With Coronavirus season just around the corner, it’s mildly dismaying to find the ventilator masks out-of-stock at big box retailers. But at least we have elderberry syrup.Â
Elderberry syrup boasts centuries of experience in treating colds and flu. Actually, it boasts centuries of experience of elderberry health benefits, treating lots of things, including infections, burns and high cholesterol. According to the internet, it also works as a diuretic, a laxative and it can be used to induce vomiting.Â
Product promises like that sound…mildly alarming.
But Spoonful of Elderberry doesn’t promise anything at all about its wares. It just makes elderberry syrup in Grove City. The bottle suggests taking a teaspoon a day for whatever reason you might have.
That’s not hard to do. First, let’s note that elderberry syrup is nothing like maple syrup. Or corn syrup. It’s not as thick. It’s more like juice and it’s actually quite yummy. It tastes something like…cinnamon grape juice? It’s sweet and fruity with a little something extra, which makes sense as the organic ingredient list includes vanilla and honey, too. It’d be easy to drink way more than a teaspoon of elderberry syrup. Maybe a whole bottle.
But given that internet information, we’ll hold off on that part.
Honestly, the health-promoting applications of elderberries are more than just goofy online claims. You can find legitimate research that suggests it can cut the duration of cold and flu symptoms in half (on a study of 80 people), and also that it lowers blood pressure.
We’re early on in the experiment, having only taken it for one day. But so far, it’s been 100% successful in keeping me free of Coronavirus symptoms. If cold or flu symptoms do start, the bottle suggests taking 2-4 teaspoons per day. That’s when the real experiment starts.
You can order your elderberry syrup directly from Spoonful of Elderberry at spoonfulofelderberry.com, or buy it direct from FarmTable in Grove City.