Frontline Health
Troy Duell with Centurion is providing you with health information and guests to elevate your health and help make your life better. Centurion is a pharmaceutical company that chooses to put people over profits and allow science to dictate what products we bring to market. Our goal is to provide products that you can both afford and are beneficial to your health. It doesn't matter how good a product is if you can't afford it. This podcast will provide you with the best health information possible through sharing studies and current data. We will also interview the leading health experts across the country. We will share sides of the story you may not have heard. Our promise to you is to source all of the information we share with you and speak the truth. We hope this truth is used by you and your loved ones to elevate your health and life.
Frontline Health
#115 - How Elderberry Supports Your Immune System And Shortens Seasonal Discomfort
Elderberry is everywhere—on store shelves, in teas, and all over your feed—but does it really help when seasonal bugs make the rounds? We take a clear-eyed look at what the berry’s deep purple pigments actually do in the body, why standardization matters, and how to choose products that deliver benefits without the sugar trap. No fluff, just practical science you can use the next time a scratchy throat or stuffy nose shows up.
We start with the history that gave elderberry staying power and move straight into modern evidence. You’ll hear what studies suggest about shortening the duration and easing the discomfort of mild upper respiratory symptoms, and where results are mixed. We break down immune signaling and cytokines in plain language, explain how anthocyanins support antioxidant defenses, and explore the underrated role of mucosal health in your nose, throat, and gut—the first barrier your body relies on to trap and clear invaders.
Then we tour the supplement aisle. Syrups, capsules, teas, lozenges, gummies, powders—what’s worth your money comes down to standardization to anthocyanins, third-party testing, clean manufacturing, and minimal added sugar. We also share simple pairings that make sense: vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc, with copper to keep minerals balanced. If you’re a teacher, healthcare worker, frequent flyer, or parent navigating constant exposure, you’ll get a grounded framework for deciding if elderberry fits your routine. We flag who should pause or talk to a clinician first, including pregnant or nursing women and anyone on medications that affect clotting.
Most importantly, we put elderberry in its proper place: a supportive tool, not a miracle cure. Sleep, whole foods, movement, and stress management remain the foundation. Add elderberry smartly, and you give your immune system a better baseline and a faster bounce back. If this conversation helps you plan for cold and flu season, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review so more people can find it.
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Today on the Frontline Health Podcast.
SPEAKER_01:So we know that because of the pigments in elderberries, that's where the antithesin comes from, that it's going to help kind of push back those free radicals that are going on in the body that are multiplying and trying to beat up other cells in your body. And this is going to help fight those off to keep your cells as healthy as possible and to avoid allowing any viral infection or bacterial infection into the body. We also know that it's going to help with kind of the mucosa. So our upper airways, our gut, we know all of those things are lined with mucus. And that is really the first interaction that our bodies have. So anytime we breathe something or eat something, it's going to interact first with the mucosal lining. And we want to make sure that we have as healthy of a mucosal lining as possible. And studies show that elderberry is one of the main things, or not one of the main things, but it is a great support for healthy mucosal function. So it's going to make sure that you've got the right mucus there in order to help fight off, swallow those things up and get them out of your body the best way possible.
SPEAKER_00:Hey friends, welcome back to another episode of the Frontline Health Podcast by Centurion Health, where we share health news, tips, and insights to help you take ownership of your health. I'm Evan here with our resident expert, Troy Duell. Troy, elderberry is everywhere. We see it in syrups, gummies, teas. It's definitely a hot supplement that's on the market right now. Why do you think that elderberry resonates so much with people?
SPEAKER_01:That's a great question, but I think a lot of it stems on the fact that we're coming out of a season where we saw so many people starting to reach for natural ways to keep themselves healthy, especially after COVID. And they realized there were a lot of things out there that had some positive effects that didn't have the side effects that we we all want to avoid. And elderberry certainly is one of those. It's been used for a long time in both Europe and North America. So we know that it's been around a long time and it's got some a really pretty good track record if you start thinking about the science. Plus, I think it's gotten much easier for us because of the extraction extraction processes and the ways that we get the uh product out and we can put it into capsule form. So it's gotten much easier from that standpoint. So it's a little bit more accessible, along with the tradition of just having it for so long.
SPEAKER_00:You know, the the first time I ever heard of elderberry was actually when I was watching the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and you've got the French guard on top of the tower, and he says, Your father was a or your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries. So uh so clearly in the the medieval times they recognized it not just as a healthy ingredient, but also as a good way to uh to kind of roast somebody for how they smell that that is true.
