We're fortunate if such warnings even appear on Echinacea supplement labels. Flareups of autoimmune skin disease have been reported in patients taking Echinacea. As lorna noted, this problem could potentially affect people with arthritis (i.e. the rheumatoid form), but would not be expected in the most common form of arthritis (osteoarthritis, a.k.a. wear-and-tear arthritis).

That comment may be a popular wisdom version of research re salicylic acid activities in plants. This pdf has some info; you can likely find much more: "Salicylic acid in plant defence - the players and protagonists" Gary Loake and Murray Grant An extract from the above states: "Salicylic acid (SA) is synthesised by plants in response to challenge by a diverse range of phytopathogens and is essential to the establishment of both local and systemic- acquired resistance (SAR). SA application induces accumulation of pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins. Mutations leading to either reduced SA production or impaired SA perception enhance susceptibility to avirulent and virulent pathogens. However, our knowledge of the primary signalling components activating SA biosynthesis and linking to PR proteins accumulation is rudimentary. ..." And an article from Fine Gardening mag is here: http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/qa/aspirin-cures-plant-headaches.a spx This post was edited by jean001a on Sun, Apr 14, 13 at 14:36

Carol: I'm happy and proud for Holly. Autistic children are VERY SMART, and VERY GIFTED. Jess: I was puzzled by the 40 lbs. mistake too, I saw your hand in one of the pic., it's a slender hand. I'm happy that it's only 20 lbs., due to the kilograms conversion. Twenty pounds is easy to lose. It took me 6 months to lose 20 lbs. when I had the time to eat salad & apple & carrot & exercise. Then I got busy & get into fast-food & IV myself with juice ... and gained back 20 lbs. WEIGHT-LOSS is a life-long-habit to MAINTAIN, rather than a goal to achieve. People achieve that goal, go back to the old habits, and re-gain all-over again. Jim: Thanks for that link on processed meat, I read the entire article. I wish it would say how many people were involved in that study, or how many test-subjects. Re-post info. from Huffingpost on tips to lose weight: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tips-losing-weight_562e8606e4b00aa54a4ab51b "Aim for 20 to 35 grams of fiber a day from plant foods, since fiber helps fill you up and slows absorption of carbohydrates. " Portion control: Popular “100-calorie” food packages do the portion controlling for you Eating mindfully means giving full attention to what you eat, savoring each bite, acknowledging what you like and don’t like, and not eating when distracted (such as while watching TV, working on the computer). Chew slowly, and savor each bite: Keep in mind also that the most pleasure often comes from the first few bites of a food; after that, it’s the law of diminishing returns. Thus, you should focus on those first few tastes of chocolate, cake, or other indulgences, as this may be enough to satisfy. Get protein in all meals: Some research suggests that distributing your protein throughout the day also helps in weight loss, rather than eating the bulk of it at, say, dinnertime. According to a 2015 paper in theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition, higher-protein diets that include at least 25 grams of protein at each meal may reduce appetite and thus body weight, compared with lower-protein diets. Limit variety at meals. Don’t drink your calories. Allow for (controlled) indulgences. Consider weighing yourself regularly—at least once a week." Huffington Post Tips. **** From Straw: I agree with the above. My lowest weights were achieved when I snacked on high-fiber & high-protein cereal with soy milk ... with at least 35 gram of fiber per day. Also at least 25 g. of protein for each meal, be it peanut-butter or eggs for breakfast, beans for lunch, or fish/meat for dinner. I gained weight whenever I forget to weigh myself at least once a week. Really love their tip of " Keep in mind also that the most pleasure often comes from the first few bites of a food; after that, it’s the law of diminishing returns." So true, I really enjoy the first 4 bites of peanut-butter toast, that's all I can remember ... the rest was just to fill my stomach. Dolly Parton stays slim with her life-long habit, she eats 3 bites of a yummy food, and NO MORE. Practice portion-control is actually fun, once it becomes a habit. So proud of myself last night, I had a sour fruit, so I grabbed a fig-bar, took 3 bites, it was too sweet ... Instead of finishing that, I told myself "You don't have to eat that, you can give it to God." So I wrapped the rest and put away, GREAT FEELING! It felt good to be in control over a piece of junk, and turning something over to God, rather than torturing my body with that.

Violet, I had this same problem two years ago. I got the flu, and it went into my lungs and stayed there for two months. Even after that I was weak. Then, six months later, I got it again for two more months. Then, a year and three months passed, and sick again for two months. Same thing, coughing and coughing, completely wore me out. I have tried EVERYTHING known to modern medicine and natural healing, holistic, etc. A virus can feel like bronchitis, but not amount of antibiotics will cure it, so stay away from them like the plague. They are lifesavers for sure if you have something bacterial, but if you don't, they wreak havoc with your immune system!! A good diet for restoring your immune system includes lots of whole foods, yes soups, and lots of vegetables for the anti-oxidants. Juicing could be good, my SO swears by it but I just ate a lot of vegetable based soups. Limit carbs and sugars! I'm not an all-or-nothing person, but I had to really watch that as I am a carb-a-holic. Probiotics, the ones that you get in the refrigerator section, and 30B count. Forget yogurt and sauerkraut unless you make it yourself, what you get in the store is dead, despite what the label says. Lots of fluids. The only herb that helped me was olive leaf, it is a strong anti-oxidant. I tried them all. I took a codeine-based cough syrup at night in order to get some sleep. Nothing over the counter worked. I only took it at night, so did not get addicted. Then, just rest, rest and more rest. Exercise did not help. Yes, maybe walk and stretch/yoga just to keep your muscles in shape, but exercise helps prevent your getting this, but once you have it, you just have to let your body rest. One day it will leave. Until then, listen to your body. Go on sabbatical. Rest. GET HELP! My house went to heck in a handbasket. I had to pay someone to help me dig out. And so it goes. If sis is coming, maybe she can help. If she can't, and it is stressing you, either get some help ahead of time, or reschedule the visit. You are on time out!!!!! Rest and time, that is the only thing you can do. I wise doctor told me that, one who had been through the same thing herself. She said sometimes the body just goes into this mode due to having absorbed a lot of stress for a long time. She got it after med school and the birth of her first child. Sometimes the body needs to reset itself. On the plus side, I haven't been sick like that for over two years, so you can get over it!! We want instant fixes. Sometimes we just can't get them. But you can move through this eventually! Allow yourself the time to heal.