Can Elderberry Juice Help You Lose Weight and Fight a Cold? Here’s the Evidence

Move over, apple cider vinegar. Elderberry juice is having its health and wellness moment.

Elderberry is a dark purple berry from the black elder tree, which grows in Europe, North America, Asia, and North Africa and has traditionally been used in folk medicine to treat colds and flu.

Elderberry is already a top-selling supplement in the United States for its supposed immune-boosting properties. But thanks to a new study, it’s now also being touted as a weight loss tool.

Here’s what researchers found about the health benefits of elderberry juice and supplements.

What Did the Weight Loss Study Find?

The study, which was published in the journal Nutrients, had 18 men and women with overweight or obesity take 355 grams a day of either elderberry juice or a placebo beverage for a week. The study participants also had pre-packaged meals with macronutrient proportions of 40% carbohydrates, 40% fat, and 20% protein.

After a week, the participants had a three-week “washout” period and then another week-long treatment period. A series of tests showed that people taking elderberry juice had positive changes to their gut microbiome, better glucose tolerance, and increased fat oxidation, which is how the body breaks down fats.

Researchers also found that elderberry juice reduced blood glucose levels by 24%, which suggests the participants’ bodies were better able to process sugars.

Can Elderberry Juice Really Help with Weight Loss?

The study was small and relatively short, making it difficult to track sustainable weight loss. It also looked at factors that can contribute to weight loss rather than weight loss itself.

Because of this, it’s hard to draw a lot of conclusions, said Mir Ali, MD, medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA. 

“It seems to be along the lines of other weight-loss adjuncts like apple cider vinegar,” he said. “It could be helpful in some respects, but there’s no way to say that this is going to have a lasting effect.”

On a good note, Ali said the impact on blood glucose is a positive takeaway from the study. “If you’re controlling your sugars better, perhaps you’re directing your body to burn fat better,” he added.

Ultimately, he said, “Weight loss is mostly about the diet—not a juice or drink you’re having on top of it.”

Can Elderberry Juice Fight a Cold?

Despite elderberry’s popularity as a cold and flu remedy, minimal data supports its use.

“The few studies that exist are often industry-supported,” Thomas Russo, MD, professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo, told Verywell. “People are spending a lot of money on an unproven supplement.”

One small study found a “significant improvement” in flu symptoms within two days of taking elderberry extract. By comparison, the control group had an improvement within six days. Another industry-funded study had a similar result.

One other industry-funded study of 312 international travelers found that those who took elderberry extract had a shorter duration of cold symptoms and fewer symptoms overall than people who took a placebo.

However, another study looked at 87 children who tested positive for flu and found that those who took 15 milliliters of elderberry extract twice a day for five days did not have shorter recovery times than those who took a placebo.

“It’s certainly possible that there could be a benefit from elderberry supplements, but they haven’t been studied in a rigorous fashion,” Russo said.

Are Elderberry Supplements Safe?

The supplement industry in the U.S. is largely unregulated, making it difficult to know if what you’re taking matches the label, Russo said.

And, while elderberries are safe to eat when cooked, raw or unripe elderberries contain cyanide-producing substances and can lead to uncomfortable side effects such as diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.

Even high doses of elderberry juice or supplements could cause these unpleasant side effects, Russo added.

Overall, experts recommend being cautious of elderberry supplements. “It’s unclear if they will be beneficial or not, and you could potentially have adverse reactions,” Russo said.