Keeping keto? Here’s a sugar free elderberry remedy that’s easy on your blood sugar!
Traditional remedies using elderberry abound and for a good reason. Elderberries have a traditional reputation and some scientific backing as an immune booster useful for supporting the body’s dealings with viruses and other invaders.
Elderberry is popular in gummy form and as a syrup and you can find may recipes for these great tasting goodies on the web. But what about those of us who need to limit our intake of sugar carbs? Gummies and syrup using sugar or honey pack a carbohydrate punch that many folks just can’t withstand, leaving us without access to this wonderful berry and it’s healing properties.
For example Commercial elderberry syrup can contain 8g Carbs/10ml dosage according to MyFitnessPaland homemade syrup with honey can contain up to 17g carb depending on how it is made.
For those of us trying to keep our carb intake low that is just too much of a carb load for our pancreas to handle. So it seems like we will miss out on the herbal goodness this remedy could provide.
Nutrition value of elderberry fresh
Why use elderberry?
Black Elderberry (Sambucus Nigrans) is a traditional food found in Europe and North America that has been used to ease colds and flus for hundreds of years. These dark berries are rich in phytonutrients and vitamins which help our bodies fight off invaders.
Randomized double blind studies such as this one show that elderberries show promise in easing colds and flues.
However elderberry is often delivered in a highly sweetened form which is easy to take but which can be a problem for those of us who have trouble processing carbohydrate effectively.
Elderberry tincture to the rescue
Elderberry tincture is the way to get all the medicinal properties of the elderberry with only the natural sugars that exist in the berries themselves.
Elderberry is not considered a low carb food with one cup of fresh berries containing 27g Carb, but that one cup of berries will be tinctured in one Qt of vodka and dosed by the teaspoonful.
There are 192 t in a quart so each dose of elderberry tincture will have .14g C, much lower than the 3-17g C amount in the syrup.
For those keeping keto this makes this remedy much more accessible.
The small amount of alcohol in each dose has negligible effect on blood sugar as well.
Elderberry tincture is also a cost effective way to take elderberry. I bought a pound of elderberry from Mountain Rose Herbals for $34($2.12/oz) and a 1.75 liters(59 fl oz) of 100 Prf Vodka for $31($.52/fl oz). One recipe of elderberry tincture cost $17.15 to make and has about 192 teaspoon doses in it coming to $.09 / teaspoon compared to $16.16 for 4oz of commercial sugar free elderberry syrup or about 24 teaspoons at $.68/teaspoon.
Elderberry tincture recipe
4 oz (~1 C) dried elderberry
1Qt 100 proof vodka
Qt jar w lid
Label and marker
1. Pour dried elderberries into jar. It should be about 1/3 full.
2. Pour vodka over berries filling jar to the very top.
3. Cap jar well and shake.
4. Let sit in a cool dark place for 6 weeks.
5. Strain out berries and compost them.
6. Return tincture to labeled jar. Decant tincture into small dosage bottles
Store in dark cool place up to 5 years
How to take and when
To use elderberry tincture, take 1 t a day to help support immune function.
If you feel a cold coming on, you can take 1t 3-5 times a day.
Put your teaspoon of tincture in a small glass of water or tea. You can sweeten the water or tea if you’d like, I use liquid sucralose because I only use one drop in a full glass of water. It has such a strong sweetening effect I use less of it but you can use erythritol, allulose, monk fruit, or whatever sweetener you like.
In conclusion
At .14g Carb/serving, Elderberry tincture seems to have almost no impact on Blood glucose. If you are counting carbs please count your dosage into your daily intake. I keep my carb intake below 20g C/day and use a CGM to monitor my blood sugar and have not noticed a spike in my sugars but your milage may vary as everybody is different.
Elderberry tincture is a cost effective way to get the health supportive benefits of elderberry while keeping your blood glucose in check.
Statements made regarding herbal and natural products on this website have not been evaluated by the food and drug administration as the FDA does not evaluate or test herbs. This information has not been evaluated by the US Food and Drug Administration, nor has it gone through the rigorous double-blind studies required before a particular product can be deemed truly beneficial or potentially dangerous and prescribed in the treatment of any condition or disease. The information presented is provided for informational purposes only, it is not meant to substitute for medical advice or diagnosis provided by your physician or other medical professional. Do not use this information to diagnose, treat or cure any illness or health condition. If you have, or suspect that you have a medical problem, contact your physician or health care provider.