For the love of a cup of tea: Home Medicine Cycle 24

The first frost has passed and the cold and dark half of the year has come where I live. This is the time for drawing inward and the time for tea and fires on the hearth. That gives me the opportunity to write about one of the most basic of herbalist arts--making tea.

There are herbal teas that I use for their specific medicinal properties, though I find that a lot of first aid can be handled with salves, fresh herbs or tincture. But when you're dealing with something beyond first aid, a chronic illness or the need to strengthen the body or treat a systemic imbalance, tea is often the best answer. It keeps you well hydrated, which is an often overlooked facet of healing, and it can provide a long-term, sustained intake of beneficial compounds that are otherwise difficult to isolate. 

Wild oregano - Image by Arie Farnam

And then there's the fact that tea is simply comforting, tasty and relaxing. I have met herbalists who claim--in all seriousness--that a large part of their healing comes from the fact that they have to take the time to calmly prepare and consume tea. While tincture and a hurried glass of water gives you a lot of the same nutrients and compounds,, tea does a lot to heal beyond the immediate and the physical. The experience of sitting, breathing deeply and drinking tea by a fire is one that is almost absent from so many modern lives, and those same lives tend to be wracked with intractable, chronic and systemic health problems that western medicine has such difficulty treating. 

That's why many of the herbal teas I drink regularly come from cooking herbs, that are safe for daily consumption and are unlikely to precipitate dramatic health changes one way or the other. I specifically gather herbs that are of general benefit to the immune system and biochemical health without the intent to treat a certain ailment and then I use these for daily teas. 

The most important part about drinking daily tea is to do it in an environment where you can get the benefit of the warmth and relaxation the tea offers. Here are few tips to make it more possible to get to drink regular cups of herbal tea and to ensure that they retain as much of their nutritious and medicinal properties as possible.

1. Unless otherwise directed for a specific herb, use about a tablespoon of dried herbs (two if fresh) to make a cup of tea.  
2. When an herbalist or book recommends a "hot infusion" be made from a certain herb, that means regular tea, where you pour very hot water over it. (Most herbs will make better and more potent tea, if you boil water and then wait two or three minutes for the water to slightly cool before pouring it over your herbs.)
3. If it is recommended that you make a "cold infusion," you simply pour cold water into a jar with herbs and store it in the refrigerator over night. You can also make sun tea by pouring lukewarm water over herbs in a clear glass jar and leaving it in direct sun for a few hours. Many medicinal compounds will degrade in sunlight however, so unless this is specifically noted for a particular herb, I reserve sun tea for general daily drinking, when I don't acutely need the specific medicinal properties of a plant. 
4. When an herbal recipe calls for a "decoction," that means, you should simmer the herbs (usually roots or bark) in a pan with water.
5. Whether you let an infusion brew or simmer a decoction, you will get more medicinal potency out of the tea if you let it brew or simmer for at least 10 minutes. For maximum effect, let it sit or simmer for 45 minutes, but this will often result in a very bitter draft and need sweetening.
6. The herbalist tradition of "simpling" holds that the most benefit is gained by ingesting large quantities of diluted medicine, rather than small quantities of pure medicine. That is why it may be preferable to make a nice warm cup of tea and let it brew only ten minutes, drink it and make more, rather than trying to force yourself (or your child) to drink one bitter infusion that has been sitting for most of an hour. Still there are times when what you need is strong medicine and some herbs are better prepared as a strong infusion than as a tincture. So, this depends on your purpose and the herbs you are using.
7. Many herbs react with metals and lose some of their medicinal potency. For that reason it is preferable when possible to use an enamel pot for simmering decoctions and a bamboo strainer for all kinds of herbal teas. Some will go so far as to recommend a special wooden or ceramic spoon. I again tend toward the philosophy that it is better to drink good herbal teas often rather than to be so perfectionist about achieving maximum potency that you only rarely get to drink them. But if you have special, non-metallic spoons and strainers, by all means use them.
8. For those who are busy and truly need the comfort and stress-reduction of a cup of herbal tea, choose a few safe and beneficial herbs or a mix. Then build into your daily routine a time when you can boil water and return to it in a few minutes. This can be the routine of turning on a timed or self-regulating kettle before you get into the shower in the morning, meaning that your water is slightly cooled when you get out. Pour the hot water over your tea and again build your routine so that you have another short task that takes between five and ten minutes while your tea brews. Then ensure that your routine allows for fifteen minutes of peace (even if that means putting your kids in front of the dreaded television) and sit down in a comfortable place to drink your tea. 
9. Other ways of getting the benefits of herbal tea are to take a travel mug full of tea on your commute or taking an extra cup to sip while you work or study.
10. if you have small children at home most of the time, you will have to build your own tea into the routine, so that there is a time when you know you need to be making it before the time when the children will be preoccupied with their screen time allowance or other distractions. Accommodating tea in a household of small children is a significant challenge for me but it is worth making it a priority for the reduction of stress and clarity of mind that result.

