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Treat Colds Herbally

Use echinacea to treat colds, not prevent them.

For all of these herbs, follow package directions for dosage.

Echinacea (Echinacea spp.). The past few years have not been kind to everyone’s favorite cold herb. Since 2002, two published studies have shown that echinacea provides no treatment benefit for colds — one in the Journal of the American Medical Association attracted considerable media attention. But with all due respect, these findings contradict a great deal of previous research.

For example, in 1999, University of Wisconsin researchers analyzed 12 studies of echinacea for cold prevention and treatment. All eight of the treatment studies showed that echinacea provides significant benefit. Compared with untreated cold sufferers, those taking the herb had symptoms only half as severe and felt ill fewer days. In a more recent study, researchers at York College in Pennsylvania gave 95 people with early colds either a placebo or the herb (Echinacea Plus tea by Traditional Medicinals, five cups a day). The echinacea group reported briefer, milder colds.

The two recent negative studies are disappointing, but they don’t negate the nine studies showing the herb beneficial. I still use echinacea and I think it helps.

But echinacea doesn’t do much to prevent colds. In the Wisconsin analysis (above), none of four studies showed preventive value. Use echinacea to treat colds, but if you take it for prevention, you’re wasting your money.

Echinacea is safe for children with colds, says Linda White, M.D., coauthor of Kids, Herbs, & Health (Interweave, 1998). If your echinacea label does not specify a dosage for kids, use your child’s weight to calculate the dose. Adult doses are based on a person weighing approximately 150 pounds. If your child weighs 50 pounds, use one-third of the adult dose.

Andrographis (Andrographis paniculata). Andrographis is quickly becoming the new echinacea for colds. Native to India, China and Southeast Asia, this annual herb has a long history in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicines as a treatment for fever. In the past few years, it has come on strong as a cold treatment.

At the University of Chile in Santiago, researchers gave 158 adults coming down with colds either a placebo or andrographis (1,200 mg a day). By day two, the andrographis group reported milder sore throat and less runny nose. By day four, the andrographis group reported significant relief of all symptoms, with no side effects. Last year, researchers at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom analyzed seven studies of andrographis for colds. They found significant benefit.

Slippery elm bark (Ulmus rubra) and licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra). For the sore throat at the start of a cold, a tea of these two herbs provides remarkable relief. Wisconsin researchers gave 60 sore throat sufferers a placebo or a commercial tea containing elm bark and licorice (Throat Coat from Traditional Medicinals). The tea provided significantly greater relief.

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