Echinacea

Fresh echinacea flowers.

Fresh echinacea flowers in a cup.

Shredded echinacea flowers in a thermal pot.

Astragalus from the TCM Hall.

Fully organic, non-pesticidal fresh and dried echinacea flowers are good to have in the freezer to stave off flus. It is important to take echinacea at the very start of the flu (like literally at the FIRST sneeze). Once the flu has settled in, it is not quite as effective. When the flu has not quite settled in, echinacea gets rid of it before it even properly starts.

Echinacea does so by triggering the immune response BEFORE the numbers of the virus get too large. When there are fewer numbers of viruses, it is easier for the body to kill the infection. See HERE.

For echinacea to work, you need to have healthy levels of white blood cells. If your white blood cell count is low to begin with, no amount of early triggering of the immune response will help. To ensure healthy levels of white blood cells, my family takes astragalus once a week. See HERE.

Echinacea works only for flu viruses, not bacterial infections.

Method

(1) Shred the flower completely with a kitchen scissors.

(2) Place at the bottom of a thermos flask.

(3) Pour 250ml of hot, boiling water.

(4) Leave in thermos flask for an hour.

(5) Pour out to cool before drinking.

(6) Top up the flask with hot boiling water again.

(7) Repeat steps 1 to 6.

Nota Bene

(a) Echinacea comes out in pee. It is cleared quickly from the system. Instead of drinking the whole mug at one go, divide into quarters and take 1 quarter every 15 minutes.

(b) After 4 steeps, ensure that you chew up the flower. If you can swallow, do so. Else, chew and spit out the pulp.

(c) GNC sells echinacea in capsules. They are useless. That is why I grow my own.