Echinacea

Echinacea is in bloom. For those of you who don’t know this plant – it a healing wonder and gained a lot of popularity over the last decade. Echinacea Purpurea or Purple Coneflower is a popular ornamental – like Black-Eyed Susans….but its root is highly medicinal.

Echinacea is popularly believed to be an immunostimulator, stimulating the body’s non-specific immune system and warding off infections. A study commonly used to support that belief is a 2007 meta-analysis in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.^[9] The studies pooled in the meta-analysis used different types of echinacea, different parts of the plant, and various dosages. This review cannot inform recommendations on the efficacy of any particular type of echinacea, dosage, or treatment regimen. The safety of echinacea under long-term use is also unknown.^[16]

Check out this amazing article at an amazing site – planetary herbs and the East West School of Herbal Medicine, a favorite herbalist of mine – Michael Tierra- discusses the use of echinacea in treating staph infections.

http://www.planetherbs.com/therapies/treating-staph-infections-including-mrsa-with-echinacea.html

Peace and Joy to you all on this day.