proven to be a good remedy for the flu or colds. It has fewer side effects than the flu shot and works pretty fast, and well, according to research. I was going to wait until payday and order some but needed to get out of the house on Saturday so I decided to go to a health food store and buy a bottle. On the way back is when I stopped at the buffet mentioned above.

As usual, the price in the mom and pop store was pretty high (15 dollars) but I figured if I ordered it I would be paying for shipping so it probably turned out to be close in price. I made sure to get some that does not have added sugar in it. The brand is "Sambucus" (nigra) Black Elder Berry Extract which is labeled as "all natural, no artificial sweeteners," too. I did not want to get the "syrup" as the word syrup nearly always means "sugar."

I had priced some at Swanson Vitamins.com for about 10 dollars but it was labeled "syrup" and also had three active ingredients instead of one: elderberry fruit, elder flowers, both from the Sambucus nigra plant and also red raspberry leaf. It had a total carb count of 4 per teaspoon so I figured that was acceptable. They recommend taking one teaspoon once or twice a day as needed. I may still buy this one in the future but for now I went with the "Natures Answer" brand that I got at the store.

In my reading about this extract I also noticed that it is supposed to also act as a mild diuretic so that may actually be why I experienced a little excessive urination earlier in my fast than I was expecting. This, of course, would likely rule out the possibility that I was swollen because of it. It may have actually been the thing that was helping to get rid of the swelling. I noticed my blood pressure was a little lower this morning, too, so that is a good sign.

If you would like to read the first article I found here is the URL: http://saveourbones.com/researcher-discover-fruit-that-cures-flu/

Here is the confirming article that I read from Web MD: http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/news/20031222/elderberry-fights-flu-symptoms

The article from Web MD was written in 2003 so the first article has newer research listed in it.

The thing that really attracted me to trying the elderberry extract is that it is actually being proven to work against the flu just as well as a H1N1 flu shot -- and also against influenza A and B viruses. With none of the side effects of a flu shot.

If you have ever had a flu shot, and then gotten the flu, that is probably not really what happened. When I had that happen, my doctor did not believe that was possible. Come to find out from the first article that the side effects of the flu shot mimic getting the flu, so what's the point? All of that can be sidestepped, hopefully, with the elderberry extract so I have some in my arsenal now and will be using it when the time comes.

Just out of curiosity, I took a dose on Sunday morning, to test out what it tastes like, and see how my body reacts to it when I'm not under the influence of the flu. I put one teaspoonful in about half a cup of water and drank it down. It tasted like prune juice to me and was not half bad, unsweetened and all. I don't think it needs sugar for taste. It tastes fine. 

Then, I went ahead with "going to church" preparations. Unfortunately, after I had taken my shower, as I was walking into the bedroom to get dressed my knee just gave way and I stumbled. I was able to catch myself and not fall but that put a stop to the "going to church" plans. I need to be extra careful with the knee during this healing stage so I stayed off of it by sitting in the recliner to elevate it for a while.

As I sat there wrapped in my blankets I started to nod off, but woke up a little later with some really strange dreams about a bug in my house that "my" cat (I don't have a cat) was stalking. I got into the act and tried to stop it, but it kept morfing and ended up being a tiny bird that I had stomped on and did not kill. I immediately woke up because I hate wounding animals, especially like that, and felt awful. When I took stock, I thought that maybe the extract had been a cause of the bad dream and made a note to myself that I should not take that stuff before bed time, unless absolutely, necessary.

This particular sentence from the Web MD article really caught my attention:  "A small study published five years ago showed that 93% of flu patients given Sambucol were completely symptom-free within two days; those taking a placebo recovered in about six days."

Now that research has also shown that the elderberry extract works for influenza A and B and also H1N1, I don't think we should ignore that. What the researchers are saying is that the elderberry seems to short circuit the symptoms within about 48 hours. This requires following the recommended dosage on the package, too. On the one that I purchased it recommends taking 1 teaspoonful up to 4 times a day in a small amount of water. The one that I read about at Swanson says to take 1 teaspoonful twice a day with water or juice and then to refrigerate after opening.

Today is a fasting day so I'll be eating at about 2:30. I would really like to go to the pool but am afraid of over doing. Perhaps if I'm simply very careful, I could go. Nah! I need to continue to let it heal, so I'll be home today. I lost 3.5 pounds of water over night but am still a little swollen. Fasting usually helps that, so I'll see how it goes.

Hope things are well with you,

Be back soon,

Marcia