Latest Study Shows Echinacea Can Protect You Against Colds

Earlier studies including those by the highly respected Cochrane Library, suggested that Echinacea could soothe symptoms and stop colds but there are limited evidence indicating that Echinacea could prevent the onset of colds.

The American College of Physicians have found that it did not prevent colds or significantly reduced the length or severity of the symptoms.

But a new study by experts from the Cardiff University Common Cold Centre suggested that taking Echinaforce not only reduces the risk of colds but could also reduces the amount of paracetamol taken while ill.

Echinaforce is a common form of Echinacea herbal extract remedy known to prevent colds and most beneficial to people who are prone to this illness.

Researchers found that taking three daily doses of Echinaforce for four months reduced the number of colds and the duration of the illness suffered went down by an average of 26 per cent.

This largest ever research was partly funded by A. Vogel, the Swiss manufacturers of Echinaforce, was published in the peer-reviewed journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

According to the test results conducted on 750 people, this treatment also reduces the number of recurring cases among those with weak immune systems or a history of catching colds each year by 60 per cent.

Echinacea works by fighting the viruses which caused up to 95 per cent of all colds and flu and the studies suggested that it can boost weak immune systems when taken orally.

Two groups of participants, one group mixed 25 drops of Echinaforce with water and held it in their mouths for 10 seconds before swallowing it, three times a day for a period of four month and the other with placebo.

Those on Echinaforce treatment suffered 149 bouts of illness compared to 188 in the placebo group, the result described by researchers as 'borderline significant'.

And the total number of days spent with flu was reduced from 850 to 672, described by researchers as 'highly significant' change.

Recurring infections were cut from 100 episodes in 43 participants to 65 episodes in 28 patients, a difference of 59 per cent.

One of the study's authors, Roland Schoop a medical researcher for Bioforce, the British arm of A. Vogel told the Daily Telegraph: “We are actually very amazed with this result of 26 per cent difference in cold episodes.”

The research was primarily designed to test the safety of the treatment and found that Echinacea has no adverse side effects on the participants who are all over the age of 18.

But MHRA, the British drugs regulator, warned parents that Echinacea should not be given to children under the age of 12 years old because of the risk of 'severe' allergic reactions including rashes and swelling of the mouth and tongue.

Echinacea is extracted from the Eastern Purple Coneflower, which is found in North America, and has long been used as a herbal remedy for the common cold.

Echinacea is a genus, or group of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae. The nine species it contains are commonly called coneflowers.Wikipedia

Posted by:Mo Salle

Article Source:
Largest ever clinical study into echinacea finds herbal remedy CAN protect against colds

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Find out more about Echinaforce:

A. Vogel Echniaforce Herbal Supplements, 120 Count - Speeds recovery after illness - Supports a healthy immune response - Preparations exhibit good tolerability and are suitable for long-term use

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