As for choosing which teas to make, you can make tea out of just about every medicinal herb and many of them are quite tasty. When I list specific herbs in the Home Medicine Cycle, I usually note if a tea from some part of the plant is specifically used for a certain acute problem. But when I use teas for general beneficial purpose, I don't always include that in the specific listings. So, here are a list of my favorite tea herbs for supporting a healthy body and peaceful mind. These are also herbs which are usually easy to grow in a northern climate. All of those listed are good for making a hot infusion (regular tea).

• Wild oregano flowers - This is my all-time favorite general purpose tea. Wild oregano is much milder in flavor than the usual cooking oregano and I use the flowering tops, rather than the leaves for tea. It grows abundantly in my garden and has a delicious flavor that aids in maintaining healthy metabolism. 
• Primrose - Wild primroses grow in the highlands of Bohemia and they are somewhat harder to obtain for me, but they have a light, earthy flavor and make a brilliant yellow tea that is a joy to look at in a glass tea pot or cup.
• Linden flowers - Linden or lime (not the citrus kind) treas have beautiful golden flowers, made famous by J. R. R. Tolkien's rapturous descriptions of the Elven realm of Lothlórien. They also make a very good tea in the winter months when colds and flu are a danger and they taste wonderful, light and flowery just as you would expect an magical drink to taste. I personally find the literary associations to be very relaxing as well.
• Borage flowers - Borage is a funny little plant that some people .like to eat as a prickly sort of green, although I have read mixed research n the subject. There is no controversy about the flowers however. They are astoundingly beautiful dried--little packets of bright purple and blue that remain beautiful all through the winter. Their flavor is so sweet and good that it is often recommended as a children's tea.
• Chamomile - There is a reason why chamomile tea figures in many old books and stories. It has been used by herbalists for hundreds of years both for acute ailments and as a general tea. Brewed correctly it is actually a bit bitter, but it can be helped by honey and then it has a good flavor. It has very beneficial effects for those with fevers or digestive troubles.
• Huckleberry, rasberry and strawberry leaves - When you're out collecting edible berries in the late summer, don't forget the leaves. Most edible berries (those that are not sprayed with pesticides) make excellent teas with a lot of nutrients and minerals and a pleasant tangy flavor without the sour heaviness of tea made from dried fruit. Raspberry leaf tea is known as a uterine tonic which is often taken to help regulate menstruation, to help a woman get pregnant or just before giving birth, but it isn't recommended during pregnancy, because of the unpredictability of such effects.
• Mint - Mint is one of the most common herbal teas, but brewing mint from a local plant is a completely different experience from the tea bag variety, which is not only stale but also often treated with chemicals. You haven't really had mint tea, until you have had some locally grown mint tossed into your cup. It can help to calm an upset stomach. And mint tea from fresh mint has an astoundingly different (and quite pleasant flavor) as well. Dry and fresh mint cannot really be considered the same tea at all because of their differences in flavor and content.
• Lemon balm - Lemon balm is one of those herbs that is surprising science in recent years with discoveries about it's amazing antiviral and anti-bacterial action that is not well understood due to the lack of harsh chemical compounds. It also remains one of the mildest and most pleasant general teas. Given the research, I will probably lean toward using lemon balm in times of sickness, but I have yet to see any caution on its use as a general tea. It is wonderfully calming, delicious and popular with adults and children alike.
• Plantain - There is no such thing as too much plantain! Plantain tea has a rough caramel like flavor particularly when sweetened a bit. It is great for sore throats, coughs, irritated stomachs and urinary tract infections but it is also good for just tea.
• Echinacea flowers - I definitely use Echinacea tincture and even tea for flu and cold prevention specifically. You don't want to drink it all the time because that may lessen it's needed effects in the season when viruses are rampant but it is generally useful enough and delicious enough to merit a mention here. Drink it as a daily tea whenever there are colds going around your workplace or local schools. It has a distinct, hearty taste that reminds me of the pleasant smell of bee hives (not just the honey but the hives themselves). 

