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February 15th, 2011
07:37 PM ET
Zinc may curb cold symptomsAs everyone knows, there's no cure for the common cold. So most people simply suffer through two or more colds a year, often missing days of work or school in the process. Scientists still haven't found a cure, but a new expert review suggests that taking zinc supplements may help ease cold symptoms—and may even prevent the viral infections altogether. Nearly 30 years of research on zinc and colds has had mixed results and has been marred by iffy studies. To get a sound big-picture assessment of zinc's benefits, researchers in India sifted through the evidence and analyzed 15 randomized controlled trials—the "gold standard" in medical research—that compared zinc with placebo for the prevention or treatment of the common cold. Health.com: How to stop a cold in its tracks Zinc—a mineral that occurs naturally in nuts, seeds, meats, fruits, and vegetables—also appeared to help prevent colds. Study participants who took zinc syrup or lozenges daily for at least five months cut their chances of developing a cold by about one-third, on average. As a result, the children in those studies who took zinc missed fewer days of school and took fewer antibiotics than their peers. "These findings don't surprise me. We're learning that zinc can be quite helpful," says David Rakel, MD, director of integrative medicine at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, who was not involved in the review. "We know it is an important mineral for immune function and that it can inhibit the replication of some viruses." Health.com: The top 7 natural cold remedies: do they work? The authors of the review, which was published in the Cochrane Library, stopped short of recommending over-the-counter zinc supplements. Because the studies included in the review were so varied, they wrote, it wasn't possible to identify an ideal dose, a formulation, or a schedule for taking zinc. Still, Dr. Rakel says, "zinc looks pretty promising. We need to take precautions, particularly with long-term use, but I'd still recommend it to my patients at the first sign of cold symptoms." Copyright Health Magazine 2011
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Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.
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interesting fact...
I have always taken zinc and vitamin c when I start feeling the slightest bit of a cold coming on. It definitely makes a difference for me.
I'm confused. Is there someone on the planet that didn't already know this??
Since I started taking Vit D 3-4 yrs. ago I've never been sick.
Theramax cold and flu is actually from the inventor of zicam, no zinc in it and it works great. I know you can get it at Rite Aid.
I thought this was common knowledge. I have been taking a multi-vitamin (with zinc) every day for about a year. I have yet to get sick, have a cough, or my usual on-set of strep. If I remember correctly vitamin C is good to prevent colds, but zinc is what you need once you're already sick.
Hundreds of study show no benfit or even negative effects of taking zinc to "treat" colds, and one group of Indians publishes a positive study and now it is a "miracle drug"? Ah, media science reporting. On with the useless anecdotes!
Two supplements that absolutely work: UMCKA from Nature's Way and Esberitox from Enzymatic Therapy. I take these as soon as I feel a cold coming on & it stops it from ever turning into anything. These products absolutely do work...my whole family takes them & we are able to stay cold free all winter long up here in WI.
"...the children in those studies who took zinc missed fewer days of school and took fewer antibiotics than their peers." Great studies, obviously conducted by doctors who didn't know that colds are caused by viruses, so antibiotics wouldn't have worked anyway.
CNN latches onto the most recent study, but doesn't comprehensively compare to all the previous investigation
So before you all run out to buy Zinc products read on:
Extracts of pellargonium sidoides (such as Umcka, in liquid form) have actually been shown in blinded, placebo-controlled studies, to reduce the severity and duration of viral URI's and acute bronchitis (an average of 3-days fewer symptoms). This is a safe treatment, and apparently effective when started within the first 1-2 days of the infection.
Zinc, on the other hand, has still not been conclusively proven to work. These were not consistent or well done studies. The frequency with which zinc lozenges must be taken also makes it difficult to use. The intranasal forms have been associated with permanent anosmia since the mid 1930's, and Zicam nasal gel was nearly recalled by the FDA last year due to this potential side-effect.
In my family-medicine practice, I still do not recommend Zinc for colds. I have told many patients about Umcka (pellargonium) since the data is a little more impressive.
Other treatments that have been shown to be ineffective (or that have failed to show benefit): Vitamin-C, Echinacea, Oscillococcinum, goldenseal, pau d'arco, astragalus, larch arabinogalactan, bee propolis, boneset, wild indigo, and Siberian ginseng.
Bottom line, though: Colds get better regardless of what you do. If you want to occupy yourself with supplements and folks-remedies, go ahead. Just don't try to strongarm your doctor into giving you antibiotics for these pesky viral syndromes.
I'd like to know more about the interactions of zinc and other supplements. Just from my experience as a metallurgist, I've isolated my zinc supplement from most of my other supplements in my regimen, but it's more of a seat of the pants reaction to zinc and zinc oxide's reactivity with a variety of substances. I'd like to know more about if any real studies have been done on this regarding supplementation.
Whenever i get a cold, i switch to Marlboro ultra lights instead of regular lights, so that means the change of smokes is correlated to my cold suration or intensity, NOT...
Newsflash: DRINKING CAFFEINE KEEPS YOU AWAKE. Seriously CNN, tell us something we don't know. Gee, I didn't know Zinc, which is the number one active ingredient in most over-the-counter cold treatments, actually works to curb the symptoms.
I have a co-worker who takes Echinacea drops everyday and she is ill more often than anybody I know. Poor girl.
Zinc lozenges... taste like rotting garbage but work.
I took Zycam the nose swabs when they were still on the market and it did take my cold away, BUT replaced my cold symptoms with a severe, itchy rash all over my body that caused me to go to the emergency room. Because of this, I highly suggest to avoid all zycam products. I wouldn't risk it.
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Cold remedies are almost as common as the common cold, and many are nearly as ancient. The use of chicken soup as a congestion cure dates back centuries. But is longevity any guarantee that a cold remedy works? Do effective cold remedies even exist? Here's a look at some common cold remedies and what's known about them. ^`',
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