Umcka ColdCare brings to America the current success story of the German market. With phenomenal growth, it's gone from being an obscure herbal remedy to become one of Germany's top new medicines. In the past two years sales have jumped over 700% — growing faster than any other brand. It's success is attributed to impressive clinical results, high consumer satisfaction and a fascinating history that originates from the native cultures of South Africa.

In 1897, an Englishman named Charles Stevens went to South Africa hoping to cure himself of tuberculosis. He consulted with a Basuto tribal healer who gave him a decoction of a local medicinal plant. Fully recovered, Charles Stevens returned to England with his mysterious remedy — which became popular throughout Europe as "Steven's Consumption Cure".

In 1920, a former missionary doctor, Adrien Sechehaye, learned of Steven's cure. During the next nine years he treated over 800 patients in Switzerland with a homeopathic preparation of the medicine. In 1929 he published the medical case studies. But with the introduction of synthetic tuberculosis drugs, Steven's remedy became largely forgotten in Western medicine — until its recent "rediscovery" by European researchers. That's where the story of Umcka really begins.

The Umcka Name: What the Basuto healer gave Charles Stevens was a traditional remedy made from the roots of Pelargonium sidoides — a species of geranium unique to South Africa. Among the Zulu, the medicine was described as "umKhulkane' (denoting respiratory infection) + 'uHlabo' (roughly meaning chest pain). Nature's Way introduces the medicine to America simply as Umcka For hundreds of years the Zulu, Basuto, Xhosa and Mfengi cultures have used Pelargonium sidoides as a curative for coughs, upper respiratory tract irritations and gastrointestinal concerns. Today, with the advantages of modern science and clinical research, we are able to better understand what makes this traditional remedy work so effectively.