I hope this list can inspire others. There are surely many more fragrant and delicious herbal teas for daily use. Let me know below if you have a special one or a particularly favorite blend. Keep in touch and happy tea drinking.

The herbal cough suppressant that masquerades as candy: Home Medicine Cycle 23

My kids love the marshmallow plant in my garden. It is kind of the opposite of "guilt by association." They are convinced that there must be something delightful about this medicinal plant, because of its name and they also love the gorgeous flowers. 

GNU Documentation License - Image by Alberto Salguero

The truth is that marshmallows were originally made from marshmallow root and you can make them at home using either a marshmallow root tea or the powdered root. They taste quite different from synthetic marshmallows and probably far better. (It wouldn't take much in my humble opinion.) 

However, I mostly make teas, tincture, poultices and syrup from the flowers and roots of this plant. Marshmallow, as the name also implies, likes to live in moist marshy places so this plant has to earn it's keep to be included in our herb garden, given that it requires a lot of watering. It does just that though. Here are some of the many uses of marshmallow:

• As an effective and safe cough suppressant to help everyone sleep better, particularly with dry coughs,
• To treat inflammation of the mucous membranes that line the respiratory tract,
• As a poultice for skin ulcers, inflammation or burns, and for other wounds
• To ease inflammation of the lining of the stomach and stomach ulcers,
• To mitigate diarrhea or ease constipation,
• To help with urinary tract inflammation, and stones in the urinary tract.

Herbalists know that marshmallow works as a cough suppressant and for once the reason is fairly simple. The slippery, sticky, almost mucus-like property of the plant and its extracts coat the throat and openings to airways, like a soothing salve would coat chapped skin. Marshmallow tea or syrup is very useful for this. A 2007 study claims that marshmallow is more effective than many pharmaceutical cough suppressants and it is safer for kids and people who need to drive.

The same principle applies to many other uses for marshmallow. It's ability to coat surfaces in the body with a soft protective layer without allowing infection to fester is helpful in many areas. The most essential way that I use marshmallow in my house is that I make a cough syrup out of the flowers and I dig the roots for a poultice to be used on burns and other severely irritated skin. The cough syrup is also quite useful for any kind of stomach problem which is primarily an irritation of the stomach lining rather than infection. 

You can make syrup from dried flowers at this time of year. Steep several large handfuls of flowers in a cup of hot water overnight. Strain well and simmer the water together with an equal amount of honey on a low heat until the syrup thickens to about the consistency of honey. Store in the refrigerator for up to six months and take whenever you have an irritating cough, scratchiness in the throat or stomach pain.

