Echinacea for Cold

Echinacea for cold Works

Echinacea Treats Cold

A recent analysis of Echinacea studies has concluded that this popular botanical medicine significantly reduces the risk you’ll catch a cold and also can cut a cold’s duration. Yet it wasn’t too long ago that a New England Journal of Medicine study stated just the opposite, calling the effects of Echinacea not clinically significant in fighting colds. So which report should you trust?

According to Craig 1. Coleman, PharmD, assistant professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Connectieut, who helped conduct this latest Echinacea research, there are many possible reasons why one individual study might have found this treatment ineffective. For example, there are different types of Echinacea, different dosages, different frequencies of dosage, etc. In the case of the New England Journal of Medicine study, Dr. Coleman points out that a less effective species of echinacea was used (Echnicea angustifolia rather than Echinacea purpurea), and at a dosage that was only one third of the more than 200 viruses that  cause cold symptoms was tested.

 

THE POTENT PURPLE CONEFLOWER 

To learn the truth about echinacea, Dr. Coleman and his colleagues combined data from 14 previous clinical trials involving nearly 3,000 people. Since many studies include less than 100 participants, he notes that the much larger meta-analysis packs more statistical power and is also likely to uncover effects of a treatment that might not have shown up in smaller studies. For the greatest accuracy, researchers also chose only randomized, placebo-controlled and peer reviewed trials-the ones most likely to yield reliable results.

The results were impressive. Researchers found that:

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  Echinacea reduces the chance of catching a cold by approximately 58% when taken prior to or right at the first hint of a cold.


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  If you already have a cold,  taking echinacea can shorten the duration of it by almost a day and a half.

 

POWERFUL COLD PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

POWERFUL COLD PREVENTION AND TREATMENT  

“The take-home message from our study is that echinacea does indeed have powerful cold prevention and treatment benefits,” says Dr. Coleman. Yet with more than 800 echinacea products on the market today, he believes more research is needed to determine the best product preparation and proper dosage. Our medical expert, Andrew L. Rubman, ND, says his two favorite echanacea products are by Herb Pharm and Eclectic Institute. For best results, try taking echinacea at the first sign of cold.

Echinacea for Cold