SPEAKER_01:Um, and anytime you can get good information from Monty Python, then I think you're on the right track. And elderberry, if it starts with Monty Python, it is an intro to something that's really good. And it is interesting that it came from Monty Python because its original name is European Black Elder or Sambucus Nigra, uh, which is interesting that Monty Python was the one who came out and talked about it because it's so European, you know, it makes sense. But the the big thing that we know about elderberry and why it works so well is we know it's got those uh plant compounds in it, and there's certain things called anthocyanins that are in there that give it its that really purple color, but it's that anthocyanin that contains what we need to help with our immune health. Um, so that's where it comes from.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, super interesting. I love it whenever we get the chance to talk about things that were used a long time ago or have been used for a long time, and people obviously saw some sort of benefit from it, but they didn't measure things in exactly the same way that we do now with the scientific method and with clinical studies and that kind of thing. So people don't actually eat elderberries raw, correct?
SPEAKER_01:That is absolutely correct. So you can walk by and you can see elderberries, especially we see them throughout the South. And I don't know who made the decision to go ahead and just eat the berries, but when they first ate the berries, it caused a lot of GI issues and can be very rather poisonous to the body. So I'm not sure who said, Oh, I ate it, it didn't work well, let me go ahead and cook it and see if it works. But the the fact of the matter is, if you cook it and you extract it, you get the good stuff out without the bad that um goes along with it. So you want to avoid those side effects by just not eating them raw and cooking it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and you mentioned how it's a lot easier due to our modern manufacturing to extract it and put it in different forms. I personally enjoy drinking an elderberry tea, uh, but I want to know you you've touched on this a little bit. How far back does elderberry go?
SPEAKER_01:Uh, it's been around quite a while. So we already talked about it that within Europe it was used as a traditional folk medicine there. And they used it in a lot of syrups, they used it in teas, especially during the winter months when a lot of disease was going around and uh the typical things that happen even to this day with viral infections. But we also know that within the US specifically, a lot of the early American settlers and a lot of the American Indians had used it for lots uh for a long time as teas and also syrups in order to help keep bolstering their health. And they saw a great connection between when they'd have that elderberry tea and how people felt after they took it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that's really interesting. And as we're talking about this, my history brain goes, was this an old world berry that grew back in in the old world? Did it grow and then the natives picked it up once settlers brought it over, or was it something that had always been in on on both uh continents, old world and and new world, or both hemispheres rather? That's super interesting to uh to think about and consider.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, my understanding, and don't uh don't go printing anything on it, but my understanding is that it is indigenous to the states as well as to Europe.
SPEAKER_00:Very interesting. So now that we've kind of addressed the history, let's look at what modern science is telling us about the true benefits of elderberry. So when somebody who's considering using elderberry in whatever form, they want to know does elderberry actually do anything or is it just a fad that has come back up? How would you walk someone through the evidence or the case for elderberry?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think that's a great question. There are really three areas that you can take it into. The first is symptom duration and comfort. So we know that some studies with elderberry extracts have shown that it does reduce the duration of those symptoms and or the severity of any upper respiratory symptoms that go along with it when you're taking it. But we have also seen studies that have shown that it didn't perform quite as well. So it's kind of up and down, but typically you're gonna see in the studies showing that people are feeling a little bit better. They're feeling uh better quicker than normal, uh, especially when there's some kind of mild uh cold that's going on within in those individuals. Uh, we also know that it's gonna help with immune modulation. Um, so studies indicate that elderberry can actually help support the immune signaling that's going on in the body. In other words, if you've got a viral infection that comes into your body, your body is gonna be quicker to respond to that viral infection, take a hold of it, get rid of it, and move it out of your system to where it doesn't affect your whole body. Then we know that elderberries also have a lot of antioxidants in it. We talked about the anthocyanin a little bit earlier. Well, that's where a lot of this antioxidant activity comes from. And we know that that's going to help reduce and kind of attack what's going on in our bodies, keep us from having too much wear and tear on our bodies, and make us ultimately feel a little bit better and put our bodies in the best chance possible to help support itself when it comes under attack by some kind of viral or bacterial infection.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I love how all of those ways the elderberry kind of works in the body, it's working with your body's natural processes and kind of supporting that rather than being something that's, you know, turning off something that your body's doing or speeding up, you know, it's it's working with what your body is supposed to do and just supporting its natural processes. So I think when we start talking about the efficacy of something like this, any type of supplement, you know, people want to know how much does it help?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and that's a great question because uh for some reason we seem to think on a different realm or a different level when we're talking about supplements versus medications, even. We know that medications are not going to treat every single person because everybody is a little bit different. That is no different with elderberry. There are some who will respond very well to it because it's triggering that signal pathway within the immune system that their body actually responds very well to, and other people it won't. So it's very difficult to say that this is going to work 100% of the time because there's no medication, there's no supplement, there is nothing in the world that works 100% of the time for you or that works 100% of the time for me. It's kind of like having a difference in taste buds. Some of us really like chocolate ice cream, and others like vanilla ice cream because we're different. But with that being said, there is a lot of evidence that shows that with standardized extracts, if you take it early and you're taking it consistently, there has been some evidence to say that it's going to shorten the duration of those uh colds and any other seasonal challenges that may be going on. And it's also going to lessen the discomfort that most people have. So it's difficult to say because we're all different, but at the same time, most of the studies are showing for those people that it responds well with, it's going to shorten that and also make them feel a little bit better.
