How Echinacea Tea Helps Promote a Healthy Lifestyle
How Echinacea Tea Prevents Chronic Disease
Echinacea Tea and Cancer
Most research on echinacea is confined to animal studies, but the results of these studies have revealed echinacea’s potential as a natural cancer therapeutic. In one mice study, echinacea extended the lifespan of mice and assisted natural functions that fight leukemia, suggesting that echinacea has some human cancer fighting capacity as well. (1) Echinacea has minimal antioxidant activity, but it can specifically target some sources of free radicals to protect against, mainly, leukemia and related cancers. (2)
Echinacea Tea and Cardiovascular Disease
There are multiple forms of cholesterol, with some, namely LDL cholesterol, considered bad for your health due to their implication in heart disease and stroke. LDL cholesterol endangers the heart specifically when it oxidizes and sticks to the walls of arteries. Echinacea inhibits the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, minimizing its ability to cause serious heart complications and cardiac events. (3)
Other Health Benefits
Immune Health
Echinacea can most profoundly impact the immune system. It is notably effective in fighting against respiratory infections. Echinacea supplement performs a dual action against respiratory bacteria: it suppresses inflammation, thereby assisting normal respiratory function, and kills bacteria. In one study, streptococcus pyogenes, which causes sore throats and coughs, was entirely dispatched by echinacea extract supplementation. (4)
Echinacea enhances other immune responses as well. It recruits enzymes and immune cells throughout the body to target and attack foreign bodies. (5)
Skin Health
At times, acne vulgaris, the bacteria that causes acne, is precluded from the antimicrobial activity of dietary supplements. Luckily, the bacterial response of echinacea recognizes acne vulgaris. The combination of plant phytochemicals, antioxidants, and other bioactive ingredients found in echinacea is great for skin health. (6)