1. Zinc. The mineral zinc, sold as lozenges, nasal sprays, and gels, may work by preventing the assembly of proteins necessary for a common cold virus to reproduce.
Although all the hype about zinc for treatment of a normal cold, scientific studies are minimal. It’s said that only 14 published studies that researched zinc the scientific way, with both placebo and treatment groups. They say zinc cough drops, don’t work. One well-designed scientific research reported a positive effect on treating a common cold with zinc nasal gel. But the study results have not yet been replicated.
2. Vitamin C. For many years, supporters of vitamin C have said using this vitamin supplement can stop a cold in its tracks. The claim is partially triggered by scientific studies that find vitamin C affects resistance to virus in animal studies.
But in human beings? Experts disagree on this slightly but lean toward the negative. Some say vitamin C has not been proven to shorten the duration of a normal cold. One 2007 research showed that if vitamin C is taken after a cold begins, it doesn’t reduce the cold or make it less severe. But when it is taken daily as a preventive treatment, not just after that first sneeze, it can very slightly decrease cold duration, by about 8% in adults and by about 14% in children.
Very athletic people, marathon runners, for instance, might cut their risk of a normal cold in half by taking the vitamin, the study also showed.
But Dr. Gwaltney does not agree. The weight of scientific evidence and the well-done research prove that vitamin C does not keep us from getting colds, says Gwaltney. It could possibly have some mild effect on treating colds.
3. Echinacea. The herbal supplement echinacea, like Vitamin C, sparks controversy among cold experts. Advocates say it’s an immune builder with antiviral properties and other benefits, so it’s good at preventing colds. However, two recent studies on the natural remedy have yielded conflicting conclusions. In one 2007 research, University of Connecticut researchers came to the conclusion that echinacea reduces the odds of developing a cold by 58% and reduces its duration by 1.4 days. But a previous study, conducted by Gwaltney’s colleagues at the University of Virginia and published in 2005 in The New England Journal of Medicine, showed no benefit from the herb in either reducing the severity of a cold infection or preventing a cold.
Echinacea drew a “no” vote from our three experts — Gwaltney, Blandino, and Owen Hendley, MD, professor of pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases at the University of Virginia, Charlottesvile.
4. Chicken Soup. Advocates of hot chicken soup, forever as a cold treatment, say it could help soothe inflammation that can make the symptoms worse.
The problem with proving scientifically that chicken soup actually works, says Gwaltney, is discovering a legitimate placebo food to research against it in a scientific way. We were contacted by a soup company to do a study on chicken soup, he explains. We thought we could use another hot fluid for placebo, he says. But it’s got to be exactly like [like chicken soup]. They didn’t find anything that was equal. Gwaltney calls chicken soup “a waste of time.”
That’s despite the well-publicized report published in 2000 in which researchers reported that chicken soup, which they studied in the laboratory, may have an anti-inflammatory effect on easing symptoms of upper respiratory infections. But the report doesn’t prove chicken soup does anything for cold symptoms, Gwaltney says, because it didn’t include a test of people nor include a placebo for comparison.
Even though chicken soup may not actively treat a cold, it can help treat dehydration that can be present when you have a common cold or the the flu.
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1. Zinc. The mineral zinc, sold as lozenges, nasal sprays, and gels, may work by preventing the assembly of proteins necessary for a common cold virus to reproduce.
Although all the hype about zinc for treatment of a normal cold, scientific studies are minimal. It’s said that only 14 published studies that researched zinc the scientific way, with both placebo and treatment groups. They say zinc cough drops, don’t work. One well-designed scientific research reported a positive effect on treating a common cold with zinc nasal gel. But the study results have not yet been replicated.
2. Vitamin C. For many years, supporters of vitamin C have said using this vitamin supplement can stop a cold in its tracks. The claim is partially triggered by scientific studies that find vitamin C affects resistance to virus in animal studies.
But in human beings? Experts disagree on this slightly but lean toward the negative. Some say vitamin C has not been proven to shorten the duration of a normal cold. One 2007 research showed that if vitamin C is taken after a cold begins, it doesn’t reduce the cold or make it less severe. But when it is taken daily as a preventive treatment, not just after that first sneeze, it can very slightly decrease cold duration, by about 8% in adults and by about 14% in children.
Very athletic people, marathon runners, for instance, might cut their risk of a normal cold in half by taking the vitamin, the study also showed.
But Dr. Gwaltney does not agree. The weight of scientific evidence and the well-done research prove that vitamin C does not keep us from getting colds, says Gwaltney. It could possibly have some mild effect on treating colds.
3. Echinacea. The herbal supplement echinacea, like Vitamin C, sparks controversy among cold experts. Advocates say it’s an immune builder with antiviral properties and other benefits, so it’s good at preventing colds. However, two recent studies on the natural remedy have yielded conflicting conclusions. In one 2007 research, University of Connecticut researchers came to the conclusion that echinacea reduces the odds of developing a cold by 58% and reduces its duration by 1.4 days. But a previous study, conducted by Gwaltney’s colleagues at the University of Virginia and published in 2005 in The New England Journal of Medicine, showed no benefit from the herb in either reducing the severity of a cold infection or preventing a cold.
Echinacea drew a “no” vote from our three experts — Gwaltney, Blandino, and Owen Hendley, MD, professor of pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases at the University of Virginia, Charlottesvile.
4. Chicken Soup. Advocates of hot chicken soup, forever as a cold treatment, say it could help soothe inflammation that can make the symptoms worse.
The problem with proving scientifically that chicken soup actually works, says Gwaltney, is discovering a legitimate placebo food to research against it in a scientific way. We were contacted by a soup company to do a study on chicken soup, he explains. We thought we could use another hot fluid for placebo, he says. But it’s got to be exactly like [like chicken soup]. They didn’t find anything that was equal. Gwaltney calls chicken soup “a waste of time.”
That’s despite the well-publicized report published in 2000 in which researchers reported that chicken soup, which they studied in the laboratory, may have an anti-inflammatory effect on easing symptoms of upper respiratory infections. But the report doesn’t prove chicken soup does anything for cold symptoms, Gwaltney says, because it didn’t include a test of people nor include a placebo for comparison.
Even though chicken soup may not actively treat a cold, it can help treat dehydration that can be present when you have a common cold or the the flu.
Are you searching for back links FREE to push your site up the rankings to the top slots so that you’ll get automatic FREE online website traffic? Sign up for free now and let us help you climb the Google Ladder!