SPEAKER_00:So for someone who might be interested in starting to take elderberry, it's important for them to have a realistic expectation of it going into it and recognize that like all supplements, that's exactly what it is. It's a helper, it's a support, it's not some miracle drug that is going to do something completely unique and revolutionary in your body. It's a support and a help that can help with some of these things that have been tested.
SPEAKER_01:Totally agree. And I think it's not just supplements, it's everything that we take because we are different. We are created different. And an understanding that I think that's why it's called the practice of medicine. They're practicing because nobody really knows how your body is going to respond until they get to the right one. And that's ultimately what we're trying to do. Find those supplements that work for you and take them and help it assist your body in the best way possible, just like medications.
SPEAKER_00:So we've talked about the different ways or the different benefits that elderberry has. Let's take it a little bit deeper and talk about how it actually works. So, what is happening under the hood with elderberry in the body?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, great question. I think it all starts with the anthocyanin that we talked about and the antioxidants that come along with that. So we know that because of the pigments in elderberries, that's where the antithiacin comes from, that it's gonna help kind of push back those free radicals that are going on in the body that are multiplying and trying to beat up other cells in your body. And this is gonna help fight those off to keep your cells as healthy as possible and to avoid allowing any viral infection or bacterial infection into the body. We also know that it's gonna help with kind of the mucosa. So our upper airways, our gut, we know all of those things are lined with mucus, and that is really the first interaction that our bodies have. So anytime we breathe something or eat something, it's gonna interact first with the mucosal lining. And we want to make sure that we have as healthy of a mucosal lining as possible. And studies show that elderberry is one of the main things, or not one of the main things, but it is a great support for healthy mucosal function. So it's gonna make sure that you've got the right mucus there in order to help fight off, swallow those things up and get them out of your body the best way possible. The third thing is we know that cytokines are a big deal and it's gonna help with that signaling that we talked about briefly a little bit earlier, and it's gonna say, hey, there's something bad happening in our body, send everything down there to gobble it up, make sure it can't be released throughout the body and quarantine it in a certain area. That's basically what cytokines do, and that's what we're trying to do here is to force any viral or bacterial infection into a corner where it can't be released without throughout the body and cause serious sickness or harm. And then it also just has those basic uh defenses and helps keep the body's immune system up and ready to go. So it helps with those frontline people. I guess the best way to look at it is if you have people who are out defending a line and they're in the military and they're up on the night watch. This is our body's caffeine for our immune system. They're the frontline soldiers keeping them ready, keeping them up, keeping them alert and ready to go as soon as anything happens.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, thank you for breaking down those different mechanisms. That's super helpful. I think just for all of our understanding on what exactly elderberry's doing in the body. I think people get a lot of fatigue sometimes when you talk about different, you know, viral supplements or you know, supplements that are popular out there, and people just talk about the benefits. Uh, and a lot of people want to know how is it actually doing that? How do I know, you know, should I just take you at your word, or is there actually something that we've seen that it actually does? Um so taking it to, you know, a little bit more specific for somebody's decision, walk us through the supplement aisle. What forms do we see that are available and what should people be looking for in an elderberry supplement?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and I think uh the the time that we live in because of the extraction processes and everything else that we put together, you can see elderberry in every single form you can think of. So you've got it in syrups, capsules, gummies, lozenges, teas, powders, it's everywhere. And however you want to take it, then you've got that form and you can certainly find it out there. But what you want to make sure is when you're researching your product, is it standardized? Has it been uh has it gone through the correct extraction process to make sure that it's getting all the benefits of the elderberry that are in there, which means you want to have those anticyodins in that product at the highest level that you possibly can. You want to make sure it's pure, that it's been third-party tested, that you're not gonna have any issues with it being impure or having other bacteria or other things that may actually be in it. You're taking this to try to avoid those things, but there are some products that if they aren't being tested or they aren't being run on good clean lines, you could inadvertently bring in bacteria or other infections that could affect your body, even while you're trying to bring in something healthy. The other thing you need to be aware of is especially with your syrups and your gummies, how much sugar are they adding into it? Because they're trying to make it taste better. Um, but that doesn't necessarily because it's tasting better, mean that it's going to be better for you. So try to find those that are made without sugar or at least low levels of sugar or something like stevia or molasses or something else that would increase the taste without causing any other harm in our body. Um, and then certainly start to look at um how to pair it and who to partner that with. So uh things that we typically look at, you're gonna want to have some vitamin C, you're gonna have zinc, you're gonna have vitamin D. And of course, if you're having uh zinc, you want to couple it with copper and make sure that uh you're not depleting your copper levels by taking too much zinc and making sure that you're um being a good steward of the supplements you take and not inadvertently causing greater uh issues with your health than what you're really wanting to do.