<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Hi all -

Just wanted to share my recent experience with Echinacea, in the form of
Celestial Seasonings Echinacea Cold Season tea (gf).

I had a bit of a cold, so I started drinking several cups of this tea each
day. My congestion got worse and seemed more like allergies than a cold - I
haven't had allergy symptoms since going gf, so this was mysterious to me.
I also started to have trouble with a rash that hasn't troubled me since
going gf (not DH). (Note that even if I inadvertantly consume gluten, I do
not experience any reactions like these.)

Finally, I noticed a warning on a letter I got from Celestial Seasongings
that people with autoimmune diseases should not take echinacea. I stopped
drinking the tea, and my symptoms seem to be subsiding, slowly.

What I think happened - the echinacea got my over-sensitive immune system
all worked up again, into a state it hadn't experienced since I went gf;
hence the resurgence of symptoms that  hadn't troubled me since going gf.

My advice - heed the warnings and stay away from echinacea and other immune
system boosters if you have an autoimmune disease!

Chris Silker
Plymouth MN