Dr. Henry Cheng
When Dr. Gaetano Morello came to Cloverdale to talk about recent advances in natural medicine, he introduced to us a new calming agent called Anz-Ease® with him. He said that this was a new break through in natural sedatives and that this new medicine worked really well. As I always want to know how a medicine works I asked him what the ingredients were, and he said, “Echinacea”. I was surprised and I said, “You’re kidding? How can Echinacea work as a calming agent? It’s an immunity booster”. Then Gaetano explained that Anz-Ease® contains a special species of Echinacea called Echinacea Angustifolia. In fact this is the only species that has any action on the nervous system. Also, the amount of Echinacea in Anz-Ease® is very small, unlike the mega doses found in Esberitox® and other preparations designed for immunity. Product literature from the manufacturer maintained the same arguments but did not convince me of the mechanism of action. I still could not explain why large doses of Echinacea would booster immunity while small doses would sedate.
Weeks of research on my own only revealed a few studies done in Hungary showing the efficacy of this product. No mechanism of action was offered. The only other useful information I managed to dig out was that this species of Echinacea contains compounds that affect a kind of brain receptors called “cannabinoid” receptors. These brain receptors signal our bodies to relax and feel good. When such receptors are activated, anxiety would be relieved and mood would improve. I still could not explain why minute and mega doses of the same substance (Echinacea Angustifolia) would have totally different effects, until the first shipment of Anz-Ease® arrived in Canada. To my utmost surprise, I saw on the box the words “Homeopathic medicine” and the ingredients were labelled “Echinacea Angustifolia 3X”.
This was the ultimate revelation. Then I understood how Anz-Ease® works. I knew as a fact that Echinacea Angustifolia had been used in mouth & throat sprays because it has numbing effect on the throat and mouth. This numbing action is not found in Echinacea Purpurea and Echinacea Pallida. The numbing action together with the cannabinoid action on the brain receptors mentioned in the Hungarian studies were the main mechanism of action. Being a “3X” preparation, the ingredients had been potentized homeopathically and diluted 3 times, every time 1 in 10. Those of you who understand homeopathy would understand that low dilutions like 3X would act in line with the original action of the substance, in this case lowering the sensitivity of the nervous system.
Those of you who still are still confused at this point should look out for my homeopathic seminars in January and July. The nice thing about homeopathic medicines is that they are free of side effects and by and large do not interact with any drugs. Anz-Ease® can be used on a daily basis for long term stress, or it can also be taken for acute panic attacks.
Henry Cheng is a medical graduate of the University of London, England and is now Natural Products Consultant at Pharmasave Health Centre Downtown Cloverdale.
