Papaya - a world class meat tenderizer, natural digestive aid, prevents ulcers, and also a soft contact lense cleaner.Healing with Echinacea
Old Dr. Meyer would be tickled to learn how potent his favorite herb actually is. Echinacea has never been shown to cure rattlesnake bite, but many European (mostly German) studies from the 1950s through the 1980s agree it has remarkable healing properties.
Infection Fighter. Echinacea kills a broad range of disease-causing viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa, which tends to support its traditional uses in wound healing and treatment of many infectious diseases. German researchers report success using echinacea to treat colds, flu, tonsillitis, bronchitis, tuberculosis, meningitis, wounds, abscesses, psoriasis, whooping cough (pertussis), and ear infections.
The herb fights infection in several ways. It contains a natural antibiotic (echinacosideJ, which is comparable to penicillin in that it has broad-spectrum activity.
Echinacea strengthens tissues against assault by invading microorganisms. Tissues contain a chemical (hyaluronic acid or HA) that in part acts as a shield against germ attack Many germs produce an enzyme (hyaluronidase) that dissolves this chemical shield, allowing them to penetrate tissues and cause infection. But echinacea contains a substance (echinacein) that counteracts the germs’ tissue-dissolving enzyme, keeping them out of the body’s tissues.
Immune System - Echinacea may also prevent infection by revving up the immune system. When disease-causing microorganisms attack, cells secrete chemicals that attract infection-fighting white blood cells (macrophages) to the area. The macrophages (literally, “big eaters”) engulf and digest the invaders. A study published in Infection and Immunology showed that a substance derived from echinacea boosts the macrophages’ ability to destroy germs.
Another study at the University of Munich showed echinacea extracts increase production of infection-fighting ‘l-cells (Tvlymphocytes] up to 30 percent more than other immune-boosting drugs.
Colds and Flu - In addition, echinacea may behave like the body’s own virus-fighting chemical, interferon. Before a virus-infected cell dies, it releases a tiny amount of interferon, which boosts the ability of surrounding cells to resist infection. Echinacea may do essentially the same thing. Researchers bathed cells in echinacea extract, then exposed them to two potent viruses, influenza and herpes. Compared with untreated cells, only a small proportion became infected. These findings have led herb conservative Yarro Tyler, Ph.D., to write that echinacea “may result in … clear improvement in such conditions as the common cold.” It may also help fight other infectious diseases, such as flu, urinary tract infection, and bronchitis.
Yeast Infection - Tests of echinacea in people have produced dramatically positive results. In a recent German study, 203 women with recurrent vaginal yeast infections were treated with either an anti-yeast cream or the cream plus an oral echinacea preparation. After six months, 60 percent of the women treated with just the antifungal cream had experienced recurrences, but among those also treated with echinacea, the figure was only 16 percent, a highly significant difference.
Radiation Therapy - Cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy typically suffer reduced white blood cell counts, increasing their risk of infection. Echinacea may help preserve white blood cells and thus protect radiation patients from infection.
If you’re in radiation therapy, use echinacea only in consultation with your physician.
Wound Healing - Science has confirmed echinacea’s traditional use in wound treatment. The same chemical (echinacein) that prevents germs from penetrating tissues also spurs broken skin to knit faster by spurring cells that form new tissue (fibroblasts) to work more efficiently.
Echinacea preparations can be applied to cuts, burns, psoriasis, eczema, genital herpes, and cold sores.
Arthritis - The same chemical (HA) that helps shield tissues against germs also lubricates the joints. Joint inflammation (arthritis) breaks down HA, but echinacea’s HA-protective action may have an anti-inflammatory effect, thus lending credence to the herb’s traditional use in treating arthritis.
German researchers have successfully treated rheumatoid arthritis with echinacea preparations. If you have arthritis or another inflammatory condition, use echinacea only in consultation with your physician.
Intriguing Possibility - Echinacea shows promising anticancer activity against leukemia and a few animal tumors. It’s early to call the herb a cancer treatment, but one day it might be.
Rx for Echinacea
Use either a tincture or decoction to take advantage of echinaceas infection-fighting potential or as a possible treatment for arthritis. To make a decoction, bring 2 teaspoons of root material per cup of water to a boil, then simmer 15 minutes. Drink up to 3 cups a day. You’ll find the taste initially sweet, then bitter.
In a tincture, take I teaspoon up to three times a day.
If you’re using a commercial preparation, follow package directions.
Echinacea should not be given to children under age 2. For older children and people over 65 start with a low-strength preparation and increase strength if necessary.