Health knowledge made personal
Join this community!
› Share page: Email Digg del.icio.us Reddit icon StumbleUpon Technorati

Fighting Colds - What Cold Remedies Work?


Posted by Sandy H. Patient Expert

While recently reading the February 2008 Issue of Shape Magazine, I found myself drawn to the article discussing cold remedies. You see, I've been battling a severe cold for over 2 weeks now, that began with strep throat and has since evolved into one whopper of an illness!

So here's the skinny on the following 4 common cold remedies:
  1. Echinacea - This herb has been studied extensively but up until now, echinacea has gotten mixed reviews. However, a recent review of several studies with over 1,300 subjects in Lancet Infectious Diseases, has finally put the debate to rest. It appears that echinacea can in fact reduce your risk of catching a cold by 58%! I'll be sure to take it next winter before the first sign of a cold hits!
  2. Ginseng - In a recent study, Canadian researchers have shown that North American ginseng (2 x 200 mg capsules daily) reduced the incidence of colds by 27%, when compared to a placebo. Hooray for ginseng!
  3. Vitamin C - A recent review in the Cochrane Library found that vitamin C decreased cold risk for people who put their bodies under stress (e.g., long-distance runners). I don't know about you, but I am often under stress and it has nothing to do with running a marathon!
  4. Zinc - Using a zinc gel nasal swab, according to researchers at Stanford University, decreased the length of a cold and lessened its severity. Another great find.
There you have it. Four great cold-fighters to the rescue! As soon as I get better, I will be arming myself appropriately. How about you?

Have a great night!

Sandy Huard
 
Answers (2)
Sort by: Newest first | Oldest first

good points, zinc can also help with sexual performance, acne, and vegetarians deffinately need zinc supplementation. Great place to buy zinc and other supplements is iherb.com. my new favorite stor i've been raving about. You can even get $5.00 off your fisrt order by using this code: PIZ355 in the checkout stages of the site:  This product from the link below is $5.48, pay only $0.48 cents for it with the disocunt PIZ355! plus a shipping charge of about 2.00! cant beat this deal. 

http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=883&at=0 

swallowing a few tablespoons of cod liver will help you regain your health pretty quickly, as well as prevent future illness.
NOTICE: The information provided on this site is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your physician or other qualified health provider because of something you have read on Wellsphere. If you have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately.
Post an answer
Write a comment: