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MANDEVILLE, La. (WGNO) – Do your kids get bad colds, allergies, and sinus infections?

There’s a mom in Mandeville who is making a natural product to ease the symptoms.

Samantha Ditchendorf makes elderberry syrup which is known to help with colds, the flu, allergies, asthma, and even boots immunity, especially during the dreaded flu season.  It also has anti-inflammatory benefits.

She started her own licensed business, “Naturally Well with Samantha”.

“Elderberry syrup is not something that I came up with.  It’s been around for years.  Your grandmother probably knows about it.  It’s just coming around again.  It’s so beneficial to your health.  Elderberry syrup is loaded with antioxidants, enzymes, calcium, phosphorous, and Vitamin C,”  Ditchendorf said.

You would think that with all it’s healing properties, that it would be considered a medicine, but it’s actually a food.

“You can put it in your smoothies, in hot tea, on pancakes, and ice cream.  It’s a food product that just happens to have great medicinal properties in it,”  she said.

She’s a mom to three kids, Macy, Maddie, and Joshua who all think elderberry syrup is delicious.

So why did Samantha start giving her kids elderberry syrup?

“My son, Joshua was born with chronic allergies.  He was constantly sick.  He was always on medicine, taking three different kinds.  He continued to be sick, so we decided there had to be something else.”

That’s when a friend recommended elderberry syrup and Joshua tried it.

“Within three days he was cleared up.  We were blown away.  We’ve never gone back to those other medicines”  she said.

After it worked so well for her kids, she wanted to help other families and spread the healing.

“Here in Louisiana, everyone suffers from allergies, sinuses, so we thought that more people need to know about this.”

Mom made, kid tested, and dad approves too.

“We’re not paying for c0-pays.  We’re not taking trips to the doctor all over town and to get prescriptions.  It’s saving money and our family is healthier.  We prayed it would work and it did.  It’s made a big difference,”  Budd Ditchendorf said.

In addition to elderberry syrup, she also sells elderberry glycerine tinctures for babies and to take on airplanes.

If you’re interested:  www.naturallywellwithsamantha.com