Wait, Echinacea Really Does Prevent Colds

First, we heard from true believers who swore by the mysterious power of echinacea, made from the purple coneflower, to ward off colds. Then we heard from skeptical scientists, whose research suggested that echinacea was all but useless. Now comes a new analysis of 1,600 patients pooled from 14 previously published
studies, and finding that echinacea reduced
the chances of catching a cold by 58 percent and shaved 1.4 days off
the duration of a cold.  What took them so long to figure that out? Craig Coleman, an assistant professor of pharmacy practice at the
University of Connecticut and lead author of the latest study, said
none of the previous trials were large enough to detect echinacea’s
benefits. Read more about the latest verdict on echinacea in the Seattle Times.