If flu and cold season is approaching and you have looked in your local health food store or online for a supplement that may keep sickness at bay, you probably have come across echinacea. Although this supplement is readily available, a lot of people really do not know what it is, where it comes from or how it works. As with any dietary supplement, consult your doctor before using or purchasing echinacea.
Herbal Dietary Supplement
Although it may help prevent or treat symptoms of the common cold, echinacea is neither a probiotic nor an antibiotic; it is an herbal dietary supplement. Probiotics and antibiotics are bacteria; echinacea is a plant. The plant is native to the Midwestern regions of North America. Echinacea has several chemicals, such as polysaccharides, glycoproteins, volatile oils and flavonoids, that produce therapeutic effects.
General Uses
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, the compounds in echinacea may boost your immune system, relieve pain, decrease inflammation and have positive hormonal, antiviral and antioxidant effects. These effects may help relieve symptoms of the common cold or other non-serious sicknesses. Most people use echinacea in an attempt to reduce the duration and severity of cold symptoms such as sore throat, cough and fever. Echinacea is also sometimes used to treat urinary and vaginal yeast infections.
Effectiveness
Despite the popularity of echinacea, its effectiveness in treating or preventing the common cold and sickness is still under debate. The University of Maryland Medical Center reports that some studies show that it is effective, while other studies show that it is completely ineffective. Echinacea is available as a pill and is also included as an ingredient in many teas that claim to help treat colds and promote immunity. Whether echinacea will actually help you during cold season is uncertain. If you do try this herbal supplement, make sure that you purchase a high-quality version. Ask your doctor to recommend a particular brand.
Warning
According to the University of Arizona, you should not use echinacea if you have seasonal allergies to daisy-like plants such as ragweed, chrysanthemum or marigold. Since echinacea is a plant, it can cause an allergic reaction in people who have seasonal allergies. Echinacea is otherwise generally well tolerated; nausea and mild gastrointestinal side effects have been reported. If you are pregnant, you should not use echinacea.
