Echinacea (It's proper use)

Most people have heard about echinacea and its effectiveness in treating colds and its symptoms. In fact, when visiting a health food store and enquiring about the uses of echinacea, one usually gets the same answer...and it's not always the same as the answers you would ordinarily get from a qualified herbologist. For instance, did you know that echinacea should not be used continuously for a period longer than 6 to 8 weeks? That it should not be used in progressive diseases like AIDS, tuberculosis, multiple sclerosis and other auto-immune disorders and that it should not be taken with immunosuppressive drugs? This is information that you are only likely to get from a qualified herbologist. The fact of the matter is that if you use echinacea for more than 6 to 8 weeks, it will cause immunosuppression, which is exactly what you want to avoid at all costs when suffering from the above-mentioned diseases! Herbologists know that there are deep immunostimulants and surface immunostimulants. Echinacea falls into the latter category. Therefore echinacea may not be the ideal herb in every case of the sniffles or colds and flu. The modern herbologist, being trained in distinguishing the different diseases, is very capable of prescribing the correct herb(s) for the ailment. There is no one size fits all in the field of herbology and the public needs to be made aware of this fact which the manufacturers use as a marketing ploy. Herbal medicines should not be treated lightly just because it may be available over the counter or as a "supplement" and that it is a plant extract. Castor oil, for example is useful in treating many ailments, but ingest a few castor beans and death may be imminent. It is also important that you follow the dosages as prescribed by your herbologist and not the dosage as indicated on the container of the herbal medicine, but this would be another topic which I will cover in the next post. So please, consult your herbologist before just buying an over the counter herbal remedy without consultation.

Yours in Health,
J Jackson, DHerb. (cand), MHONERI(SA)