Herb of the Month: Wild Cherry Bark

This time of year often brings along coughs and respiratory issues. Herbalists love wild cherry bark as a favorite remedy for these illnesses. It is harvested, dried, and then used in teas, tinctures, extracts, and other herbal preparations. It has a pleasant flavor, so no fighting with kids to get them to take a nasty cough medicine! The bark is also frequently converted into a resin and burned as an incense. This beautiful tree yields edible fruit, which is used medicinally and for culinary purposes. 

Traditional Herbal Uses of Wild Cherry Bark:

• Allergies
• Colds
• Cough
• Digestion- especially diarrhea 
• Eyewash
• Fever
• Inflammation
• Sore throat
• More

About the tree

Wild Cherry Bark comes from Prunus serotina, also called black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, a tree native to North America and a member of the rose family. It's easy to spot along fence rows and woodland edges by its reddish-brown, cracked bark and the drooping clusters of white flowers it puts on each spring. Indigenous peoples, including the Cherokee and Iroquois, have used the bark for generations to support coughs, colds, and more.

TriLight Health and Wild Cherry Bark 

We use Wild Cherry Bark in Lungs Plus, Lung Tonic, and Wild Cherry Coffaway

Lungs Plus is loved by our customers with coughs. It's especially popular at bedtime, but can be used during the day as well. We combined Wild Cherry Bark with herbs like Mullein, Chickweed, Horehound, and many others. These are all herbs that herbalists have used for centuries for coughs. A lot of our customers keep this by their bedside when dealing with a cough so they can easily take a dose and get back to sleep quickly! 

Lung Tonic is our pregnancy-friendly cough formula. It is also helpful for those with chronic coughs and during allergy and hay fever seasons. You'll find similar ingredients to Lungs Plus with a few differences to make it pregnancy-friendly.

Wild Cherry Coffaway is our fast-acting, great-tasting Wild Cherry-based cough formula. We've been selling this formula for over 35 years, and it's always been one of our most popular formulas. It also contains elderberries, which are especially useful during times of sickness and cough. Customers report that their time off for illness is drastically reduced when using this formula.

What is the difference between Wild Cherry Coffaway and Lung Tonic?

They're both herbal respiratory support blends and can be used as herbal cough syrup. The most important difference to note is that Lung Tonic is pregnancy-friendly, while Wild Cherry Coffaway is not. Here is some additional information:

Similarities:

• Both contain Wild Cherry Bark
• Both can be taken straight or in water
• They both taste delicious and are gentle on the tummy

Differences:

• Lung Tonic is pregnancy-friendly; Wild Cherry Coffaway should be avoided in pregnancy
• Lung Tonic is based on Lungs Plus
• Wild Cherry Coffaway was created for us by 7th Generation Cherokee Medicine Man, Medicine Bear
• Wild Cherry Coffaway has added herbs like Elderberry and Licorice root 
• Lung Tonic has added herbs like Astragalus and Horehound

What about the differences between Lung Tonic and Lungs Plus?

These are almost identical, but Lungs Plus has added Coltsfoot, which is not recommended during pregnancy. Lung Tonic is most often chosen for chronic cases (and can be used for acute illnesses too), while Lungs Plus is most often chosen for acute concerns. 

Wild Cherry Coffaway is 20% off until the end of the week. If you stay tuned to our Weekly Specials this month, you might find Lungs Plus and Lung Tonic marked down too. 

Note: Wild Cherry Bark is toxic in large amounts. The amounts used in traditional herbal dosing are not a cause for concern. Avoid an excess of Wild Cherry containing products.

Learn More:

Herbal Respiratory Support
Herb of the Month: Horehound
Understanding Herbal Preparations- Syrup