Are all Echinacea products out there the same? What do I need to know?

No. Not all Echinacea products are the same. Far from it.

If you have a cold or flu right now, or another infection, or want to protect yourself with a stronger immune system for this winter ( ie reduce your chances of falling sick with a cold or flu, or recover faster if you are going to fall sick) please read on:

I frequently see patients not getting the results they should be getting from using Echinacea. Why is that?

I am also very choosy when it comes to choosing which Echinacea product I use and recommend in the clinic.Why is that?

The bottom line is that in Herbal Medicine (which of course Echinacea is part of), choosing a quality product involves a lot more than just a high level of certain ingredients.
Factors that contribute to a good product are :

• The quality of the raw product
• The quality and care during manufacturing ( if one is not careful, a lot of the goodness of the plant can be lost during processing)
• The grouping of herbs together in a formula ( we talk of the "synergy of herbs": Working together, they enhance each other further)
• The main ingredients
• The quantity of the ingredients, ie to provide a health outcome (therapeutic level)
• The capacity for these ingredients to be absorbed
• The safety of the product

But other important aspects need to be considered:

• The type of product: Liquid herb? tablet? Homeopathic remedy - tablet or liquid? Tea? or even a spray?
• The dosage: This will vary a lot with your current state of health, age, diet and lifestyle
• ie typically what a herbalist would assess.

Also in the background you have to be aware that:

• Unfortunately some herbs can be substituted for another less costly one for example. This means then that you would not be getting what you think you are getting.
• Or the herb may have a less potent herb mixed with it, even a pharmaceutical ( we call this adulteration).
• Finally the manufacturer could have started with a poor quality crop in the first place, like you could have for example poor strawberries looking like strawberries, but not tasting like one...I definitively know that feeling....

You have seen different botanical names of Echinacea on bottles. How can that be?

Well there are primarily three Echinacea:

1. Echinacea angustifolia, used by Native American tribes, and adopted by the Eclectics, a group of doctors in the US in late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is worthy to note that they were using only the roots of the plant.
2. Echinacea purpurea, put on the map by a German herbalist, Madaus, who found it easier to grow and used the juice of fresh aerial parts of the plant.
3. Echinacea pallida considered less active.

The traditional Echinacea angustifolia root was prepared with a high percentage of alcohol, drawing a high concentration of very important ingredients for us humans: the Alkylamides.
The fresh Echinacea purpurea, in contrast contains very low levels of Alkylamides.

Why are we so interested in the level of Alkylamides?
Because scientific research has shown in vitro (in the laboratory), in vivo (in human) and in clinical studies that the Alkylamines are the ones helping the response of our white blood cells ( macrophages, Tcells and natural killer cells) to for example a viral or bacterial infection.
Interestingly the Alkylamides are the only ingredients found in the blood after ingestion of Mediherb Echinacea Premium .

Scientific research has also shown that the Echinacea purpurea alkylamides were broken down by the body faster than the ones from Echinacea angustifolia. It was also shown that when taking the two herbs together, the rate of degradation of Echinacea purpurea slowed down.

So what does that mean for YOU, the end user?

• Look for the word root in the Echinacea product you are looking for.
• Choose a mixture of Echinacea angustifolia AND Echinacea purpurea roots
• If using a liquid extract, enjoy the tingling sensation in the mouth, as the more tingling, the more Alkylamides in the product. This will not be present in a tablet form however.
• Discuss the dosage with somebody trained in Herbal Medicine who can guide you on what is right for you right now, which could be different, in a week's time, or in a few months time.

What do I recommend in my clinic?

I like prevention: So building up a strong army of white blood cells nicely primed to fight for you during the winter, is a nice feeling, isn't?
To achieve this, I strongly recommend:

• Mediherb Echinacea Premium tablets, a very reliable superior quality product, containing Echinacea angustifolia and purpurea root extracts, giving a good level of alkylamides.

• I use the Mediherb Liquid Echinacea angustifolia and purpurea extract if I want to mix it with other herbs for whatever reason.

• Sometimes I recommend very high doses for possibly only a couple of days in an acute situation (for ex: just started a cold. And I mean JUST started). Don't wait for tomorrow to find out if you truly have a cold or not. Because if you have a cold, by tomorrow, the "bugs" will have taken a strong hold on you, and it will be more work to get rid of them...

• If somebody has a history of falling sick regularly, we will need to continue with some Echinacea for possibly months, and no there is no issue in doing that.

• Because extracts may contain pollen proteins, people having a tendency  to allergic reactions to flowers from the daisy family (compositae) should exercise caution. having said that I have a lot of asthmatics benefiting greatly from Echinacea treatment without any side effects.

•  If you are not already acting on building up your immune system, this is definitively the right time to start, and do so at a nice gentle dose through out the winter.
• And if you were to come down with something, you are all set at home with what you need. All you need to do is increase the dose.
• If you are travelling anywhere, especially if you are going by plane, I cannot recommend enough to take some Mediherb Echinacea tablets with you. Planes are are a wonderful place for sharing bugs... have you noticed?

So if you want to make a positive step for the winter, act now,

and call us on 3209 8611.

Mediherb Echinacea tablets are always in stock at the Clinic.

Each container is normally $38.10 for 60 tablets.
REDUCED to $35.00 until 30/06/2011

• With children, I mostly go for the Heel homeopathic remedies: They all love them. They ask for them, thinking they are little sweets. So parents love them to...We have the choice of several approach here, depending on what is happening, so I probably need to leave this to another day.

There is of course more to possibly help the immune system, for example Zinc, and good bacteria.

But I will cover that in other posts. This one was long enough, wasn't it?

Top of Echinacea flower



References:

Bone Kerry, 2003. A Clinical Guide to Blending Liquid Herbs. Herbal Formulations for the Individual Patient.

Mills Simon & Bone Kerry, 2000. Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy - Modern Herbal Medicine