Vita-Fit Echinacea provides 12000mg of Echinacea purpurea in each capsule. Echinacea root has been a popular medicine with herbalists for more than a century. Traditionally used for the treatment of infections, to help purify the blood and lymph, for snake and insect bites, abscesses, boils, ivy poisoning and wound healing, echinacea also contains components shown to have a mild antibacterial and fungicidal activity. These compounds have been found to slow down the spread of bacteria rather than kill them outright like an antibiotic.
One of the most popular uses for echinacea today is to support and stimulate the immune system, thus increasing the body's ability to cope with bacteria and viruses. Experiments show that echinacea can increase white blood cell activity and stimulate T-lymphocytes - both of which are involved in the body's immune response.
Echinacea's infection-fighting properties appear to stem from its ability to neutralise a harmful enzyme involved in the infection process. This herb also increases two important components of the immune system that consume and eliminate invading organisms and foreign particles. Macrophages are cells that are able to engulf and digest bacteria and other foreign particles and organisms. Neutrophils, a type of white blood cell, also ingest and kill bacteria.
The immune-supporting properties of this herb make it effective for the treatment of mild infections, particularly colds and flu, where it is generally used at the onset of symptoms rather than continuously as a preventative as vitamin C is used. Echinacea can also be useful for relieving congestion, blood poisoning, teeth abscesses and lymph swellings.