I love Elderberry. If you take some right at the moment that you feel a tickle in your nose or throat, it can usually head off an illness pretty quick!
This is what I had in my house today as far as Elderberry products go. (I TOLD you my stash of homeopathic remedies would make you jealous!)
My standard go-to elderberry syrup, for me or my boys, is the Sambucus Sugar-Free (orange box). I buy that in bulk 🙂 But there are so many products out there, that I thought a taste test might be in order (and my Coconut Water Taste Test was so darn fun!).
The verdict?
The Natural Elderberry Concentrate by Natural Sources was DELICIOUS. You mix the concentrate with water and it isn’t syrupy or too sweet. Tastes like a glass of juice you’d willingly drink in the morning. BUT I didn’t like the packaging. I could pull the seal off with my bare hands, and there was no inner seal under the cap.
I was so suspicious, I actually sent it back thinking something was wrong with the bottle. Nope. The second bottle was exactly the same. I guess I’m just paranoid. This needs to be refrigerated after opening.
The Sambucus Sugar-Free Syrup (orange box) is my kids’ favorite. They ask, “Is this the good elderberry or the yucky one?” This is the good one. There’s an adult dose and child does both for maintenance and intensive use. AND it comes with this on the label, “Safety sealed with printed outer shrinkwrap and printed inner seal. Do not use if either seal is broken or missing…” And it’s in bold font. Perhaps they could give some advice to the Natural Sources people…
The Original Sambucus Syrup (purple box) has fructose in it, a bit sweeter. I’ll stick with the Sugar-Free.
Both of the Sambucus products have 100mg standardized elderberry (extract from 6.4g of berries).
The Sambucol Original Formula was my least favorite. It tasted more like a cough syrup. This is the “yucky” one my kids referred to in the previous question. It has MORE sugar (3g more than Sambucus) and the elderberry extract is only 3.8g.
The zinc elderberry lozenges are amazing. They are free of artificial sweeteners , colors or flavors, and have no corn syrup, sucrose or cane sugar (they’re sweetened with brown rice syrup). Each lozenge has 3.8g of proprietary blend of elderberry and 5mg of zinc. I eat 1-2 of these every day during cold season.
The last elderberry product in my stash was the Sambucol Cold and Flu Relief. It’s unopened, so I can’t tell you if it works or not. (Perhaps this is a good endorsement that my proactive approach of elderberry and zinc is working!) They are quick dissolve tablets and should be taken an the onset of symptoms. It says fast relief of nasal and sinus congestion, runny nose, sore throat, coughing, sneezing and chills and fever. No know drug interactions, no known side effects, non-drowsy, non-habit forming. Can be given to children over age 4. If I do get something this winter, I will definitely give these a try! But hopefully, like an umbrella, if I have this box with me, I won’t need it!
Here is a great explanation of why elderberry seems to work. Elderberry seems to be most effective against the flu–Influenza A and B.
This is something I ALWAYS have around the house. I truly believe it’s helped to improve my immune function the few times I’ve gotten run down 🙂
Do you have a favorite supplement that you turn to when you start to feel sick?
good sense good health 