Ginseng unproven in U.S.

February 18, 2008

» Discuss Article    (46 Comments)

LAST year, Health Canada, the Canadian equivalent of the Food and Drug Administration, granted COLD-fX license to make a specific scientific claim -- something the patented American ginseng extract can't do in the U.S. The claim: Two 200-milligram doses of COLD-fX per day "helps reduce the frequency, severity and duration of cold and flu symptoms by boosting the immune system."

The Canadian agency's decision was based on positive findings from a series of well-designed studies. In one, published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine in 2006, senior citizens who took COLD-fX for four months were 30% less likely to come down with respiratory symptoms in months three and four than seniors who took a placebo. A 2005 study of adults who took American ginseng or a placebo for four months found that those on the herb had 37% fewer colds; the results were published in the Canadian Medical Assn. Journal. Another large study of seniors, published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society in 2004, found that the herb resulted in an 89% reduced risk of respiratory symptoms when taken for 12 weeks.

 
The herb hasn't been tested in children, and its ability to treat symptoms has yet to be tested.




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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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