Sambucol

[IOW-gal]

I have a friend who was recently extolling the virtues of Sambucol and was wondering if any of you on this site had any experience of taking it or if indeed we should. It apparently supports the immune system. Not cheap but if any good would consider taking it.

[butterflyEi]

I have not heard of it but would be pleased to know how you get on with it should you decide to try it out.

[Hidden]

Hello IOW-gal.

I have just Googled Sambucol and now I know what you are referring too. Well personally anything one of the celebrities recommend I would heed caution. I am not sure about processed fruits, etc in a tablet-form. I think a lot of the tablets as in health supplements and medications in tablet form also contain other ingredients that are fillers and it's these that I am most wary about.

I experienced temporary side-effects when I started urso back in Dec 2010 and I doubt it was the actual component of the urso itself but the fillers that the tablets contained. There is talc in some for eg and even colourants.

I'm not saying anyone should not take these, I think you have to go with what you feel is best. I sometimes wonder though, if certain herbal products that are marketed are as good as they say, why aren't they more widely known?

As with milk thistle that is reputed to be a good cleanser where the liver is concerned, I myself have actually experimented with that since I was informed I had PBC 4yrs ago. I got results on my LFTs that didn't really correlate in the way I could say it actually helped. But also the new regulations over marketing herbal products now and licensing in the UK also meant that the last time I used milk thistle for a spell, the mgs had reduced greatly and the price shot up considerably. Doubt the milk thistle did any harm but I don't think somehow it made it worthwhile my spending money on something that I had the doubts about.

[GrittyReads]

I would ask the PBC foundation people what they think. My understanding is that while they won't actually recommend alternative things, I'm sure they would tell you if they thought it was dangerous. Never heard of it myself, and I am very wary of alternative stuff.

[Hidden]

Hi from Australia

The article below (see link) was published in this morning's 'Sydney Morning Herald' - it may be of interest here. I don't take, nor have I ever taken, any 'supplements or herbal remedies', but I still read the article which I found quite interesting.

By the by, I was diagnosed 26 years ago (due to bile duct damage was probably in Stage 2 at the time), and am now Stage 4 with cirrhosis, so, unless otherwise told to, I won't be taking any supplementary/herbal medications - as Peridot has mentioned, we really don't know what 'fillers' or other substances have been added, nor how they will react to other medications that we are already taking.

smh.com.au/lifestyle/diet-a...

[Hidden]

I looked into it after having caught a cold three times this winter when I dont normally suffer with them or not for a few years.

A work colleague takes it and she has been cold free so far this year , coincidence or does it work not sure. I decided against it but only because I don't want my liver to have to process something unnecessary .

I did mean to ask my Gastro last week but as normal I forgot most of what I wanted to ask her but having a drop in blood results this time around is reason enough not to play around with anything I currently do.

I put that down to having been given vid D3 for a deficiency and I also stopped eating wheat 6 months ago, not to be confused with gluten free diet though as I still eat other grains. I took a food and drink test As I suffer IBS and aparentlyI I don't tolerate wheat or milk very well.