Extra help?

With more people turning to supplements at the first sign of cold or flu, chicken soup’s getting a run for its money. But what’s the science?
By Elena Conis, Special to The Times
February 18, 2008
» Discuss Article    (46 Comments)

Americans are increasingly heading to the supplements aisle at the first sign of a sniffle. Some believe that supplements are an effective way to head off a cold or the flu. Others are wary of the side effects associated with over-the-counter drugs, or alarmed about the risks cold medicines appear to pose to children.

Sales of cold and flu supplements have grown so much (8% in 2006, compared to 2% for over-the-counter drugs), that more traditional cold and flu brands have taken note. Even the mainstream Theraflu now makes a formulation, Fortifense, containing zinc, echinacea and vitamin C.

 
But are supplements worth the money spent on them? If the goal is a quick recovery or rapid relief from symptoms, the answer is probably not. If the goal is prevention, the answer is ... maybe, depending on the product, its dose and timing.




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Discussion

What's your favorite cold remedy? Does it always work for you?
This discussion board is archived. Comments will no longer be posted.
 
1. We drink Greek Mountain tea whenever a family member gets a cold. I'm not sure of the medicinal contents, but the tea helps alot with a stuffy nose and seems to shorten the duration of a cold. Its a light herbal tea that you can get from most Greek stores. It has no caffeine that I know of, so my wife also prepares it for our daughter when she gets the sniffles.
Submitted by: Mike M
8:15 AM PDT, Mar 24, 2008
 
2. If one looks at the scientific trials and evidence, vitamin C and zinc have proven to have unclear evidence that these therapies work for cold and allergies, it works in certain cases but cannot necessarily prevent an onset, see this site for details: http://www.rvita.com/conditions/cold/remedy/vitamin-c.html
Submitted by: Neil
12:43 PM PDT, Mar 18, 2008
 
3. To Nick the doctor and Amy. Want to read a good article on colloidal silver and virus written by a couple of MD's? http://www.imref.org/articles/pdfs/Townsend_II.pdf Anna is correct - there are certain virus that surround themselves with fatty cells - lipids. These viruses are known as lipid viruses. http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/download/figures/1471-2334-2-4-2.PDF And Jim - people turn blue by drinking too much of a too strong - usually home brewed product. Use a 10 ppm product and you can according to the EPA take 7 teaspoons per day for 70 years and still keep your color!
Submitted by: Peter
9:22 AM PDT, Mar 15, 2008
 
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