- A new study sponsored by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine suggests that the herbal supplement echinacea, taken by millions of people each year to prevent or treat colds, actually does neither.
“This paper says it will not pre-empt a common cold, and it stands on top of prior studies saying it doesn't treat an established cold," said Dr. Stephen E. Straus, director of the Center. "We've got to stop attributing any efficacy to echinacea."
Anticipating an argument from some quarters, Straus said that the study’s methodology was both rigorous and sensitive – and the results definitive.
- Hannaford Supermarkets reportedly is acquiring four Graves Super Markets in Maine. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The Graves family said that it will retain one store, in Presque Isle, Maine.
