Does Echinacea Work?

For the last month I’ve been taking Echinacea, the herb from the American Purple Coneflower. A lot has been written about its supposed physical and mental health benefits, so I figured I’d give it a shot. 

I’ve wanted to wait until after lockdown, when events might be put on and I might be out meeting people face-to-face, times when- normally- my confidence and mental health are most challenged. So, for the last month I’ve been meeting up with friends a little, going to a few events and, in case you haven’t noticed, touring local areas looking for beermats. 

I’ve not really felt a great deal of anxiety, but then, I haven’t since before the lockdown. Things have been okay. That said, there’s been nothing to really challenge my confidence either. 

I’ve looked for events, and I’ve felt good at the few I’ve been to. Approaching random cosplayers and asking to take their picture required boldness, but I haven’t particularly asked anyone about nights out as I’ve been busy with this slightly neurotic beermats project. Strolling into pubs just to half-inch their beermats has also taken a little boldness, I suppose, but that’s about it. 

How about fitness? I’ve been running to get fit for the upcoming Santa Dash in December, a 5km jog through Saddleworth featuring an expected 500 people dressed as Father Christmas. My first run came in at 49:00. I managed to push it down to 40:31. Dumbbell press, like bench press but with separate dumbbells, I’ve pushed up from 2x32kg to 2x36kg. I’ve focussed more on the cardio, getting closer to old PBs, but I haven’t set anything new. Body weight is steadily dropping. I was at 90kg at one point. I think today I was around 83-84. I’ve also not picked up any colds. Still early days. 

I’ll continue on the echinacea from this point until I run out. I might also touch on this at the end of this month when I review Blogtober.