Echinacea is a plant also known as purple coneflowers.
The roots and leaves of this plant have medicinal properties and are used as herbal supplements.
The Echinacea plant is native to North America and Europe (Germany).
Over the past 50 years, hundreds of studies have investigated the immune-boosting effects of this purple coneflower (mainly in Germany).
Taking echinacea in tea form can provide many health benefits, such as improving immunity, blood sugar, anxiety, inflammation, and skin health.
Here are nine health benefits of echinacea tea.
Table of Contents
1. Echinacea Can Treat Common Cold
For some of us, the flu is an inconvenience, but for others, it can be fatal. Doctors usually recommend receiving an annual flu vaccine.
Echinacea tea may shorten flu symptoms.
Studies have shown that Echinacea tea can reduce the risk of developing a cold by 58% and reduce its duration by 1 to 4 days (1, 2, 3, 4).
2. May Help With Healthy Cells Growth
Cellular repair can be helped by any herbal remedy or food containing antioxidants.
Antioxidants destroy the aging toxins of free radicals that damage our body’s cells.
Therefore, drinking echinacea tea or taking a high-quality supplement may contribute to healthy cell growth, including other health benefits (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10).
3. May Help Control Blood Sugar
Echinacea purpura’s antioxidant properties are unique. If you are diabetic or prediabetic, echinacea may prevent blood sugar spikes.
If you’re hypoglycemic, it can also keep your blood sugar from falling. It is not a substitute for insulin therapy or other treatments for diabetes, such as carbohydrate management.
But one way you can control your blood sugar levels is to consume echinacea in supplement form (11, 12, 13, 14).
4. May Reduce the Risk of Cancer
Echinacea may be a good supplement for those seeking treatment for various types of cancer.
Cancer treatment weakens the immune system and kills some of our healthy cells, so echinacea tea may help prevent some of these side effects.
In addition, echinacea may slow the growth of malevolent tumor cells and block the ability of cancer to spread.
For women with a family history of breast cancer, taking echinacea tea may also provide benefits. To understand that for sure, we need more studies (15, 16, 17, 18, 19).
5. Echinacea Helps Manage Anxiety
Echinacea has been tested and found to be effective as an anti-anxiety supplement.
The extract helps to regulate the synapses that help your body and brain communicate.
While it can’t turn off the fear reflex experienced by people with anxiety attacks, it may limit your fears to physical effects and help you feel calmer (20, 21, 22).
6. May Reduce Inflammation
Echinacea has anti-inflammatory properties and can be used as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, ulcers, Crohn’s disease, and other conditions caused by inflammation.
Echinacea’s active compounds work with your body to calm the response to inflammation (23, 24).
7. May Lower Blood Pressure
Studies on the blood pressure-lowering effects of echinacea are ongoing and promising.
It makes sense that an herb with high levels of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds can help control blood pressure.
Anxiety and high blood sugar levels also play a role in high blood pressure, so echinacea’s effects contribute in additional ways to controlling blood pressure (25, 26, 27, 28, 29).
8. Good for Skin Health
Products that contain echinacea are excellent for the skin because they contain essential antioxidant compounds.
In addition, it may restore damaged skin cells, treat bee stings, eczema, psoriasis, and skin infections (30, 31, 32).
9. May Prevent Constipation
According to some theories, echinacea acts as a natural laxative and can help treat constipation. The best way to get the laxative effect is to drink echinacea tea.
Echinacea can enhance bowel mobility.
However, long-term use of echinacea for constipation is not a good idea. You should maintain constipation with plenty of water.
Dosage
Echinacea comes in a variety of forms, including supplements, dry root, liquid, lotions, mouthwashes, and throat sprays.
Speak with a healthcare expert to determine what type of product and dose might be most appropriate for a specific condition.
For tea making, many experts suggest combining four grams of dried echinacea root, flowers, and leaves (2 tbsp) in eight ounces of boiling water as a serving two to three times a day to keep the immune system healthy.
How to make echinacea tea?
Put 4 grams (2 tbsp) of flowers, leaves, and roots of an echinacea plant in a teacup. Bring the water to a boil and then let it sit for a minute to decrease the temperature.
Pour 8 ounces of water over the plant parts. Let the tea steep for up to 10-15 minutes. Strain to remove the flowers, roots, and leaves. Your echinacea tea is ready to drink.
Side Effects
Some people may experience side effects when taking echinacea. Nausea and mild stomach pain are the most common side effects.
However, people with autoimmune diseases are allergic to echinacea because the effect of echinacea on immune reactions is so strong.
Taking echinacea supplements and drinking echinacea teas is safe for children over the age of 2.
If you are nursing or pregnant, always consult your doctor before experimenting with echinacea (33).
There have been cases where people experienced side effects such as rashes, itchy skin, hives, swelling, stomach pain, nausea, and shortness of breath.
However, people who are allergic to flowers, such as daisies, chrysanthemums, marigolds, and ragweed, are more likely to experience these adverse effects (34, 35, 36).
Conclusion
Echinacea is a plant that is native to North America and Europe. This plant’s roots and leaves have medicinal properties and are used as herbal supplements.
Echinacea tea has several health advantages, including improved immunity, blood sugar, anxiety, inflammation, and skin health.
Studies on humans, however, are not crystal clear. For short-term use, many experts regard it as safe and well-tolerated herb.