More on the Zinc debate

Here’s some good news for those of you who get hit with the common cold from time to time: Zinc may help to reduce your risk of getting a cold — and its duration and severity if you do get one.

A recent report in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews summarized the available data on the role of zinc in preventing and treating colds in otherwise healthy people, and came up with some encouraging conclusions.
The authors of the study looked at 13 trials where zinc was used to treat colds and two trials where zinc was used to prevent colds. They found that people who started zinc supplements within 24 hours of the onset of cold symptoms, and took the zinc for at least five consecutive days, had a significant reduction in the severity and duration of symptoms.

They also found that those people who took zinc on a daily basis (e.g., in a multivitamin/mineral tablet) were at lower risk of developing colds. In fact, when adults and children were given zinc for at least five months, they had fewer colds and fewer days missed from school. They also needed antibiotics less frequently.

Look for a type of lozenge that provides 13 to 25 mg of elemental zinc per lozenge; the dose is one lozenge, dissolved slowly in the mouth, every two hours during the day until symptoms have resolved.

— Sacramento Bee