Echinacea helps fight a cold -- if it's the right kind

February 18, 2008

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U.S. consumers have been abandoning echinacea in recent years. Sales of products derived from the herb fell more than 16% in 2006, according to the Nutrition Business Journal. But the science suggests that echinacea -- in the right form -- may be one of the more promising alternative cold remedies on the market.

Last summer, an analysis in the journal Lancet Infectious Disease showed that in well-designed studies, Echinacea purpurea shortened colds by an average of 1.4 days and reduced the odds of getting a cold by 58%. (Most studies administered around 900 milligrams or 8 to10 milliliters.)

 
The same report looked independently at five rigorously designed studies on Echinaguard and Echinacin, two proprietary blends of Echinacea purpurea juice, and found that they reduced the risk of getting a cold by 56%.

Dr. Robert Bonakdar, a physician with the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine in La Jolla, pointed out that taking the right echinacea species is critical. A Cochrane review concluded that only Echinacea purpurea products showed any promise in treating colds, and only when they contained the aboveground parts of the plant -- not the root. Unfortunately, other formulations abound. Echinacea products can contain the roots, leaves or flowers of any of three species of the plant (purpurea, pallida or angustifolia), in dried, powdered or extracted form.

They may not even contain the plant. Researchers at University of Colorado Health Sciences Center published a paper in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2003 showing that 10% of the echinacea products on store shelves in Denver contained no measurable echinacea at all.

The Cochrane reviewers stressed that echinacea showed promise only when taken early in a cold. Bonakdar concurred. "With any product, if you're not using it consistently, it's not going to have a benefit," he said.




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Discussion

What's your favorite cold remedy? Does it always work for you?
This discussion board is archived. Comments will no longer be posted.
 
1. We drink Greek Mountain tea whenever a family member gets a cold. I'm not sure of the medicinal contents, but the tea helps alot with a stuffy nose and seems to shorten the duration of a cold. Its a light herbal tea that you can get from most Greek stores. It has no caffeine that I know of, so my wife also prepares it for our daughter when she gets the sniffles.
Submitted by: Mike M
8:15 AM PDT, Mar 24, 2008
 
2. If one looks at the scientific trials and evidence, vitamin C and zinc have proven to have unclear evidence that these therapies work for cold and allergies, it works in certain cases but cannot necessarily prevent an onset, see this site for details: http://www.rvita.com/conditions/cold/remedy/vitamin-c.html
Submitted by: Neil
12:43 PM PDT, Mar 18, 2008
 
3. To Nick the doctor and Amy. Want to read a good article on colloidal silver and virus written by a couple of MD's? http://www.imref.org/articles/pdfs/Townsend_II.pdf Anna is correct - there are certain virus that surround themselves with fatty cells - lipids. These viruses are known as lipid viruses. http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/download/figures/1471-2334-2-4-2.PDF And Jim - people turn blue by drinking too much of a too strong - usually home brewed product. Use a 10 ppm product and you can according to the EPA take 7 teaspoons per day for 70 years and still keep your color!
Submitted by: Peter
9:22 AM PDT, Mar 15, 2008
 
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