Echinacea Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat are the health benefits of Echinaforce Echinacea?Echinaforce Echinacea drops & tablets may be used to relieve the symptoms of the common cold & flu, helping the body fight these & other similarinfections of the upper respiratory tract.
How does it work?Echinaforce works by strengthening the body's immune system; the benefit of this is that the body is able to fight infections better.
Are summer colds different from ordinary common colds experienced during the winter?No, these are similar infections. However, summer colds may give rise to more symptoms relating to the throat (irritated, sore or tickly throat) because of the prevalence of air-conditioning. Nevertheless, summer & winter colds behave in the same way & there are no differences seen with the benefits of using Echinaforce Echinacea.
How do I know if I have the flu?It can sometimes be difficult to tell. Flu (or influenza) produces similar symptoms to the common cold but these are usually more severe. In addition, you may experience fever, sweats & muscle aches.
Can I take Echinaforce if I've had the flu jab or vaccination?There are no contraindications to the use of Echinaforce Echinacea drops or tablets either before or after the flu vaccination.
What about swine flu, bird flu & any other new flu infections that mayc ome our way during the winter?Swine flu, avian flu (bird flu) & other variants of flu are all infections caused by the influenza virus. Echinaforce will help strengthen the immune system & relieve the symptoms of these infections in the same way it does with other flu infections or the common cold.
What is a head cold?There really is no proper definition for the term 'head cold'. It is a commonly used expression usually indicating that symptoms, such as a blocked nose or sore throat, are confined to the head.
Can I take Echinacea when pregnant or breastfeeding?The use of Echinacea during pregnancy or whilst breastfeeding is not recommended in the UK. If you wish to take Echinaforce in these situations, it is recommended that you consult a doctor or other healthcare professional.
Although there is no evidence that use of Echinacea by pregnant or breast feeding women will be harmful, only a few studies have been performed to demonstrate that it is safe to do so. In the absence of this evidence, the UK Department of Health takes the view that the benefits of using Echinacea in pregnancy or breast feeding are outweighed by the risks.
The Fresh Echinacea StoryEchinaforce is unique as it is made from freshly harvested Echinacea plants.
Vogel's founder, Alfred Vogel, was a well-known naturopath & herbalist who lived in Switzerland. At his clinic in Teufen, Vogel found that patients responded better to herbal remedies made from fresh plant material. This led him to pioneer the concept of fresh herb extraction a technique we still use today to make our herbal remedies.
Black Elk & VogelIn the early 1950s, on a visit to South Dakota, Alfred Vogel received a gift ofEchinacea seeds from Sioux medicine man, Ben Black Elk. These were brought backto Teufen where the first crop of Echinacea plants were carefully nurtured&used to create Vogel's first batch of Echinacea tincture, which he called Echinaforce.
Today, all the plants used to make Echinaforce drops & tablets are descended from the seeds Black Elk gifted to Alfred Vogel. During each autumn,Vogel harvest seeds from three year-old Echinacea plants, which are used to produce the seedlings for the following spring.
The benefits of using Fresh EchinaceaAlfred Vogel's belief that the use of freshly harvested herbs produced better herbal remedies was based on his clinical experience. Today, knowledge from thelatest scientific studies helps us understand why this is so.
Research shows us that extracts produced from freshly harvested Echinacea contains up to three times more active substances, such as alkylamides, than equivalent amounts of dried plant material.*
* Study: M. Tobler et al: Characteristics of whole fresh plant extracts. SchweizerischeZeitschrift fur GanzheitMedizin, 1994r in their own dreams until the age of 3 or 4
