Winter Wellness with ŌKU Elixirs

By Scott Smith ND MH

When I was growing up I can remember my Mum literally chasing me around the back yard trying to catch me so she could give me my antibiotics. I had yet another chest infection. I can’t remember if it was the medicine I hated or I just simply didn’t want to take it, but it was a regular occurrence growing up, and the weakness in my chest stayed with me long after I was a child. Even after I trained as a Medical Herbalist and would make up blends from our Herbal Dispensary, I still found myself often succumbing to nasty coughs and eventual chest infections. I would be reluctant to go onto antibiotics but there were times it seemed the only way I could actually resolve the infection and clear the persistent cough.

After I became a Dad and realised very early on that my son had unfortunately inherited this same weakness, I decided I needed to find something that was going to really work. I wanted to create something to help not only people like my son and myself but the many people I was seeing in the clinic and coming in off the street, year after year with the same afflictions.

I had already started working with the NZ Natives by this time and had seen first-hand how powerful they were. Among them were herbs like Kūmarahou which has remarkable strengthening respiratory properties as well as being an exceptional expectorant herb. No one I could see was doing anything with the natives in this area of respiratory, immune and infection support, so I thought why not see how a formula like this would go.

After several early iterations and experiments, I settled on a blend that became known as the Original ŌKU Cough & Chest Elixir (now called simply Chest Elixir). This was in the very very early days of ŌKU when we were still selling at the local Farmer’s Markets in Tauranga & Mt Maunganui. Very soon though we started to receive very encouraging feedback from people who were using it for a wide range of different types of coughs (wet & dry & everything in between) and also both acute and chronic respiratory complaints.

Can I just say now that after having had access to this blend and later on to our Immune blend for over 10 years, I have never had to take antibiotics once in that time for a chest infection. I have never again been left with a persistent cough. In fact 9 out of 10 times I feel like I am coming down with something in my chest or throat, this formula will completely nip it in the bud and clear it before it comes to anything. I simply cannot remember the last time I had a full-blown cold. This is from someone who has struggled their entire life every winter and change of season with this. It is quite remarkable and the stories that we continually receive from our customers over these years truly testify to this as well. I don’t claim to be some incredible formulator, I simply put the herbs together and they do the work, they are the heroes in this story :)

For 3 key points on how best to take the OKU Elixir Range keep on reading

 Some of the early feedback we received was that the natives really packed a punch and were a little difficult for some of the kids to take, so was there any chance that we might be able to make a Children’s version….and so was born the ŌKU Children’s Cough & Chest Elixir. I used the same four key NZ Native herbs – Kūmarahou, Kawakawa, Mānuka & Houhere – but I adjusted the ratios and the base to soften some of the bitter and warming tones of the Original blend (which now was renamed the Adult Blend) to make it easier for those younger folk or who are young at heart when it comes to herbal blends, but still get the remarkable benefits of these incredible herbs. Learn more about the difference between the Adult’s and Children’s blends

While these blends do offer support to help the immune response they were formulated more specifically for the respiratory system and so the next formula that came along was to be able to offer more direct support for the immune system and immune responses our Immune Support Elixir. This used the best of our NZ Natives with other key western herbs & nutrients to really create a blend that was a perfect combination. It could be used either as a preventative or as a treatment at those first signs of something taking hold in the body, helping people to nip things in the bud before they could take hold. It was also a perfect companion to the Cough & Chest formulas that could easily be used together, to give double support to the body when fighting off any type of immune challenge affecting the respiratory system.

3 key points to remember with the ŌKU Elixir Range:

1.       It is much better to have a bottle on hand to take immediately when you feel something coming on. So much easier to nip something in the bud, rather than to deal with it after it has already taken hold in the body.

2.       When taking any of our Elixirs but especially the Chest Elixirs it is recommended to have it as a hot toddy. We have seen over many years of personal use and countless customers that have given us feedback, that this helps to deepen the action of these herbs to increase effectiveness. Take a double, age-specific dose in a small glass of warm to hot water and sip away at it like a beverage.  

3.       You can safely combine both Chest Elixirs with our Immune formula to give the benefits of both respiratory & immune support when you need it. This is why our elixir bundles & packs are so popular with our customers. Alternate the doses throughout the day or combine both blends into a hot toddy to get the benefits of both formulas at the same time.  

If you have got this far, then you deserve a little reward :)

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