Since it is Fall, and colds and flu are just around the corner, I wanted to remind everyone again how
Echinacea works.
There is a lot of misinformation that has led people to believe that taking
Echinacea after you get a cold is effective.
But that won't work.
Echinacea ramps up your immune system, but gradually over a few days. By the time it has an effect on your immune system, the cold is almost over anyway. This is true even if you megadose
Echinacea at the start of a cold.
The best way to take
Echinacea is as a preventive, daily with your
multivitamins and other
supplements. That keeps the levels of the active components of
Echinacea in your system at all times, so your immune system is always armed and ready to fight invaders.
The other thing to remember is that not all
Echinacea supplements are created equal. The species of
Echinacea that has the strongest cold fighting effects on the immune system is
Echinacea purpurea, and it is ONLY THE
ROOT of Echinacea purpurea that is effective. Many
Echinacea supplements contain plant parts (leaves and flowers) with little or no actual ROOT. These are not effective at all. They are essentially fillers.
Something like
THIS or
THIS would be good choices.
If you favor
ORGANIC supplements, try
THIS.
Echinacea tea may be effective against colds, but again it must be consumed DAILY and it must contain
Echinacea purpurea ROOT.
THIS TEA from Yogi might be a good choice. It also contains
GREEN TEA, rich in healthy antioxidants.
Echinacea and goldenseal combined supplements may be more effective than
Echinacea alone for fighting colds. However, it is difficult to find these supplements that contain the proper form of
Echinacea (i.e.,
Echinacea purpurea root). Many of these contain extracts of the whole
Echinacea plant, much of which is useless filler. (Ironically, many of these use only the
ROOT of goldenseal, but the whole
Echinacea plant - usually multiple species - and that does not help us.)
You can take your chances with something like
THIS COMBINATION EXTRACT.
I hope that was helpful. I worked 10 years in R&D at a vitamin company and learned a lot about alternative medicine working closely with health practitioners in the field. Take it or leave it. I'm not a doctor.
Visit the
THE VITAMIN FUN HOUSE for more information and review many brands of
Echinacea supplements.