Conference vaxcat::holistic

    Does it matter in which medium I put the liquid echinacea?  I have an
    alcohol-free extract in a vegetable glycerine base. The directions say
    to mix it with a bit of water. Does it matter if I mix it with juice or
    tea?                                                
    Thanks,
    Sarah

>                       -< Can I mix it with juice, tea? >-

Go for it.

You can even mix it with bourbon, if you think it will
help you feel better :-)

    Well, if I could stay home and drink bourbon all day, I might not
    notice how terrible I feel.  However since I am at work I'll stick to
    the alcohol-free echinacea with tea and juice  ; )
  
    Thanks,
    Sarah

    Recently on the radio here in Ottawa, there was a program which I taped
    where a university near Toronto did a double blind study on Echinacea.
    
    There findings were that this herb made no difference when taken by
    healthy students. They quickly added that they believe it may have
    benifits for people who are not 100% healthy, but did not have enough
    time to do research on this. Sounded like they wasted their grant money
    to me when I heard this.
    
    Personally I have complete faith in this herb for when I am feeling
    ill. I take a preparation in tablet form which also throws in things
    like irish moss, hysops (sp?) and thyme. 
    
    Hope your feeling better soon, and have a good Easter.
    
    Cheers  .... Walt
    

    I mix it with both...at different times..sometimes I put it in water
    and wash my mouth out with it.
    
    It tastes like swamp water...if you mix it just put an ounce or so of
    whatever you're mixing it with. Them make a chaser...
    

    >Does it matter in which medium I put the liquid echinacea?  I have an
    >alcohol-free extract in a vegetable glycerine base. The directions say
    >to mix it with a bit of water. Does it matter if I mix it with juice or
    >tea?                                                
    
    I would avoid mixing it with grapefruit juice. There was a recent
    report that grapefruit juice was altering the effect of some
    medications, drastically raising the strength of some to undesirable
    levels.

    While I am not saying it will affect this preparation it might be safer
    to avoid it.

    Jamie.

    Actually, that might be a good idea.

    The Echinacea I get calls for 10 to 20 drops in water.  If that's
    what you get you might try a dose in water like that.  Then, when
    it's time for another dose, try 1 drop in grapefruit juice and 
    see if you get the same results and adjust future doses accordingly.

    I could be a way to save some money.  I don't know about where you
    live but echinacea is kinda expensive where I live.

    Tom

    Yup, it's pretty pricey. Hopefully I won't need the echinacea for a
    very long time, but when I do I'll try the grapefruit juice.  The
    dosage on this bottle was 8-10 drops. I remember reading that study
    about grapefruit juice enhancing some drugs. My sister found it
    extremely  helpful for migraines. By the time she realizes she's
    getting one, it's usually too late to stop it. But by taking her meds
    with grapefruit juice it seems to speed relief, and she can function
    as a normal human being sooner than taking the meds with just water.
    She also takes fewer pills now, since she gets results sooner!
    Sarah

    Tom....I like that answer.  It's expensive where I live, too, and if I
    could use a drop with grapefruit juice accelerating the "fix", I'd be
    thrilled!
    
    Lorraine