Sign up for Your
FREE Subscription
Your First Name:
Your E-mail:


Echinacea - Weed Or Wonder-Drug?

06/26/07

By Nurse Mark

The newswires have been all a-twitter this week with the release of a recent report published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal showing what we have long said: Echinacea can both prevent and shorten the duration of the common cold, that common scourge of mankind.

This wildflower has been known for thousands of years to traditional healers such as native Indian Shamans, and it has been popular with Europeans since the early 20th century - but though it was popular in the US until the 20th century it fell out of acceptance and popularity when drug-based medicine took hold and the more holistic medicine previously taught to young doctors was abandoned.

It seems now that what is old is new again, and after decades of being dismissed as "worthless" and "unscientific" by conventional medicine echinacea is being "re-discovered" - or is it?

This is wonderful news, but not really much of a surprise - the power of echinacea is well known except in conventional medicine...

But no more!

This meta-analysis (these are the "studies of many studies" often used by the drug companies to "massage the numbers" in a preferred direction) shows that echinacea can reduce the risk of a cold by 58 percent and may also shorten the duration of a cold almost one and a half days. Better yet, one of the trials which combined with echinacea with vitamin C, showed that the two together reduced the chance of catching a cold by a whopping 86 percent!

The study was lead by Dr. Craig Coleman of the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy. This in itself is a tip-off; since pharmacists are not usually people who look with pleasure upon natural remedies. But the real eye opener is found in one of the lay news article which quotes Coleman as saying that his study, though not definitive, suggested that echinacea was worthy of further research. "At the least it should be brought back to the table as a potential drug that could be studied to prevent the common cold," he said. (emphasis added by Nurse Mark)

I'm betting that this means that we'll soon be seeing the Big Drug Companies showing a much greater interest in this humble flower (that grows wild in our front yard - shh! Don't tell the FDA!) as they search for a way to isolate, synthesize, and patent it's wonderful properties in a quest for profit. Look for it soon on a pharmacy shelf near you: the new, synthetic echinacea, guaranteed to have properties and side effects that Mother Nature never intended, and guaranteed to generate millions, even billions of dollars in Big Pharma profits. I'm further predicting that once the synthetic version is available the natural version will be banned on some bogus "safety" pretext.

Until then, stock up, and be sure to have plenty on hand come cold season!

Learn more about the noble herb Echinacea and it's many uses at Dr. Myatt's Wellness Club.

 

References:

The Lancet Infectious Diseases 2007; 7:473-480 Review Evaluation of echinacea for the prevention and treatment of the common cold: a meta-analysis http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473309907701603/abstract

Echinacea May Boost Immune System More Than Previously Thought. New Study Says the Herb May Decrease Duration of a Cold. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=3312788&page=1

Echinacea 'halves risk of catching cold' http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070625/ts_afp/healthdiseasecold_070625084811

 

Inside HealthBeat

Meet Our Team
----------------
Contact Us
----------------
Readers Rants

----------------

 
DISCLAIMER: Consuming the information provided in HealthBeat may cause reduced side-effects, increased knowledge, improved health and well-being and the potential for enhanced common-sense. Use at your own risk. These statements have not been evaluated or blessed by the FDA, The Big Drug Companies, or Big Medicine and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease or medical condition. None of the suggestions made herein are intended to take the place of your personal physician, shaman, chiropractor or other healthcare provider. Please be aware that statements made herein could result in a loss of profits to the FDA, Big Pharma and Big Medicine and should be used cautiously with this in mind. These statements contain no appreciable amounts of calories, carbohydrates, sodium or cholesterol and are certified to be free of all trans-fats.