Christopher C. Barr
Source: http://www.healthtruthrevealed.com
January 9, 2009

“Did you see this news story on Echinacea, Chris?  Sounds just like what you’ve been telling us for years,” an associate called out to me at the major daily newspaper where I was working almost 20 years ago, “and it’s from the Wall Street Journal!”

[I was working undercover at a multiple winner of the prestigious Pulitzer Prize thinking to get truthful health nutrition stories into the mainstream.  After more than a decade there and working my way up to be an editor it became very clear that truth was not high on the priority list.  As for “truthful health nutrition stories”, well, that never even made the priority list at all.  The stories I could tell … but that is for another time.]

The lengthy Wall Street Journal (WSJ) piece reported the effectiveness of the herb Echinacea – also known as purple coneflower – as a flu remedy.  The article was picked up by other major newspapers though it was buried on page 21 of the newspaper where I worked.

A 1992 clinical study in Germany reported a “statistically significant” improvement in flu symptoms with Echinacea use according to the WSJ article.

The German study was of the “double blind” variety that mainstream science insists upon for validity.

Benefits were only noted with frequent doses totaling a bare minimum of 180 drops daily from a liquid tincture form.  Any amount less than this did not produce less results but rather no results at all.  Therefore a build-up and minimum saturation with Echinacea were noted as necessary to receive results.

This is just how herbal teachers instructed me to use Echinacea and it worked very well for me and those I passed this information along to as well.

More than 300 Echinacea products were noted as available in Germany alone by the WSJ article.  It was also noted that these are covered by insurance there.  Yet American health professionals have paid little or no attention to the herb Echinacea.

That was not always so.

Echinacea was the most prescribed item by American doctors prior to the introduction of antibiotics.

This wondrous herb was introduced to early European settlers in America by native peoples to help them weather the New World winters.

Yet a so-called American expert consulted for the WSJ article scoffed at use of the herb.

“At best, it’s probably not doing anything,” said Dr. Philip Askenase, a Yale Medical School professor of immunology.

The WSJ then noted further that Dr. Askenase called back after reviewing Echinacea information and lessened the harshness of his remarks against the herb.  He had learned subsequent to his initial interview that his “children and their boyfriends are currently taking this stuff”.

Hmmm …

Apparently the medical “expert” had remarked upon Echinacea without actually having expert knowledge on the subject.  Sadly, this is more often the rule than the exception if one relies on medical personnel for non-medical knowledge.

There are several varieties of Echinacea.  The most commonly available are angustifolia, pallida, and purpurea.

The angustifolia variety was noted as preferred in the WSJ article.  That has also been the variety I have all my experience with for almost 30 years.

Angustifolia is usually a little harder to find and may cost a little more but it is all I have ever used or recommended.  Also, the root is the most potent portion so use of other plant parts may not have as much effectiveness.

My recommendation had always been to take no less than one dropper full at least every two hours at the first sign that you are “trying to catch something”.

If you do the math it gets very interesting with the findings disclosed in the W|SJ article.

One dropper full will provide from 20-30 drops depending on how good you are with a dropper.

Assuming 8 hours of sleep with 16 waking hours that would be nine droppers full if taken every two hours.

A minimum of nine droppers full with at least 20 drops per dropper every two hours will give you 180 drops in a day – the exact minimum noted as necessary in the study cited by the WSJ article.

On the rare occasion I get so run down from my normally overwhelmed schedule that I feel something “coming on” I take several droppers full every hour for the first few hours and I can’t remember losing more than a single day to illness in decades.

Success with Echinacea has been noted consistently only when using a liquid extract repeatedly throughout the course of a day.

Liquid forms are usually in an alcohol extract though sometimes can be found in a glycerite form (in vegetable glycerine).  The alcohol extract is more pungent with a stronger bite to it.  The glycerite has a sweet taste (though containing no sugar) and most find this form easier to swallow.  Vegetable glycerine also has healing attributes of its own as well.

Studies supportive of Echinacea indicate that it prevents flu and cold incidence the majority of the time.  Those in the minority who are afflicted anyway still are noted to have reduced severity of symptoms and a shortened duration of illness.  Such studies note success only when Echinacea is taken at the first sign of symptoms.  Herbalist literature and lore has routinely recommended Echinacea after this fashion.

Studies that are not supportive of Echinacea are those in which individuals are given the herb in an extract less than 100 per cent, or in capsule or tablet form, or with plant parts other than the root, or when used as a preventative on a regular basis when signs or symptoms of illness are not present.  Herbalist literature and lore has NOT routinely recommended Echinacea after this fashion.  However, these are the studies commonly cited by medical opponents of Echinacea.  Does that surprise you?

My recommendation has always been to keep on hand one bottle of Echinacea angustifolia glycerite extract for each member of the family.  One bottle will usually be more than enough to take care of one but rarely will be enough to take care of two.

A Reuters news story cited researchers reporting results of their study at the American College of Clinical Pharmacology annual meetings in 2006.

“Use of Echinacea, or extract of the purple coneflower, before the onset of full-blown symptoms of the common cold reduces the incidence by more than a half and the duration by almost two full days,” opened the Reuters news story titled ‘Echinacea cuts cold incidence’.

I couldn’t sum up Echinacea use any better than that.

In Scripture it notes of The Almighty:

"He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle and herb for the service of man."   (Psalms 104:14).