Raiza Crème Newsletter #5
This month’s newsletter is about the herb Echinacea.
There have been some reports that Echinacea is not effective. The mass of evidence; however, disputes this. The truth is - Echinacea DOES keep colds away and it DOES shorten the duration of colds IF you use Echinacea of sufficient quality, quantity, and concentration.
Echinacea is truly a miracle herb. For one thing, it contains echinacoside (a natural antibiotic, comparable to penicillin in effect) that can kill a broad range of viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa, which makes it invaluable in wound healing and in the treatment of infectious diseases. There is a great deal of research that has reported Echinacea’s efficacy in treating colds, flu, bronchitis, tuberculosis, infections, etc.
Echinacea also contains echinacein, a biochemical that protects against germ attack by neutralizing the tissue dissolving enzyme, hyaluronidase, produced by many germs. Also, studies show that Echinacea contains substances that boost the ability of your body’s macrophages to destroy germs. And other studies from the University of Munich have shown that Echinacea extracts boost T-cell production by as much as 30% more than immune boosting drugs.
New research shows that there are compounds in Echinacea, isobutyl amides, which actually work as immno-inhibitors and anti-inflammatories. These bio-chemicals might explain why several studies find Echinacea effective at reducing the symptoms of colds when taken during the onset stage of infection.
Unfortunately not all Echinacea is the same. As with all herbs, there is a wide range of quality, potency and consistency among the numerous venders so you need to be an informed consumer.
Grade of herb - look for high-quality herbs grown organically and with their natural ratio of biochemicals still intact. Did you know that 99% of the herbs used by American companies do not come from the U.S? They are actually imported from Eastern Europe, and from many third-world countries such as India, and China.
The problem here is that these countries use large amounts of insecticides and pesticides in the growing of their herbs. DDT is still commonly used in Asia and organophosphate nerve-gas based insecticides are commonly used throughout Eastern Europe. It's also worth noting that most of the areas in which these herbs are grown in these countries are heavily polluted. The herbs are inundated by polluted rain and irrigated by polluted rivers. In Eastern Europe there have been no environmental laws for decades.
The reason most American companies use these herb sources, is that they are cheap - with herbs costing just pennies a pound. Good quality organic and wild crafted herbs cost as much as 20 times more. Before you use any company's herbal formulations, you should learn where their herbs come from.
Test Potency - look for the signature characteristics of Echinacea potency. When a droppers worth is placed in your mouth you can tell how potent it is by the amount of numbing and tingling you feel. The more numbing and tingling, the higher the potency.
Standardization - Standardization seeks to control one, two, or three "identified" active ingredients at the expense of all the other "active" ingredients that we don't yet know about. If used to boost the "value" of low quality herbs, standardization distorts plant synergy, and it disrupts the natural ratios of active ingredients inherent in the plant itself. Guaranteed minimum potency is a better alternative.
Find a good vendor - look for a vendor with a consistent reputation. Look for an herbal vendor with a reputation for consistency and quality.
How to use Echinacea effectively.
The important thing to understand is that the immune system responds best to periodic stimulus, as opposed to constant stimulus. That is to say, you don't want to use an immune tonic every day. It's not that anything bad happens; it just becomes less effective as the body becomes used to the stimulation.
Each month take a minimum of one consecutive week off from any formula you are using. Use a different formula to cover the time off. For example, when not using an Echinacea based formula, you can use an AHCC or beta glucan formula to keep your immune system at peak levels.
I hope you have found this helpful. Excerpts have been taken from Jon Barrons newsletter. For additional info go to – http://www.jonbarron.org
This month’s newsletter is about the herb Echinacea.
There have been some reports that Echinacea is not effective. The mass of evidence; however, disputes this. The truth is - Echinacea DOES keep colds away and it DOES shorten the duration of colds IF you use Echinacea of sufficient quality, quantity, and concentration.
Echinacea is truly a miracle herb. For one thing, it contains echinacoside (a natural antibiotic, comparable to penicillin in effect) that can kill a broad range of viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa, which makes it invaluable in wound healing and in the treatment of infectious diseases. There is a great deal of research that has reported Echinacea’s efficacy in treating colds, flu, bronchitis, tuberculosis, infections, etc.
Echinacea also contains echinacein, a biochemical that protects against germ attack by neutralizing the tissue dissolving enzyme, hyaluronidase, produced by many germs. Also, studies show that Echinacea contains substances that boost the ability of your body’s macrophages to destroy germs. And other studies from the University of Munich have shown that Echinacea extracts boost T-cell production by as much as 30% more than immune boosting drugs.
New research shows that there are compounds in Echinacea, isobutyl amides, which actually work as immno-inhibitors and anti-inflammatories. These bio-chemicals might explain why several studies find Echinacea effective at reducing the symptoms of colds when taken during the onset stage of infection.
Unfortunately not all Echinacea is the same. As with all herbs, there is a wide range of quality, potency and consistency among the numerous venders so you need to be an informed consumer.
Grade of herb - look for high-quality herbs grown organically and with their natural ratio of biochemicals still intact. Did you know that 99% of the herbs used by American companies do not come from the U.S? They are actually imported from Eastern Europe, and from many third-world countries such as India, and China.
The problem here is that these countries use large amounts of insecticides and pesticides in the growing of their herbs. DDT is still commonly used in Asia and organophosphate nerve-gas based insecticides are commonly used throughout Eastern Europe. It's also worth noting that most of the areas in which these herbs are grown in these countries are heavily polluted. The herbs are inundated by polluted rain and irrigated by polluted rivers. In Eastern Europe there have been no environmental laws for decades.
The reason most American companies use these herb sources, is that they are cheap - with herbs costing just pennies a pound. Good quality organic and wild crafted herbs cost as much as 20 times more. Before you use any company's herbal formulations, you should learn where their herbs come from.
Test Potency - look for the signature characteristics of Echinacea potency. When a droppers worth is placed in your mouth you can tell how potent it is by the amount of numbing and tingling you feel. The more numbing and tingling, the higher the potency.
Standardization - Standardization seeks to control one, two, or three "identified" active ingredients at the expense of all the other "active" ingredients that we don't yet know about. If used to boost the "value" of low quality herbs, standardization distorts plant synergy, and it disrupts the natural ratios of active ingredients inherent in the plant itself. Guaranteed minimum potency is a better alternative.
Find a good vendor - look for a vendor with a consistent reputation. Look for an herbal vendor with a reputation for consistency and quality.
How to use Echinacea effectively.
The important thing to understand is that the immune system responds best to periodic stimulus, as opposed to constant stimulus. That is to say, you don't want to use an immune tonic every day. It's not that anything bad happens; it just becomes less effective as the body becomes used to the stimulation.
Each month take a minimum of one consecutive week off from any formula you are using. Use a different formula to cover the time off. For example, when not using an Echinacea based formula, you can use an AHCC or beta glucan formula to keep your immune system at peak levels.
I hope you have found this helpful. Excerpts have been taken from Jon Barrons newsletter. For additional info go to – http://www.jonbarron.org
posted by George V. Schubel @ 12:59 PM
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