Certain herbs have been well researched for their benefit on the immune system and Echinacea is the best known of them - and for good reason!
This amazing herb works specifically to boost the immune system and prevent secondary bacterial infections. You can take a lower dose for prevention (500-1000mg daily) and up the dose to 3000mg daily at the very first signs of a cold and it shouldn’t go any further.
You will often read in magazines or in the paper that there is not enough research on Echinacea to prove it works. This is simply and utterly not true. This seems to stem from two poorly designed clinical trials that seemed to get a lot of publicity. It is not unusual for studies on herbs to use the wrong dose, wrong part of the plant, and even sometimes the wrong species!!!!
The biggest mistake people make is not taking a high enough dose!
Research and Echinacea
A meta-analysis was carried out a few years ago on 14 different clinical trials which evaluated Echinacea containing products in the treatment and/or prevention of the common cold.(1) Phytonews, issue 28, Nov 07, Favourable meta-analysis for Echinacea.
This amazing herb works specifically to boost the immune system and prevent secondary bacterial infections. You can take a lower dose for prevention (500-1000mg daily) and up the dose to 3000mg daily at the very first signs of a cold and it shouldn’t go any further.
You will often read in magazines or in the paper that there is not enough research on Echinacea to prove it works. This is simply and utterly not true. This seems to stem from two poorly designed clinical trials that seemed to get a lot of publicity. It is not unusual for studies on herbs to use the wrong dose, wrong part of the plant, and even sometimes the wrong species!!!!
Pharmacologial studies have shown that it isn't just one active constituent in Echinacea that works but many of them working together. This is usually the way with herbs and what makes them hard to study isolated components. However it has been found that the alkalymides are one of the key actives, and this is what is found in the blood of research subjects.
It is the alkalymides that give echinacea it's distinctive tingle on the tongue. (If you've ever had liquid echinacea you'll know what I mean!)
Echinacea works by increasing the number and activity of various white blood cells (immune cells) in your bloodstream
Dosage
This is the key to getting Echinacea to work for you!
You need to start taking Echinacea at the first sign of any symptoms, a tickle in the throat, watery eyes, sneezing. If you take the echinacea in the higher dose at this stage, you can often stop anything going further.
The biggest mistake people make is not taking a high enough dose!
Tablets: Acute dosing 1000mg 3-4x daily!
Liquid: Acute dosing 2-5mls 3-4x daily
Prevention - a third of the above dose.
If you miss those first symptoms and are already sick, that's ok, start taking it as it will reduce the duration you are sick, and prevent secondary infections.
Research and Echinacea
A meta-analysis was carried out a few years ago on 14 different clinical trials which evaluated Echinacea containing products in the treatment and/or prevention of the common cold.(1) Phytonews, issue 28, Nov 07, Favourable meta-analysis for Echinacea.
The overall results showed that Echinacea:-
- Decreased the odds of a patient contracting a cold by 58%
- Reduced the duration of a cold by 1.4 days.
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