Use Planetary Formulas Yin Chiao-Echinacea Complex if you want to get relieve from cold/flu, runny nose and sneezing, itching of the nose or throat and itchy watery eyes due to hay fever or other upper respiratory allergies (allergic rhinitis). Boost your immune system and help the body fight infections with echinacea. Stop the cold/flu and infections in its tracks before it effects your whole boby. You can call it a cold relieving/defense formula.

Yin Chiao is one of the most valued of all classic Chinese herbal formulas for optimal health during the changing seasons. Planetary Formulas Yin Chiao-Echinacea Complex combines this time-honored classic with American's #1 winter botanical, echinacea. The addition of Chinese isatis and notopterygium, along with North American boneset and elecampane, completes this dynamic health combination. Chinese herbalists believe that cold/flu germs remain on the “surface” for a short period of time after entering the body. 

Planetary Formulas Yin Chiao work best when:

• Used at the first sign or during the first two days of cold or flu.
• Also used when exposed, or likely to be exposed to cold or flu.
• Disperses Wind Heat, Clears Heat, Relieves Toxicity.
• It is during this critical time that Yin Chiao can be most effective in reducing body stress.

Chinese Herbs Direct's Yin Chiao contains a precise formulation of nine different traditional Chinese herbs which act in harmony to offer a balanced, cold relieving/defense formula. Each tablet contains the following beneficial herbal ingredients:

• Jin yin hua (Lonicera japonica/honeysuckle flower) - removes toxins and heat from blood
• Lian qiao (Forsythia suspense fruit) - clears heat and toxins
• Jie geng (Platycodon grandiflorum/balloon flower root) - expels phlegm, calms cough
• Bo he (Mentha haplocalyx/field mint herb) - calms mind, expels heat, relieves cough, clears head
• Niu bang zi (Arctium lappa/cocklebur fruit) - relieves cough, purges toxicity, moistens intestines
• Dan dou chi (Glycine max/prepared soybean) - eliminates vexation, irritability, restlessness
• Gan cao (Glycyrrhiza uralensis/licorice root) - stimulates the immune system, aids digestion
• Dan Zhu ye (Lophatherum gracile herb) - clears heat in stomach, relieves cankers/painful gums
• Jing jie (Schizonepeta tenuifolia herb) - expels heat

Primary uses of echinacea:

• Colds, coughs and flu and other upper respiratory conditions
• Boost immune system
• Enlarged lymph glands, sore throat
• Urinary tract infections
• Other minor infections
• May help combat herpes and candida
• Wounds, skin regeneration and skin infections (external use)
• Psoriasis, eczema and inflammatory skin conditions (external use)

Today, people use echinacea to shorten the common cold and flu and reduce symptoms, such as sore throat (pharyngitis), cough, and fever. Many herbalists also recommend echinacea to help boost the immune system and help the body fight infections. Research  have shown that people who take echinacea as soon as they feel sick reduce the severity of their cold and have fewer symptoms than those who do not take the herb.

Echinacea increases the "non-specific" activity of the immune system. In other words, unlike a vaccine which is active only against a specific disease, echinacea stimulates the overall activity of the cells responsible for fighting all kinds of infection. Unlike antibiotics, which are directly lethal to bacteria, echinacea makes our own immune cells more efficient in attacking bacteria, viruses and abnormal cells

Echinacea facilitates wound healing, lessens symptoms of and speeds recovery from viruses. Anti-inflammatory effects make it useful externally against inflammatory skin conditions including psoriasis and eczema. It may also increase resistance to candida, bronchitis, herpes, and other infectious conditions.