Elderberry Powder – Organic Freeze Dried

Organic Freeze-Dried Elderberry Powder is made from fresh elderberries that are carefully freeze-dried and finely ground to preserve their rich color and tart, fruity flavor. This smooth powder blends easily into smoothies, teas, juices, and baked goods, adding a bold berry taste to your favorite recipes.

Convenient and shelf-stable, it’s a versatile ingredient for making syrups, preserves, and even wine, or for simply adding a deep berry note to sauces and desserts. With its vibrant flavor and natural hue, elderberry powder is a staple for creative cooking.

Organic Freeze Dried Elderberry Powder

Z Natural Foods takes pride in bringing you a wide range of foods from around the globe in their most versatile form, and our Organic Freeze Dried Elderberry Powder is no exception.

Our Organic Freeze-Dried Elderberry Powder is created by carefully picking the finest elderberries and freeze-drying them in order to preserve all of the nourishing and healing compounds and the unique slightly sweet, tart, earthy, and bitter flavor profile found in this powerful berry.

Creating an ideal freeze-dried powdered food produces a shelf-stable end product with exceptional versatility. Indeed, a freeze-dried version of elderberry powder does not represent how it is traditionally consumed. However, it does represent how the advancement of technology can create products with incredible potential for limitless product development applications and a more convenient way to use this powerful medicinal on the go. 

Our mission is to provide you with great-tasting, highly functional foods with limitless application in their most versatile form to support a variety of lifestyles. So, we proudly provide this fantastic functional food, Z Natural Foods’ Organic Freeze Dried Elderberry Powder. 

Fun and exciting facts about Elderberries:

1. Elder trees are native to Europe, grow best in temperate and subtropical climates, can grow up to 30 feet tall, and can survive up to 100 years.
2. Each elder shrub can grow around 15 pounds of berries each season.
3. Elder shrubs also grow small white flowers with medicinal properties.
4. There are around 40 different species of elderberries worldwide. Some of those varieties include American, dwarf, blue, danewort, red elder, and antelope bush.
5. The most commonly used elderberry as a medicinal is the black elderberry.
6. In their naturally cooked state, elderberries have a unique flavor profile that has been described as slightly sweet, tart, earthy, and bitter.
7. Elderberry fruit contains around 50 milligrams of Vitamin C and 10 grams of fiber per cup.
8. Leaves and fruit of elderberry are essential food sources for birds, elk, and mule deer.
9. Elderberry fruit is traditionally used in the manufacturing of wine, brandy, and gin in Europe.
10. While elderberry fruit is traditionally used to create medicinal syrup, it is also mixed with grapes for jelly and apples for pie filling.
11. Elder trees are believed to possess protective qualities as they were often planted near homes to ward off evil spirits.

Elderberries: A (TCM) Traditional Chinese Medicine Perspective

While not explicitly known as a top tonic food or herb, elderberry, aka Jie Gu Mu, has a valuable place in TCM. Well known for entering the lung, kidney, and bladder meridians, elderberry is most often used to do the following.

1. Clears heat:  According to TCM, heat describes a set of internal conditions that may manifest with symptoms like canker sores, nose bleeds, high blood pressure, and anxiety, just to name a few. However, according to TCM, there are two types of heat: Empty and Full. Empty heat is brought on by a Yin deficiency and is characterized by symptoms of dryness. Full heat is Yang and active by nature. The person may feel or look hot and may have a fever.
2. Dispels wind: TCM believes wind is the spearhead of all illnesses because it serves as a vehicle that carries other undesirable influences into the body. In TCM, a cough is associated with other forms of illness. Coughs are associated with the element of wind. An individual can have a cough due to wind-cold or wind-heat. Coughs can develop from a yin deficiency, which means the body has too much heat.
3. Resolves dampness: Dampness is described as a feeling of heaviness, fullness, and sluggishness.  
4. Tonifies the lungs 
5. Expels phlegm: TCM believes that phlegm results from body fluid not being transported adequately by vital energy and accumulating in certain parts of the body.  
6. Releases the exterior: This refers to promoting sweating in order to expel pathogens from superficial levels of the body. Exterior in TCM refers to the location between the muscle and surface of the skin and where your defensive Qi resides. This is the first level of defense against external pathogens.
7. Reduces inflammation: According to TCM, inflammation is a pattern or syndrome of too much fire or heat.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), all foods and herbs have energy. TCM teaches us that foods and herbs have Yin/ Yang energy, five temperatures, five flavors, and four directions.

In these principles, Yin and Yang’s action is the general property, and temperature is the extremeness of the properties. In simple terms, Yin is cooling, builds blood, and has downward moving energy. Yang is warming, energizing, and has upward-moving energy. Because Yang is the heating element, and Yin is the cooling element, those with too much heat are said to have a Yang excess, causing a Yin deficiency. Elderberries in TCM are considered cooling and drying, supporting the release of dampness and heat to help bring the tissue back to a healthier state. 

