Serious Elderberry

For children under 12: in some cases, yes - in the proper amount. However, we recommend you stick to the children's products as these have been formulated specifically with kids in mind. Consult an herbal or natural therapies practitioner before giving any adult formulas to children. Children 12 years and older can take adult formulas.

Most capsules either contain powdered, dry herbs, or a tiny bit of liquid extract (gel caps). Tablets are powdered herbs that are held together by pressure and other chemicals. The beauty of liquid extracts, or "tinctures," is that they absorb quickly and the body receives the full benefit of the plant in a very bio-available solution. Liquids also allow you to customize your serving freely so you can best meet your needs at the time. Liquids are inexpensive and easy to swallow. The droppers and pump top dispensers are also convenient for when you're on the go.

WishGarden's Pregnancy and Children's formulas are the products of choice while nursing. We suggest you consult a natural therapies practitioner before taking any other formulas.

Many of our common symptom-soothing formulas are designed to take effect within 5-10 minutes if used properly. To get these fast-acting results, we recommend 3-4 droppers full, or 6-8 pumps, per use to start. If you are not yet feeling the full effect within the first 5 minutes, repeat the original serving. You can do this up to 4 servings back to back. Note that some of our formulas are tonics and are meant to work over longer periods of time.

Here are some other strategies you can use, depending on the effect you need:

Move-Thru-It Strategy: to support optimum recovery rates, use 6-8 pumps or 3-4 droppers. Repeat every 1-3 hours for a day or two (with a good night's sleep). The idea here is a persistent frequency. Once you have achieved initial results, you can switch to more conventional usage patterns such as 3-4 times a day. For example: Kick-Ass Immune, Get Over It

TONIC Strategy: for long-term, deeply nutritive support over time, use 6-8 pumps or 3-4 droppers, 1-3 times a day for 3 weeks to 3 months. For example: Deep Stress, Daily Immune

It is okay to take more than one of the pregnancy and lactation formulas at the same time while breastfeeding.

The pump tops were designed to make it easy to take your extracts on the go: you simply pump them directly into your mouth or add to juice or water. Each pump is equivalent to approximately half a dropper.

Alcohol is a sustainable and body-friendly extracting medium. It effectively releases the active constituents from coarse plant material. Alcohol also prevents the product from spoiling. Extracting herbs this way is an age-old technique that effectively carries the constituents into a liquid "plant soup", called a "tincture". WishGarden has developed a proprietary process that uses alcohol to maximum benefit during the extracting phase, while minimizing it in the finished product.

The jigger cups were designed to make taking your formula(s) of choice convenient. It is particularly helpful if needing to take larger quantities or combining formulas. One dropperful is approximately 1 ml; therefore the 3 ml mark on the jigger cup is approximately equivalent to 3 droppersful. Jiggers are also great for refilling smaller bottles.

We do not recommend alcohol extracts for those recovering from alcohol addiction. This is to prevent even the smallest amount of alcohol from re-triggering any vulnerable addictive pathways. In this case it is not the volume, or quantity, of alcohol present that is relevant, but rather the sensitivity of the individual. We recommend that water extracts such as teas and infusions, or powdered herb (non-alcohol extracted) capsules be used. The practice of evaporating off the alcohol in hot water or tea significantly lessens, but may not completely eliminate all of the alcohol present.

None of our formulas contain gluten. The pure Italian wheat-based grain alcohol we use leaves all gluten behind when distilled, and comes with a gluten-free test certificate. The only other grain used in any of the formulas is Milky Oats, which is sustainably harvested and sorted in a botanical house. It is not processed with, or contaminated by, other grains.

Many people enjoy mixing combinations; however, those with a complicated medical history or on prescription drugs should consult their natural therapies practitioner.

We recommend that you avoid using the adult formulas while pregnant or breastfeeding unless advised to do so by your natural therapies practitioner.

Yes for most formulas diluting them in common drinks can improve taste, and will not compromise the formula's effect. Just use the recommended amount, and repeat if necessary for full effect. Please note that to receive the full effect of bitters, you must taste them and dilution is not recommended.

Yes. Glycerin is also called glycerol and is a plant-based substance that is molecularly similar to alcohol. It belongs to the family of sugar alcohols, such as malitol, sorbitol, and xylitol, considered safe for diabetics.

All of our products were formulated for human consumption. However, we have heard of people successfully using them for their pets. We recommend contacting a natural veterinarian before administering any of them to your pet, as some herbs are not safe for animals.

We use USPS Priority Mail. Order will typically arrive within 4-7 days on orders placed before 11am MST Mon-Fri. Please note that due to weight limitations and delivery address restrictions for USPS, very small or very large orders may be shipped via First-Class Mail or UPS at our discretion. This will not affect transit time.