Echinacea: Not just for colds anymore! In addition to its well-touted immune system benefits, the supplement could also help you run longer and stronger, says a new study from the University of Southern Mississippi.
The Southern Miss team split 24 healthy young men into two groups, and gave half a daily supplement containing 8,000 milligrams of echinacea. The other half was given a placebo.
The researchers tracked the participants’ running economy—the amount of oxygen a body consumes to cover a certain distance—and VO2 max, a gauge of the body’s ability to transport and utilize oxygen during exercise. Taken together, these two measures are the best predictor of running endurance.
After 28 days, both factors had jumped about 2 percent among the study participants. That may not sound like much, but if you’re trying to beat your best time (or the guy next to you), those gains will give you a distinct edge over the course of a long race.
Echinacea’s power lies within its blood-boosting abilities, explains Malcolm T. Whitehead, Ph.D., an Arkansas State professor and study co-author. Echinacea increases the production of the hormone EPO, which in turn ups the production of red blood cells. Those cells help transport oxygen to muscles, Whitehead says. (If EPO sounds familiar, it’s because pro cyclists have been caught injecting the hormone to increase their performance.)
So should you add an echinacea supplement to your diet? Yes, but only if you’re a few weeks from a big race or competition, Whitehead explains. He stresses the results of the study were based on four weeks of supplementation, and those endurance gains could diminish over time. Also, some researchers think long-term echinacea consumption could mess with your immune system.
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