Elderberries or Sambucus is widely used in Europe, Western Asia, North America, and North Africa even in the ancient times. Because of its popularity, the medicinal benefits of elderberry are being studied and investigated.
Elder plants make berries but before the berries appear, flowers bloom that is used to make elderberry tea. Its is stated in the Live Strong that a study at the University of Maryland Medical Center showed few studies on elderberry flower tea benefits. But much of its benefits seem to be associated to its rich antioxidant flavonoids. Herbalist would often recommend elderberry as an add-on to a patient’s health care.
Components of Elderberry
Elderberry is rich in different kinds of healthy compounds like organic pigments, amino acids, carotenoids, tannin, sugar, flavonoids, viburnic acid, rutin, and vitamins A, B and lots of vitamin C. Elderberries are slightly diuretic, diaphoretic and laxative. According to the Herb Wisdom, the health benefits of organic elderberry tea to cold and flu are mostly associated with the flavonoids that contain anthocyanins which are very powerful antioxidants that protect the cells from suffering damage.
Elderberry Tea Health Benefits
Usually, elderberry is used to treat different kinds of infection from viruses and bacteria, sinus pain, body pain, nerve problems, boost the immune system, and fix chronic fatigue syndrome. Other studies have shown the potential of elderberry for treating cancer and hay fever or allergic rhinitis, and also increase urine flow and sweating for a cleaner bodily system, as reported in the Web MD.
People with cold and flu find it hard to soothe themselves especially with its symptoms combined with a headache, fever, sore throats, cough, and fatigue. The U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health discussed how to make elderberry tea bags recipe to fight off cold and flu. A daily dose of elderberry tea will require four tablespoons of extract mixed with warm water, which should be taken for three consecutive days to obtain maximum benefits.
Another major issue is sinus infection which is usually caused by bacteria. Studies have pointed out that drinking the tea combined with other decongestant and antibiotic medicines will clear up bacterial sinusitis more quickly than using medicine alone.
Elderberry Tea Recipe
One great recipe was thought in Wellness Mama, which could be taken immediately after preparation. About 2 tablespoons of dried elderberries will be used and boiled with 16 ounces of water for 15 minutes. Great health benefits can be obtained with added one-fourth teaspoon cinnamon powder and half teaspoon turmeric powder. Honey may be added to sweetened taste after the mixture was strained to remove solid elderberries. Simply refrigerate the solution if you prefer it cool.