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that's really super practical information. Thank you for sharing all of that. Now, for somebody who's wondering, is this something for me? They're trying to make good choices with the supplements that they're taking, but they don't want to add yet another thing into their routine unless it's going to be really beneficial. Who is elderberry a good fit for?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think that's a a great family or a great question, and really comes down to you know, how busy are you? Are you taking other supplements that may fit the bill of getting the immune health that you have? But if you're just looking for something that's simple, something that is natural and can fit into your routine, then that's what you want to do. We know that teachers, any healthcare workers, people who are getting getting on and off of planes or traveling a lot, that have that kind of interaction with the public on a regular basis, you want to be aware that there's a greater likelihood that you're gonna be uh taxing your body, being introduced to new bacteria, to new viral infections, and you want to make sure that you um take something to get your body in the place where you want it to be at the best uh possible chance of fighting off any of those things that you come in contact with. And then I think it comes down to preference. You know, do you want syrups? Do you want um capsules? I don't think any of those things matter as long as the excipients or the other ingredients that they have along with it are clean and you're not overdoing it with sugar.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and is there anybody who you would really recommend should probably not take elderberry or should really have a conversation with their healthcare provider before implementing it?
SPEAKER_01:Uh great question. And what we do know is that pregnant or nursing women, um, they should probably avoid it. It seems like it increases uh likelihood of bleeding, so you want to be careful of that, especially when you're pregnant, which also leads you to anybody who's on multiple medications, because if it does increase the likelihood of interacting with blood or coagulation, then you want to be careful of that. And then with kids, you want to be mindful that any introduction of something new into their diet, there could always be an allergic reaction that goes along with it. So give it to them during the day. Uh, make sure that you're able to monitor them and they don't see any side effects from it, but certainly uh watching out from that standpoint.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that's really great information. We've covered a lot of ground and I think touched on just some really great questions that people might be having about elderberry who are considering it. We know that supplementation is just one part of somebody's overall health and their routine for staying healthy. So if someone wants to build an immune smart routine, which we know as we've talked about, elderberry helps to boost the immune system and support your body's immune function. What should they do to support their overall immune health alongside taking something like elderberry?
SPEAKER_01:Great question. It is not really that much different than what we talk about on a regular basis. Make sure that you're getting diet and exercise right. So be sure that you're eating fruits and vegetables, good lean meats, and that they you're limiting your processed food intake. The other thing is making sure that you're getting seven to nine hours of sleep a night. Your body needs time to recover from the stress of the day. Your body needs time to help fight off any immune compromise that's going on. If you've been in uh infected with some bacterial or viral infection, sleep is oftentimes the best time because your body's not having to think about anything else. It's just going to attack the problem that's happening right then. And then if you decide to jump into the other pieces of it with supplementation, you want to make sure that it's a good, clean elderberry extract that you're getting, and then adding other things that you may be low in. So if you're not getting a lot of sun or it's that time of year where you can't get out much, make sure that you're increasing vitamin D. Make sure that your zinc levels aren't uh too low, and uh you're taking in all that into your body. And then, of course, if you're highly stressed and you're under a lot of stress, there's always a greater likelihood that you're gonna have a poor response to anything that gets uh put in front of you, whether that's bacterial or viral, because your body's having to attend to other things and it can't all be thrown towards um the uh viral or bacterial infection.
SPEAKER_00:That's really fantastic, helpful information for our listeners. Is there anything else you'd like to say about elderberry or about immune health in general before we sign off?
SPEAKER_01:I I think we pretty much hit it all, but just a reminder to be sure you're checking the label. So even though it says elderberry on it, it may not be a healthy version of elderberry because it's got a lot of sugar. Make sure that it's got the other support in there that you need. If you can find something that's in a combination, oftentimes that's better because you can have everything all thrown into one product. And then just be sure to get your diet, exercise, and sleep right, and you really should be able to get through this season without an issue.
SPEAKER_00:Well, that wraps up our elderberry spotlight. If you found this helpful, be sure you share it with a friend who is building a seasonal wellness plan and looking to stay healthy this cold and flu season. As always, we encourage you to go out and take ownership of your health because you are your best health advocate. We'll see you next time. If you enjoyed what you heard today on the podcast, please consider leaving us a review. We would love to hear your feedback and connect with you further. You can also follow us on Instagram, X, TikTok, and YouTube. And for safe, effective, and affordable health and wellness products made in the USA, visit www.centurion.health. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time.