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I’ve seen possible adverse effects on immunomodulators like elderberry for those taking immunosuppressants because of an autoimmune disease. How seriously should we take this precaution?

Chris Kresser: First one’s from Gavin, “I’ve seen possible adverse effects on immunomodulators like elderberry for those taking immunosuppressants because of an autoimmune disease. How seriously should we take this precaution?”

I’m curious what you mean by what you’ve seen, Gavin. You’ve seen those clinically in person or you’ve read about them? Because there is a lot of discussion about elderberries suppressing immune function, but as you mentioned in your follow-up, it actually is an immunomodulator. Stephen Harrod Buhner, who is one of, I think, the best herbalists in the world, has written about this extensively, so let me go to his website and grab that link to that article and I’ll put it in the chat so everyone has access to it. He has a whole monograph on elderberry and immune function, so that’s to answer your question. I think elderberry is still useful. Buhner actually feels like elder leaf is way more effective than elderberry, but it’s not easy to find, so on a practical level, most people are not going to have access to that. I think elderberry is still safe from what I gather.

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