Benefits of Elderberry

Sickness Fighters

In the middle of summer, colds and flu are generally far from our minds, but this is a great time to stock up on bug fighters of all kinds.

If you are fortunate enough to have an elder tree (Sambucus nigra) growing in your garden or your neighborhood, you have access to one of the most powerful antiviral medicines in the world. Dried elderberries are made commercially into teas and tinctures. The best and easiest way to harness their flu-fighting power is to juice them (then cook the juice before consuming).

To make tasty elderberry pops, pick the elderberries at their ripest and rinse them in a colander. Put the clean berries in your blender, adding a bit of water, if needed, to get things going. Once you have the elderberry juice, put the juice in a nonreactive pot and cook it until it boils, then simmer for 15 minutes. Let the mixture cool, then fill ice cube trays about 3/4 full and freeze for an hour until firm enough to insert Popsicle sticks. Then let freeze until solid. If someone comes down with a summertime virus, have them suck on the deep red-purple pops and pretend they got them from the Good Humor man. The chill will feel good on scratchy throats, and the elderberry will go to work fighting the flu bugs.

You can experiment with adding your children’s favorite juices to the elderberry juice before freezing. If a virus hits during the colder months, dissolve a couple of elderberry cubes in a cup of warm or hot water, and sip the elixir to banish the bugs from your immune system. Keep in mind that elderberries are antiviral and not antibacterial, which means they work great for flus and anything else caused by a virus but are ineffective at combating ailments caused by bacteria.