* Please Note: This information is based partly on Traditional Medicine which uses natural materials to support health. This information has not been evaluated or approved by the FDA. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These products are intended to support general well being and are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or cure any condition or disease. If conditions persist, please seek advice from your medical doctor.
Description
The bitter roots and leaves of echinacea (also called snakeroot, coneflower, or prairie flower) affect the lungs, stomach, and liver. Echinacea has been used historically for a variety of inflammatory conditions. Biochemically, it contains an essential oil, polysaccharides, echinacoside, a triglycoside of caffeic acid derivative, in E. angustifolia and E. pallida but not in E. purpurea, echinacin and other constituents.
Echinacea and the Eclectics
Echinacea was intimately associated with the "Eclectics," the great herbal-medicine movement of nineteenth-century North America. Eclectic medicine, founded around the 1850s by Dr. Wooster Beach, specialized in the integration of Native American herbs, homeopathic medicine and what was then the Western scientific knowledge of the day. They numbered in the thousands, highly qualified and dedicated doctors, including women (theirs was the first to admit women into the medical profession), who published numerous books and respected scientific journals. Their main college was located in Cincinnati, Ohio, where, during the Western expansion of the mid-1800s, North American herbalism (perhaps all of Western herbalism) reached its highest achievement. There was the distinguished work of such esteemed doctors as King, Wellingwood, Cook, Scudder, Felter, and the greatest herbal pharmacist, John Un Lloyd, who specially crafted the many herbal Eclectic medicines that were sold to physicians and used throughout the country.
The Eclectics, especially as described in the writings of Dr. John M. Scudder, were unwittingly pointed in the direction of independently evolving a system of differential medical diagnosis that was astonishingly close to that of the thousands-of-years-old medical systems that evolved in China and India. This included the evaluation of the tongue and pulse and other diagnostic indications.
By the late 1930s, with the closing of the college in Cincinnati in 1939, they had not yet evolved the principles of complex formulations used in China and India where it was found necessary to treat complicated disease patterns by combining herbs to work on several organic systems simultaneously. Around the turn of the century, Eclectics discovered and popularized the use of echinacea root as the sovereign anti-inflammatory remedy. Thus this most sacred healing herb of the Plains Indians became widely prescribed by Eclectics until their passing. Probably if it were not for the discovery of the wonder drugs, such as penicillin, echinacea would be one of the herbs of choice for the treatment of all infections and inflammatory conditions.
With the increased use of, and support for, the industrial-based medicines, the Eclectics' influence faded. What survives is the Lloyd Library, probably the greatest herbal medical library in the world. Located in Cincinnati, its numerous stores contain not only all the accumulated herbal knowledge of the Eclectics, but a current catalogue of books and journals on herbal medicine published worldwide. It is in this place, upon the ashes of the Eclectic forebears, that the American Herbalist Guild scheduled its first annual meeting in May of 1990!
Echinacea
Echinacea is the wonder herb for all acute inflammatory conditions. Generally it is mild enough so there are no side effects even after taking large doses There are paradoxical reactions experienced by a few individuals but this is usually alleviated by combining echinacea with a very small amount of licorice and ginger. Because of its mild nature, however, it should be taken in small, frequent doses every two hours and accompanied by a simple warm-liquid diet of vegetable broth and thin rice porridge.
Echinacea can work for even the most severe inflammatory conditions including boils, skin eruptions, pussy sores, venomous bites, gangrene, septicemia, poison oak and poison ivy, syphilis and gonorrhea, as well as any acute bacterial and viral infections. Whenever there is pus or red inflammation in a particular area, echinacea is sure to be effective, usually within three days. Thereafter the frequent dosage described above can be tapered down to only three or four times daily for a week or two after all symptoms have disappeared.
Recent studies in Germany, where echinacea has been in constant use since the early 1930s, have established its usefulness not only for chronic conditions but more acute arthritic diseases, certain cancers, and various viral diseases and possibly even helping in the treatment against AIDS.
Dosage: Of the tea, one-half cup; of the liquid extract, 10-30 drops; of the dried powder, two grams at a time. For acute conditions, every two hours; for chronic conditions, three times daily.
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Directions
Hot tea brewing method: Bring freshly drawn cold water to a rolling boil. Place 1 tea bag for each cup into the teapot. Pour the boiling water into the pot, cover and let steep for 2-4 minutes. Pour into your cup; add milk and sugar to taste.
Iced tea brewing method: (to make 1 liter/quart): Place 5 tea bags into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Pour 1 1/4 cups of freshly boiled water over the tea itself. Steep for 5 minutes. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the tea into the serving pitcher straining the tea bags. Add ice and top-up with cold water. Garnish and sweeten to taste.
Cautions
No known toxicities.
If symptoms are severe or persist for more than two days, consult a physician.
Echinacea is contraindicated in those with an auto-immune disease (ie. Multiple Sclerosis, AIDS etc.) or allergies to plants in sunflower family.
Not recommended for preqnant or lactating women or those with allergies to soya.
Additional Information
The TerraVita Premium Collection uses only the finest, purest and most potent plant extracts from around the world.
The TerraVita Premium Collection is hallmarked by the highest possible standards of purity, potency, stability and freshness. Our highest possible standards are certified by independent laboratories and backed by our personal guarantee.
ZooScape is proud to be the exclusive distributor of TerraVita teas, herbs and supplements in the United States, Canada and around the world. Please direct all wholesale and bulk inquiries to Simona Heather at 905-494-1785.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Products are intended to support general well being and are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or cure any condition or disease. If conditions persist, please seek advice from your medical doctor. The essence of the current American rule on Traditional Uses is, as stated by FTC, "Claims based on historical or traditional use should be substantiated by confirming scientific evidence, or should be presented in such a way that consumers understand that the sole basis for the claim is a history of use of the product for a particular purpose."
