Stop colds instantaneously (Echinacea)

Member Name: Maiakins

Product:	Echinacea
Date:	02/12/03 (1822 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Stops cold

Disadvantages: Quite expensive

What do you do when you feel a cold coming on? At the first sign of a tickly throat, I used to reach immediately for the Vitamin C and the Paracetemol. But now my first port of call is Echinacea drops.

Also known as the purple coneflower, this herb is used as an ornament in many gardens. But as well as being pretty, it also has the powerful ability to stop a cold before it takes root in your system.

Echinacea was well known amongst Native Americans for its ability to treat several ailments: they rubbed it directly into their mouths for teeth and gum pains, and made an Echinacea tea to treat colds, smallpox, arthritis, measles, and mumps. They even applied the herb to snakebites and insect wounds.

In the twentieth century, medics started to debate its usefulness and over 300 scientific articles have been written about it since the 1930s. I?m no doctor, so please forgive my description of how it works. Basically, it activates white blood cells, boosting your immune system and helping you fight off diseases. Normal antibiotics work by killing off bacteria, whereas Echinacea actually aims to stop the problem before it starts.

USAGE
As soon as you feel the first symptoms of a cold coming on, dilute 15 drops (0.6ml) 2-3 times daily in a small amount of water. I have to warn you that the taste is absolutely foul. I try to use as little water as possible and gulp it down in one go.

For children (6-12 years) take 7 drops (0.3ml) 2-3 times daily in a small amount of water.

Some people use Echinacea daily to enhance their resistance to colds or flus. However, doctors argue that using the herb every day may actually depress the immune system as your body gets used to it. I would therefore not recommend you use this daily over a period of months. Use only when you think a cold is brewing.

INGREDENTS
Oral drops contain tincture of Echinacea purpurea herb and root. A daily amount (0.6ml drops) contains the eq
uivalent of 285mg whole fresh plant or 64.5mg whole dried plant.

The brand I use (Bioforce) test their product several times (before, during and after processing) to guarantee quality and purity, as well as no pesticides, insecticides or contaminants.

DO NOT USE IF
Do not use this product if you are allergic to the daisy family. Some research has suggested that you should not use it if you have an autoimmune illness (such as lupus) or other progressive diseases (such as tuberculosis, multiple sclerosis, or HIV infection). Seek medical advice if pregnant.

PRICE & FURTHER DETAILS
Echinacea drops are sold by several different health companies in all good health food stores and chemists. Boots has its own brand. I bought the Bioforce brand of Echinacea Drops from a health food store, which costs £7.99 for 50ml. Although this sounds expensive, a bottle this size will last you forever, or at least until the bottle expires. Echinacea is also available in tablet form, as well as in a cream.

CONCLUSION
At work, we have an office bottle of Echinacea drops, which we all use as soon as we feel the onset of a cold or flu. Some of my colleagues use the drops daily to prevent a cold coming, but as I said earlier, doctors do not recommend this and I have not noticed these people being any healthier or less resistant.

I know the sceptics among you are probably groaning: New-age mumbo jumbo! Don?t believe a word of this herbal nonsense.

But it has been proven scientifically, and the results are impressive. For example, a study done with 200 children found that the group who took Echinacea had fewer colds and, when they did get sick, had fewer days of fever.

As for me, since I purchased the bottle last September, I have not yet had a single cold. This is pretty darn good for me, since I normally have a cold once every 2-3 months.

If I were to produce a list of top five products in my medicine cabi
net, this would definitely be included. So goodbye sniffles, sneezes and sore throats! Hello Echinacea!

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