Chances are you've never heard of elderberry, much less tasted it.
My own discovery of the benefits of elderberry came about in a roundabout way a few years ago. I was reading about the purple sweet potato. It is purported to be part of the reason for the remarkable longevity of people in Okinawa, Japan. learn more
As you can imagine, the chances of getting purple sweet potatoes from Japan in my little town in Germany are zero. So I began to look at what was in them, and among other things it was a powerful antioxidant called anthocyanin. learn more about anthocyanins
So I thought it would be interesting to investigate some other purple foods. Purple carrots are another option, and they too contain the same antioxidant, however, they are also relatively rare in our small town supermarkets. learn more
Although we have elderberries in America, growing up I wasn't really familiar with them. In Germany I grew somewhat familiar with them as a cold and flu remedy (here they are called Holunder.) From my wife's family I knew the sweet white flowers of the elder are sometimes added to pancakes.
Also you will see nectar from the berries for sale in the supermarkets – in Germany the designation “nectar” identifies juice mixed with water and sugar. Because I avoid sugar that was of little interest to me. Eventually I did find pure elderberry juice and I began drinking it.
I've been drinking it for several years now, and this weekend I decided to see if I could learn something about it's health benefits. It turned out I made a very lucky decision to start drinking elderberry juice, it is a true super food. Although Elderberries are very healthy, a word of caution: the leaves, bark and uncooked berries can contain traces of cyanide and can be poisonous. Learn more
Here are some of the Health Benefits of Elderberries
Flu & Cold Remedy
Reduces Blood Sugar
Natural Diuretic & Laxative
Anti inflammatory
Anti Cancer
From Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
In vitro studies demonstrate that elderberries possess antiviral, antibacterial, antidiabetic, immunomodulatory, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and chemopreventive properties, although inhibition of cancer cell growth was shown to be weak. Flavonoids and proanthocyanidins were shown to block HIV1 infection, and may have additive effects with existing HIV drugs such as enfuvirtide. Elderberry also conferred protective effects against oxidative stressors in endothelial cells.
Source & additional information here
Dr. Axe has a very useful overview about the health benefits of Elderberries
Folk Remedy for Flu
For anyone scientifically inclined, below are a couple of abstracts from studies done on elderberry extract as a flu treatment – for everyone else, it shortens the duration of the cold and flu infection :-)
Study National Institute of Health: “Randomized study of the efficacy and safety of oral elderberry extract in the treatment of influenza A and B virus infections.”
Abstract
Elderberry has been used in folk medicine for centuries to treat influenza, colds and sinusitis, and has been reported to have antiviral activity against influenza and herpes simplex. We investigated the efficacy and safety of oral elderberry syrup for treating influenza A and B infections. Sixty patients (aged 18-54 years) suffering from influenza-like symptoms for 48 h or less were enrolled in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study during the influenza season of 1999-2000 in Norway. Patients received 15 ml of elderberry or placebo syrup four times a day for 5 days, and recorded their symptoms using a visual analogue scale. Symptoms were relieved on average 4 days earlier and use of rescue medication was significantly less in those receiving elderberry extract compared with placebo. Elderberry extract seems to offer an efficient, safe and cost-effective treatment for influenza. These findings need to be confirmed in a larger study. Source
Study National Institute of Health: “Inhibition of several strains of influenza virus in vitro and reduction of symptoms by an elderberry extract (Sambucus nigra L.) during an outbreak of influenza B Panama.”
Abstract
A standardized elderberry extract, Sambucol (SAM), reduced hemagglutination and inhibited replication of human influenza viruses type A/Shangdong 9/93 (H3N2), A/Beijing 32/92 (H3N2), A/Texas 36/91 (H1N1), A/Singapore 6/86 (H1N1), type B/Panama 45/90, B/Yamagata 16/88, B/Ann Arbor 1/86, and of animal strains from Northern European swine and turkeys, A/Sw/Ger 2/81, A/Tur/Ger 3/91, and A/Sw/Ger 8533/91 in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. A placebo-controlled, double blind study was carried out on a group of individuals living in an agricultural community (kibbutz) during an outbreak of influenza B/Panama in 1993. Fever, feeling of improvement, and complete cure were recorded during 6 days. Sera obtained in the acute and convalescent phases were tested for the presence of antibodies to influenza A, B, respiratory syncytial, and adenoviruses. Convalescent phase serologies showed higher mean and mean geometric hemagglutination inhibition (HI) titers to influenza B in the group treated with SAM than in the control group. A significant improvement of the symptoms, including fever, was seen in 93.3% of the cases in the SAM-treated group within 2 days, whereas in the control group 91.7% of the patients showed an improvement within 6 days (p < 0.001). A complete cure was achieved within 2 to 3 days in nearly 90% of the SAM-treated group and within at least 6 days in the placebo group (p < 0.001). No satisfactory medication to cure influenza type A and B is available. Considering the efficacy of the extract in vitro on all strains of influenza virus tested, the clinical results, its low cost, and absence of side-effects, this preparation could offer a possibility for safe treatment for influenza A and B. Source
Finally, Business Insider Compared 17 Berries for Nutritional Value-- Elderberry was the Top Ranked
Photos
Elderberry photos are stock images no attribution required with effects by @roused
Purple Sweet Potato photo is from Wikipedia
Interesting investigation about "purple food"- It will be a bit uncomfortable to look at purple vegetables. It will take some time to get used to visual quality of it haha! (fruits are okay haha) Elderberry is popular specie for an edible landscape in East Coast region.
Thank you for your interesting post! It reminds me that my mother picked elderflowers and elderberries every year and made juice or jam out of them. Without knowing exactly the health benefits of this super food , she has instinctively done just the right thing!
Thanks Vieanna, I guessed they were healthy, but I was really surprised that they are such a superfood. Here in Germany the supermarket "Norma" sells a pure Holundersaft. If you've got a
in Wien, maybe they carry it too :-)
Thanks @roused for your hint :-)
There is no "NORMA" supermarket in vienna but I suppose I can find the pure Hollundersaft in a drugstore. I'll go looking for it, because the health benefits you described in your post are enormous!
I love the white flowers with pancakes. It is so delicious!
It is cool post with good information. Thanks for posting
Thanks for sharing information. Your post is very interesting to read and very useful for our health.
What a motivation we can take in daily life, thank u @roused
Elderberry sounds awesome.