Marshmallow root - Creative Commons image by Victor M. Vicente Selvas

This is the time of year to dig marshmallow roots, because they have a higher mucilage content in the autumn than in the spring.  Don't dig roots if the plant is less than two years old. Dig up mature roots with a spade or by hand and get rid of the lateral rootlets. Wash, peel, chop and dry the large roots. Keep an eye on drying marshmalow roots so that mildew doesn't grow on them or use a drier on a low setting (less than 90 degrees Fahrenheit). 

Other than making cough syrups, poultices, tinctures and teas, here are some other excellent uses for marshmallow root:

Marshmallow Root Hair Detangler

• a recycled spray bottle
• 1 1/2 cups water (distilled if possible or otherwise soft water)
• 3 tablespoons of marshmallow root pieces
• 2 tablespoons leave-in conditioner. You do actually have to use store-bought conditioner for this but you get to use so little of it for a large amount of detangler that you can afford to buy expensive natural conditioner and it can last years.
• 10 to 20 dropps of essential oil for fragrance (This is optional but lavender, mint, lemon balm or other essential oils make a good scent)

Instructions:

1. Boil water in a small pan and add the marshmallow root. Simmer on low heat for 30 minutes
2. Let it cool some but not all the way and strain.
3. Pour the resulting infusion into your spray bottle.
4. Add conditioner and essential oils.
5. Shake to mix it up.
6. Spray this detangler on wet hair as leave-in conditioner. 

Reasonably Healthy marshmallows

I'm told that the "real way" to make herbal marshmallows is to use powdered root that gels all by itself. But powdering the tough root sounds like a challenge and the rest of the process is also a bit more complex. Here is an easy alternative, that still includes the health benefits of marshmallow. Particularly in case of a child with a cough, this is one medicine you shouldn't have to force down.

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp of gelatin powder 
• 1 cup of hot water
• 1 tbsp of dried marshmallow root pieces
• 1 cup of honey
• 1 tsp of flavoring (you can use vanilla extract, mint, lemon juice, cocoa powder or most other similar things you can imagine, plus natural coloring such as a few drops of blackberry juice.) 

Note: An electric mixer is handy for this recipe. 

Instructions

1. Add marshmallow root to the warm water and let sit for an hour (or even overnight in the fridge). Stir and strain. Make sure that the infusion still makes a while cup.
2. Pour ½ cup of the infusion into a large bowl or mixer bowl and add the gelatin powder. Whisk sand let it sit.
3. Pour the other ½ cup of the infusion and the honey into the small pan.
4. Slowly bring the honey mixture to a boil. Keep it boiling and stir constantly for 8 minutes.
5. Slowly pour the honey/water mixture into the bowl with the now-hardened gelatin mix. While pouring, blend the mixture with an electric mixer on medium until all the honey mixture is added.
6. Then turn the mixer to high and beat the mixture for another 10-15 minutes or until it forms a stiff cream the consistency of marshmallow cream and forms gentle peeks.
7. Add any flavorings or dyes for the last 2 minutes of mixing (except cocoa powder which can be added to the honey mix in the saucepan).
8. Grease a baking dish, molds or ice cube trays or line with parchment paper, leaving some on the sides to be able to pull up.
9. When marshmallow mixture is whipped, pour it into the pan and smooth evenly.
10. Let sit at least 4 hours or overnight.
11. Flip it on to a cutting board and cut with a well oiled pizza cutter or knife, if you haven't used small molds.
12. Store in an airtight container in the pantry, NOT the fridge or root cellar. They will melt in a moist environment. Should last about two or three weeks.

I love your comments on these posts. Drop a note below and let me know how you have used herbs in your home. Exchanging information about herbs hearth to hearth is the oldest form of medicine. Share this post with your friends or plan a marshmallow party.

Dandelion root is buried treasure: Home Medicine Cycle 22

"I have a present for you, Mama," my six-year-old daughter announced the other day.

