Something happened 2 months that I just had to write about. My 4 year old daughter started sniffing and I immediately ran to the fridge for my to ‘go cure’ for all colds: elderberry syrup, only to find it all gone. I rushed to go to the health store and I bought my usual to go brand in a hurry. Once I got home and tasted it ( as I always do before giving my daughter) I noticed the taste was different and the syrup looked as though it was watered down, I decided to check the ingredients and I quickly realized that the company had changed the ingredients. In fact elderberry was the 4th ingredient! What? other ingredients were sugar, grape juice and apple juice. All I am saying is if I wanted to buy apple and grape juice, I would do that for $4 and not want to be charged $18 ! NOT COOL HOMIE
Guys, always read the ingredients before buying elderberry and think twice if they have the following,
1. High Fructose corn syrup– If you are like me, you are taking elderberry so that you immune system can be strong, right? Sugar is a major immune system depressant. High Fructose is a NO NO NO in anything but especially more so in elderberry
2. Added juice- Some companies decide to add huge amounts of juices to elderberry such as grape or apple juice. I think this is quite deceptive because they are just trying to reduce their production cost by ‘watering’ down the elderberry. Lets face it, buying elderberry syrup is quite expensive and if I am going to spend top dollar for it, I want it the most bang for my dollar!
3. Synthetic additives- Again another no no for me. Be on the look out for synthetic additives such as sodium benzoate. Sodium benzoate (E211) is a known carcinogen that also harms the liver. Also studies show that combined with food colorings, it can cause children with adhd to be more hyper active.
After spending about 2 weeks doing more research, I found 2 companies that are worth mentioning because of the quality of their products
1. Elderberry Juice Concerntrate by Wyldewood Cellars Inc
This product is by Wyldewood Cellars which is a small farm in Mulvane, Kansas. I love this product because it has no added sugars, no preservatives , no alcohol. It is not an extract either, it contains all the parts of the berry. I personally think that this is the best elderberry product on the market because of the ingredients. You just one one teaspoon a day, I recommend you add it to water, juice, tea or coffee. I personally add it to my smoothie. I also noticed my allergies also got much better while taking this product!
2. Gaia Herbs Black Elderberry Syrup
This is also a pretty good product. I like it because it is readily and widely available not only on many local health stores but also online. It is made from European elder berries. It is actually super concentrated and each serving (1 teaspoon includes about 14,500 mg ) equivalent of fresh elderberry syrup which means you get more for your money.
