Healthy Children: Easy Immune Support Tincture

Easy Immune Support Tincture

Never made a tincture before? This Easy Immune Support Tincture is a great place to start! And your immune system will thank you…

This post contains affiliate links, FYI.

The beginning.

Ever since my first pregnancy, when my hippie midwife gave me a tincture of red raspberry leave to take, I’ve been intrigued by the use of tinctures for health. When she told me she had made it herself, images of elaborate moonshine-esque chemistry sets popped up in my mind.

Those images stayed there for a few years, making me think that it either took a scientific nerd or someone really crazy to make their own tinctures.

But guess what, neither of those things matter.

Making tinctures might sound a little daunting, but it’s really quite simple. If you’ve ever made your own homemade vanilla extract, then you basically have all the knowledge you need! And if you haven’t tried DIY vanilla, don’t worry, you’ll be rockin’ and rollin’ in no time flat!

Getting started.

You need three basic things to make a tincture:

a dark glass jar or bottle with an air-tight lid
some vodka, brandy, or vegetable glycerin
herbs, roots, and/or berries of your choice

I like to use vodka to make my tinctures, because it’s cheap and easy to get my hands on. If you’re alcohol-free, you can go ahead and use vegetable glycerin instead. I’ve even heard that apple cider vinegar works, but I’ve not ever tried it.

For storage, it’s important to use a dark glass bottle, as the UV rays from the sun can damage the healing properties of the herbs. I’ve been loving these light optimized, glass cosmetic bottles from Infinity Jars. They’re made with a unique ultraviolet light filtering technology that makes them a great choice for tinctures, essential oil blends, and DIY cosmetic storage. Infinity Jars’ light-blocking and air/watertight jars have been shown to preserve herbs for months, and even years, longer than ordinary jars!

Easy Immune Support Tincture

For this tincture I chose herbs that are great at stimulating your immune system. Whether it’s that lovely time of year when everyone and their mom is coming down with something, or you just feel like your immune system could use a little boost, these herbs are a great option.

Thyme

Thyme leaves are packed with immune-boosting vitamins C, A, K & E, as well as calcium, magnesium, and selenium. They also contain antioxidant-rich flavonoids and antibacterial properties that are said to fight off bacteria and fungi as strong as E-coli. Thyme also has a relaxing effect on muscles, making it helpful for relieving asthma, whooping cough, laryngitis, bronchitis, and even regular ol’ dry coughs.

Echinacea

This pretty little flower stimulates the cells that are responsible for fighting infections, helping our immune system be more effective at attacking viruses and bacteria. Please note that, if you have Th1 dominant Hashimoto’s, echinacea also stimulates the Th1 system, so use with care.

Elderberries

These have got to be one of my favorite berries of all time! Their bioflavonoids are so strong, they can even destroy the ability of cold and flu viruses to infect a cell! They’re filled with amino acids, carotenoids, flavonoids, vitamins A & B and more vitamin C than oranges! Elderberries are an anti-viral, antibacterial, immune-boosting powerhouse.

Using your tincture.

One of the wonderful things about this immune-boosting tincture is that it will help you out whether you’re sick or not. If you’ve been hanging around someone with the sniffles or a cough, or you just want to make sure you’re keeping your immune system up, take the tincture.

If you’ve already come down with something, this tincture will still help you by building up your immune system and giving it ammunition against the virus or bacteria your’re battling.

Generally, if I’m just trying to fortify my family’s systems during the winter months, I give them 1 dropperful, or 1/4 teaspoon, of the tincture per day (half for littles). If they’ve already caught something, I’ll double the dosage, as well as give them a cupful of my Immune Boosting Sore Throat Tea or my Honey Ginger Allergy Relief Tea.

Here’s a helpful tip from a registered herbalist, Carol Little: “At first sign of symptoms, or if you have been exposed to family/friend with sniffles and want to take precautions, adults should take 1 dropperful every 15-20 minutes for the first few hours. Cold virus replicates every 20 minutes, so the constant repeating of the dose is essential for the formula to kill the virus.”

Now that you know everything you need to make a tincture, what are you waiting for? Get going and make your own! Your immune system will thank you. ��

Note on the herbs: I usually purchase my herbs from Frontier Herbs or Starwest Botanicals, both of which I buy through amazon.com. I also like Mountain Rose Herbs and the Bulk Herb Store, as well.

In the recipe card I’ve linked to some of the products from my affiliate partners that I like to use. Purchasing through these links won’t cost you anything extra. Thanks!