Creative Commons image by Alex Graves

She drew her hand out from behind her back and presented me with a bundle of fresh dandelion leaves tied with a red ribbon. What kid doesn't love to bring their parent mud pies and "dinner" made out of leaves, pretending to cook. My kids get to do the real thing. It is usually the spring that brings on the harvest of tender dandelion leaves and petals to be added to our salads. But this year a summer drought made much of the plants go dormant and fall rains have simulated a second spring. Hence this gift of morning greens.

I am pleased to see that all of the leaves actually appear to be dandelion. All the grass and other weeds have been cleaned out. This is real food and kids learning hundred-thousand-year-old art of gathering. 

When we can we'll often eat flower petals and leaves (dandelion, violets, daisies, calendula and others) on our salads. And my kids have recently fallen in love with a recipe for flower-petal-flavored muffins. Dandelion leaves contain particularly healthy amounts of vitamins and minerals, much like other dark leafy greens and they have a flavor that even the kids accept, when chopped fine. But as much as I love to eat dandelion leaves even before the spring spinach is up, I know that they are really primarily markers for the buried treasure beneath.

I am writing about dandelion in September rather than in the spring because the most potent medicine in dandelion is held in the roots, which are best harvested in the fall. If you pay attention to where dandelions grow in areas that are not treated with any chemicals, you will be able to dig the roots up and use them to make tinctures and teas as a potent prevention against chemical toxins, cancer of various types and influenza. 

Dandelion has been considered a "detoxifying" or "tonic" herb for centuries. Many herbalists recommend a "spring tonic" consisting of drinking dandelion root tea (sometimes combined with nettle leaves or burdock root) for a couple of weeks in the spring to cleanse the body of the chemical residues of winter smog and mold. This can be very helpful and result in a burst of energy. The chemical reactions that make this tonic work, lead to even more startling uses however. 

Harvesting dandelion roots - Creative Commons image by Seth Woodworth 

A study has found that dandelion and other herbs protect DNA against damaging toxins. Dandelion is particularly valuable in protecting the liver from toxins, including alcohol poisoning. And the root has also been found to combat the formation of cancerous tumors in mice and to assist in the treatment of prostate and breast cancer. Even more exciting is a study that shows dandelion to be potent in treating chemo-resistant melanoma, one of the most dangerous cancers for younger people. It may also protect against chemically induced lung injuries. 

In short, science is just beginning to make use of the wonderful ability of dandelion root to mitigate the harmful effects of the toxins that have proliferated in our modern environment. How fortunate that dandelions are as prolific as the dangers. 

Likewise, dandelion root tea has been found to have surprising antiviral potency specifically against varieties of the influenza virus. Unlike pharmaceutical antivirals, dandelion is chemically complex and effective against a wider range of virus mutations. 

Dandelion also contains anti-microbial, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory compounds that help in the treatment and prevention of a list of digestive problems including intestinal infections and chemical-induced pancreatitis,

I expect to be using a lot more dandelion root in the future both for it's protection against toxins and carcinogenic substances but also for its antiviral and antibacterial properties. As always, I have to stress that it is important to combine home medicine with professional help when one encounters a major health problem. No one can prescribe medicine over the internet and this isn't medical advice for a specific ailment. However, there are very few reports of adverse reactions to dandelion root and many of the studies listed have included checks for the safety of the herb. This is another good one for the home herb cabinet. 

Herbalist Kids: Speedy healing nettle wash with superpowers

I'm going to drop the occasional herbalist-kid tip in here under the Herbalist Kids tab.

Here's an ultra simple how-to from six-year-old Shaye and four-year-old Marik on how to cure a painful allergic reaction on your skin FAST! This really works and doesn't hurt at all. Instant relief if you can get it brewed quick.

Here's the timeline according to the phone that took the pictures.

