Green Options

[Creative Commons photo by Matt Musselman]

Winter is close, and cold and flu season is here. That means lots of sniffles and a lot of tissues and over the counter medications. North American goes through about 156,000 tons of tissues each year, most of them during the winter months. Sales for medicines like decongestants also increase this time of year. When we’re sick, it’s easy to put some of this green living stuff on hold in the name of getting well. Here are a few tips for treating your sickness with less of an impact.

Editor’s note: Last week, we published a piece by our editorial intern Oscar Cardenas on the endangered status of many herbs used in alternative health practices. Today, we’re pleased to give you Oscar’s second piece on the subject, which focuses on the popular herb Echinacea.

Imagine an organism, native to the American prairie, whose value to people prompted wholesale hunting to fill the demands of a niche market. In the period of roughly a decade and a half, consumers managed to rediscover and exploit natural reserves of this species which had originally been utilized by Native Americans in the eastern United States. The organism, echinacea (not the American bison), consists of 9 species of plants, some of which are recognized as endangered by federal and state authorities.

What Is Echinacea and How Does it Work?

The blanket term echinacea usually refers to three species of this plant: Echinacea angustifolia, Echinacea purpurea, and Echinacea pallida. All three varieties are native to North America and are often packed into individual or homogenized mixtures that are marketed as immunity boosters and touted to either prevent colds or lessen their impact/duration. Echinacea can be used preventatively or post-exposure to shorten the duration of colds when the rhinovirus (the cause of the all-too-common cold) has invaded and incubated, causing symptoms (the sniffles). Doses are delivered orally and come in the form of tinctures, pills, or drinks with intake instructions specific to the product listed within the packaging.