Elderberry: A Western Medicine Perspective

The power of polyphenols

Many health experts believe a diet focused on high amounts of flavonoids is critical to supporting a healthy aging process because these compounds are known as nature’s biological response modifiers.

There are over 8,000 different types of flavonoids found in nature. Based on the research, it does not seem to matter if you acquire them from food or supplements; what counts is the total daily amount you consume. These experts believe we should consume at least 2000 milligrams of flavonoids daily sourced from various foods and supplements.

Polyphenols are a term used to describe a general category of compounds found in a broad spectrum of fruits, vegetables, and tea that work as “reducing agents” along with other compounds known as antioxidants to support a healthy inflammation response and the body’s ability to protect and repair damaged tissue caused by oxidative stress. While over 8,000 polyphenols have been identified, some of the most common are flavonoids, flavonols, and anthocyanins. Elderberries are extremely rich sources of these specific compounds.

• Anthocyanins are a part of the flavonoid family of polyphenolic compounds. They represent the pigments that exhibit the bright red, purple, and blue colors found in fruits and vegetables. The six most common are Cyanidins, Delphinidins, Malvidins, Peonidins, Petunidins, and Pelargonidins.
• Flavonols are polyphenols belonging to the flavonoid family with a ketone group studied for their wide range of biological activities(antioxidant, antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, modulating inflammation, and vasodilation). They primarily accumulate in the outer tissues(skin and leaves) of fruits and vegetables, are the building blocks of proanthocyanins(compounds that are attributed to the colors of fruits and vegetables), and are most widespread in the human diet.

The following was stated In a study looking at the Characterization of anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins in some cultivars of Ribes, Aronia, and Sambucus and their antioxidant capacity.

• Thirty-one different anthocyanins were detected in these berries, but not every anthocyanin was observed in each berry. Several minor anthocyanins were identified from these berries for the first time. The concentrations of individual anthocyanins in all of the berries were quantified using relevant anthocyanidin 3-glucoside standards.
• Total proanthocyanidin concentrations in the berries studied ranged from 23 to 664 mg/100 g of FW in elderberry and chokeberry, respectively.

When you think of cold and flu season, elderberry is the one tonic food that always comes to mind for adults and children 

Many herbalists and doctors use herbs like boneset, Echinacea, Yarrow, Ginger, Andrographis, and Elderberry as critical components of their cold and flu wellness protocol.

These herbs are used to create various protocols and blends based on dosage, time frame, part of the plants used, and stage of the ailment to support one or more aspects of the healing process of various pathogens.

For example, medical doctor and herbalist Aviva Romm suggests the following: 

• Combine equal parts of Echinacea glycerite, Elderberry syrup, anise seed extract, and catnip extract, taking one dropperful 4-6 times daily for at least one week or until recovered.
• She also suggests using equal parts black cohosh and Jamaican dogwood extracts at 3 ml every 15 minutes for the first hours and then every two hours for those aches and pains associated with a cold or flu for adults. She suggests dividing their body weight by over 150 so children can get a more appropriate dosage. For example, if the child weighs 30 pounds, you would divide 30 into 150, which comes out to ⅕ the amount. She recommends not to exceed the specific amounts in the aches and pains formula.

The following was stated in a randomized control study examining how Elderberry Supplementation Reduces Cold Duration and Symptoms in Air-Travellers.

1. Most cold episodes occurred in the placebo group (17 vs. 12); however, the difference was insignificant (p = 0.4).
2. Placebo group participants had a significantly longer duration of cold episode days (117 vs. 57, p = 0.02)
3. The average symptom score over these days was also significantly higher in the placebo group (583 vs. 247, p = 0.05).

Therefore, this data suggests a significant reduction in cold duration and severity in air travelers within the elderberry group. 

Freeze-Dried Elderberry Powder: A Modern Marvel of Tonic Food Technology

Finally, as mentioned at the beginning of this description, while consuming elderberry in syrup form is how elderberry is traditionally used, freeze-dried elderberry powder does represent how the advancement of technology can take these powerful medicinal foods and develop products with incredible potential for limitless applications and a more convenient way to use this powerful medicinal on the go.

Ultimately, preserving the incredibly nourishing qualities found in Elderberries and maximizing their versatility may be best obtained through freeze-drying. Elderberry syrup is traditionally made with honey as a preserving agent.

While honey has many tremendous nourishing benefits and more research is necessary, it may not be the best choice for those with blood sugar issues. Furthermore, unlike many other food preservation practices where unhealthy preservatives are added, freeze-drying is all about what is taken away.

The shelf life of powdered food or products is directly linked to its moisture content. A freeze-dried product has an average of only 3% or less moisture content.