10:10 - Marik falls on his arm in a patch of stinging nettles while playing with his new soccer ball. These are big, mean Eastern European nettles. They cause an allergic reaction that leaves blisters and it hurts like the dickens. Marik has painful blisters all over his arm. BUT nettles also contain the antidote to the allergic reaction you get from them and to a lot of other allergic reactions too. (You can use the same remedy to relieve mosquito bites, insect bites and stings, skin allergies from strawberries and other skin reactions as well.)

10:12 - Big sister Shaye swings into action, picking some of the offending nettles with a rubber glove and putting them in a cup.

10:14 - Mama puts some boiling water in the cup and Shaye stirs the nettle infusion while it steeps for a few minutes.

If we had time we'd let this brew longer, but Marik's arm really hurts.

10:16 - Shaye puts a clean cloth into the hot water, takes it out and waves it in the air to cool it. You might want to let a grownup help if you are doing this while the water is still hot (like we did).

10:17 - Marik puts the cooled cloth that's wet with nettle tea on his arm. It's instant relief! The nettle burn stops stinging immediately. He's so excited that he can hardly sit still for a picture.

10:20 - The blisters are all gone. Bye bye stinging allergic reaction! Pretty good for ten-minute herbal first aid by a six-year-old! 

This is a simple herbalist trick that kids can do. It's good to know that nettles sting only when they're fresh. If you dry them or cook them, they lose their sting. Nettles are delicious in rice, or steamed with butter and lemon juice. Grownups sometimes drink nettle tea and it is good, but drinking a lot of it every day might not be good for kids.

Before you eat a new plant or use a new herb (like nettles) for medicine, it's a good idea to try it out just a little first. Especially if you have any allergies. Try nettles by pouring boiling water over nettles the way Shaye did. Be a bit more patient and let it cool off. Then dip your finger in and take it out again. Wait a few hours. If your finger feels itchy or gets read, you might have an allergy to the good medicine in nettles as well as to their sting. If not, try washing your hands with the nettle tea. Almost no one is allergic to the good stuff in nettles, but it is a good idea to check anyway.

Almost everyone is allergic to the sting of nettles, except for our Papa. But that is because he grew up in a swamp with lots of nettles. And his dad and his grandpa and his great great great great great great... grandpas and grandmas and so forth lived in the same swamp. And they had lots of nettles. And they eventually got used to them. (Unfortunately, Shaye and Marik aren't immune to nettle allergies.)

Remember to ask a grownup before you pick or eat plants. Many plants look a lot alike and some of them can really hurt you. Plants have strong medicine and we have to be careful with it. We hope you have fun trying out our Speedy Healing Nettle Wash with Superpowers. Tell your friends about it! No one should ever have to suffer from these blisters for a long time.

If it works it works - the controversy over Echinacea: Home Medicine Cycle 21

I had a fight with a doctor friend about Echinacea.  My family has used  Echinacea for cold and flu prevention and early treatment for decades. I now grow it in my garden. (It was very hard to start but it's pretty and stalwart once started.) But my friend who's a doctor insisted that clinical trials have shown it to be ineffective medicinally.

Creative Commons image by Arie Farnam

I looked into the studies on Echinacea and it is true that the more widely publicized studies on the plant are disappointing. If they show any medicinal benefit it is minimal. I was confused because I've had good results with Echinacea tincture. So I looked closer. What I found was that all eight of the studies cited in my friend's medical database were run exactly the same way. They all used  freeze-dried echinacea juice to treat acute upper respiratory infections (essentially colds). The age and processing of the Echinacea was not specified beyond that description. It occurred to me that it was odd that the medical establishment had not considered using Echinacea the way herbalists do--as either tea or tincture.

