Every October, I start dosing myself up on Echinacea to prevent colds and take it every day until February. I have never had more than one or two poorly days throughout the winter.
This year I thought I would wait and see what happened if I didn’t take the herbal medicine. So is it a coincidence that I now have the shivers, jelly legs and a sore throat?
Needless to say, I have started taking Echinacea again. Is it really such a wonder drug? Research is divided on this.
Could Welshcakes please send me her special onion soup recipe to try out, it could be the perfect medicine too.
Soon there’ll be a Echinacea junkie helpline, Ellee.
I’m all for natural ‘cures’
but it seems the common cold has still got natural & scientific remedies beat – hands down
I guess sometimes you just gotta let ‘nature’ take its course
I feel brighter now and could actually do with a good dose of fresh air, only I’m writing about Economic Partnership Agreements instead and waiting for a couple of calls. I’ve just enjoyed some lychees, they were very refreshing.
My colleague used to take that but he still got colds! I used to be very cold-free, it’s only the last couple of years that I seem to be going down more often with them. Maybe it was lack of dog walking! Even though we had Harvey until this summer, he hadn’t really been up to daily long walks for some time. Let’s hope that having george will get me fit and cold-free again.
A few years ago I started taking St John’s Wort. Some time after that I went for an eye test and the optician was concerned that my sight had deteriorated quite significantly in one eye – enough for me to be aware of it. She asked the usual questions and when I said I was taking St John’s Wort, she looked up. ‘Stop taking it.’ Another patient of hers had simialr eye problems, stopped taking SJW and her sight improved again. I stopped taking it, went back for another test and, what do you know, my sight had improved. that experience is putting me off taking echinacea and other remedies.
I think I should blog this. At the time I thought I ought to do further research.
I’ve never taken echinacea but primrose oil’s good for PMT!
Hi, Ellee. Sorry you’re poorly. Funnily enough, I’d been thinking of trying Echinacea but hadn’t got round to it. I do believe in the onion soup, though!
4 oz unsalted butter
1.5 lbs red onions, sliced thinly
2 cloves pink garlic, chopped
3/4 pint veg stock
chopped fresh herbs as you like
seasalt and freshly ground black pepper or ground red pepper [Sicilians favour the latter]
2 slices toasted hard bread per person, buttered
Fry onions and garlic slowly in the butter in a heavy pan with the lid on – about 10 mins.
The onions should sort of melt. Add stock, herbs and seasoning. Simmer c 20 mins. Put the bread into soup bowls and ladle the soup over
Buon appetito.
Thanks Welshcakes, I feel much better now. I shall still try out your soup.
Ellee, there never has been a true scientific study which gave echinacea the nod. That said when I worked in hospital pharmacy half the staff swore by it anyway and gobbled it down faithfully. Now the latest fad is Cold FX, a special type of ginseng, to waste money on.
I hope you feel better soon.
Poppycock.
Never take antibiotics, always eat the leftovers of last nights kebab and take lots of vitamin C if you want a good immune system.
I can go a whole year without a cold on the above recipe.