So, freeze drying allows for greater versatility of the end product due to more accessible storage options and blending capability and supports the natural flavor profile of the fresh food version. 

There are three primary advantages to using a freeze-drying method.

1. Freeze drying creates the closest end product when presenting a whole food complex. 
2. Freeze drying a food presents closest to the smell, taste, and texture of the fresh version of a food.
3. Freeze-dried foods allow you to customize your needs when creating a product. For example, freeze-dried berries can be left whole, chopped, or milled into a powder, all of which will still offer the nutritional value that comes from the fresh version. 

In the end, elderberry (both the flower and berry) has a wonderfully long history of safe and effective usage. Everyone should strongly consider this powerful medicinal to be a part of their cold and flu season protocol.

Summary of Important Information

Z Natural Foods hand-picks specific ingredients for our customers based on three concepts to provide the best quality product possible to support optimal well-being.

1. Versatility
2. History of safe and effective usage
3. Strong evidence of positive research outcomes in humans

Elderberry and TCM

1. While not explicitly known as a top tonic food or herb, elderberry, aka Jie Gu Mu, has a valuable place in TCM.
2. Elderberries in TCM are considered cooling and drying, supporting the release of dampness and heat to help bring the tissue back to a healthier state.
3. Elderberry is well known for entering the lung, kidney, and bladder meridians.
4. Clears heat:  According to TCM, heat describes a set of internal conditions that may manifest with symptoms like canker sores, nose bleeds, high blood pressure, and anxiety, just to name a few. There are two types of heat: Empty and Full.
5. Dispels wind: TCM believes wind is the spearhead of all illnesses because it serves as a vehicle that carries other undesirable influences into the body.
6. Resolves dampness: Dampness is described as a feeling of heaviness, fullness, and sluggishness.  
7. Tonifies the lungs 
8. Expels phlegm: TCM believes that phlegm results from body fluid not being transported adequately by vital energy and accumulating in certain parts of the body.  
9. Releases the exterior: This refers to promoting sweating in order to expel pathogens from superficial levels of the body. Exterior in TCM refers to the location between the muscle and surface of the skin and where your defensive Qi resides.
10. Reduces inflammation: According to TCM, inflammation is a pattern or syndrome of too much fire or heat.

It is no secret that when you think of cold and flu season, elderberry is at the top of the list.

1. Boneset, Echinacea, Yarrow, Ginger, Andrographis, and Elderberry are frequently incorporated by herbalists and physicians as essential elements in their cold and flu prevention and treatment strategies. These herbs are valued for their potential to support the immune system and alleviate symptoms associated with these common viral infections.
2. These herbs are combined in specific protocols, considering dosage, timing, plant parts, and illness stage, to support healing from various pathogens.

For example, medical doctor and herbalist Aviva Romm suggests the following: 

1. Combine equal parts of Echinacea glycerite, Elderberry syrup, anise seed extract, and catnip extract, taking one dropperful 4-6 times daily for at least one week or until recovered.

Some research suggests that Elderberry may contain the following constituents:

1. Minerals: Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc, Copper, Manganese, Selenium
2. Vitamins: Vitamin C, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin B-6, Folate,  Vitamin A (IU)
3. Amino Acids: Tryptophan, Threonine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Cystine, Phenylalanine, Tyrosine, Valine, Arginine, Histidine, Alanine, Aspartic Acid, Glutamic Acid, Proline, Serine
4. Anthocyanidins: Cyanidin
5. Flavonols: Kaempferol, Myricetin, Quercetin, Rutin
6. Phytochemicals: sambunigrin, sambucine, Sterols
7. phenolic compounds: chlorogenic acid
8. triterpenes:  a- and b-amyrin
9. Free Fatty Acids: linoleic, linolenic, and palmitic acids

Suggested Use: Mix one teaspoon with juice yogurt or add to your favorite smoothie.

Other preparations:

Tincture – This method can take 15 to 30 days. You will need three items (a mason jar with a cover, the herb/herbs of your choice, and liquid for extracting). The extracting liquid can be alcohol, alcohol/ water combo, vinegar, or vegetable glycerin. Take the product and fill the jar ¾ full, add the liquid of your choice, and close the jar. Then shake the jar so everything is well mixed. Give the jar a good 5-minute shake several times a day. After 15 to 30 days, strain and bottle in glass tincture jars.

Mixing suggestions: To increase flavor and nutritional profile, combine with our organic acerola powder for an immune-nourishing tonic.

Botanical Name: Sambucus nigra

Other Names: Arizona elderberry, American Elder, sweet Elder, wild Elder, flor sauco, tree of music, Danewort, Walewort, New Mexican elderberry, velvet-leaf Elder, hairy blue Elderberry, and dwarf Elder.

Ingredients: Organic Freeze Dried Elderberry Powder.

Origin: Grown and Freeze-dried in Chile. Packaged with care in Florida, USA.