I can't run a large study myself but I pay close attention to the effects of medicinals I use for my family. And over the years I have seen that Echinacea tincture usually reduces the symptoms of coughs and colds within twenty-four hours. The past few years have brought some terrible flus and coughs that had us and our neighbors hacking away for weeks or even months. I am not particularly susceptible to coughs, but even I succumbed several times. Each time I started taking large doses of Echinacea tincture and the cough improved for several days, at which point I forgot to take the tincture, because I thought the infection had passed. Then the cough invariably came back. It only stayed away if I took Echinacea for four to five days after the symptoms had cleared as well as during the illness. 

It was a hard lesson but over three winters, I have learned. Homemade Echinacea tincture will work for some stubborn upper respiratory infections (both viral and bacterial), but you have to take it and keep taking it for several days after symptoms have disappeared. I have yet to find another herb or medicine that works as reliably when it comes to acute respiratory infections. It also appears to help in prevention of colds or in mitigation of the symptoms if you take it when you are surrounded by people with colds or just feel the first signs that you may have caught something.

Through further research, I have found that there are actually more studies that show that what I observe with Echinacea is clinically proven. But for whatever reason, these positive studies are not as well publicized. A meta-analysis of many studies shows that most studies do in fact show a benefit from consuming Echinacea for prevention and treatment of upper respiratory illnesses. Another study showed that Echinacea is effective in mitigating chronic autoimmune disease in mice and other trials showed that Echinacea improves the modulation of the human immune system by affecting gene expression.

Some studies use air-dried Echinacea tea for treating upper respiratory illnesses, instead of tincture and their results are okay but not spectacular. One trial used Echinacea tincture and had better results, but it was in an vitro trial, rather than one using actual people, which makes it more difficult to gauge exact results in practice. 

My thoughts looking at all of these results are that Echinacea is sensitive to processing, storage, heat and light. The best way to preserve Echinacea is in the form of an alcoholic tincture. Recovering alcoholics and children should not use such tinctures and can either use a tea or an extract in edible glycerin.

Tincture made from fresh Echinacea flowers has a good effect in boosting the immune system and in fighting both viral and bacterial infections. Tincture made from Echinacea roots can be made to be even stronger, but it requires several batches of root to be soaked in the same alcohol. Most purchased Echinacea tincture is made from a single soaking of roots and it is too weak. Homemade tinctures made with fresh flowers or roots and kept strictly away from light and heat will work best.

Dried Echinacea flowers make a nice tea for children to prevent colds and coughs in the winter, but this is also best made with local or homegrown flowers because after about nine months the flowers will lose potency. The tea has to be sealed in an airtight container, preferably ceramic or glass and kept away from light. Teas bought in stores are often in light plastic that isn't really airtight and they sit out in the light for days or weeks before sale.

The capsules of freeze-dried Echinacea juice sold in just about every health food and herbal shop in the western hemisphere are largely ineffective. Some consumer studies have shown that many "health food" products that claim to be made from Echinacea don't actually contain any molecules of the plant. (This was a fact helpfully pointed out and documented by my friend the doctor.) 

The bottom line: Echinacea is a beneficial but sensitive herb for immune support and fighting respiratory illness, which needs to be processed locally, grown at home or obtained from trusted sources. 

I will continue to use Echinacea for my family. Safety trials have shown that it is safe, even during pregnancy and breastfeeding .

The controversy over the effectiveness of Echinacea in treating the common cold is much more indicative of the difficulty of studying colds than any problem with Echinacea. Colds are usually short-term and difficult to pinpoint in source, type and length. That has always made studying these illnesses difficult. It is even relatively difficult to observe individual cases. Many pharmaceutical cold medicines have similarly mixed results in clinical trials. So, the results aren't as dramatic here as with some of the other herbal remedies I use, but Echinacea is at least as effective as pharmaceutical medicines for colds and it's probably safer. Rest and warmth also remain crucial treatments for the common cold.

Feel free to add your comments below. Ask questions and discuss. Also please keep in mind that this doesn't constitute medical advice for a specific person and I'm not your doctor. Home medicine information is intended to be used with common sense and in consultation with doctors and professional herbalists who can see you personally.