The Common Cold Vs. Me in a Classic Battle

I woke up this morning with a scratchy throat, and my eyes burn like I didn’t get to bed until very late, or read for eight straight hours. I fear I have a summer cold. Is there a cure? Of course there is, it’s called the immune system. And when it’s working properly, it deals with most colds pretty quick.

My approach to cold relief relies on boosting immune response. Zinc, Echinacea and Vitamin C are the leading non-drug remedies for colds, and provide significant relief for most people.

Do these natural remedies really work? According to more and more experts, the answer is, “Yes.”

ZINC: CAN IT CUT YOUR COLD TIME IN HALF?

One of the most exciting natural cold remedies, zinc lozenges, can reduce the average duration of cold symptoms in half, according to several important studies. In one randomized, double-blind study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine (7/00) and conducted at the Detroit Medical Center in Michigan, cold duration was effectively cut from 8.1 to 4.5 days. The duration of coughs was reduced from 6.3 days for the placebo group to 3.1 days for those using zinc lozenges.

In a 1996 study at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic, zinc lozenges reduced the average duration of cold symptoms from 7 days to only 4. The study participants were employees of the Clinic. They started using zinc lozenges or dummy placebo lozenges within 24 hours of the onset of cold symptoms. The results: the median time for all symptoms to disappear was 7.6 days for the placebo group; the zinc group recovered in 4.4 days.

This study confirms results of several earlier tests. In a 1983 study at the University of Texas, zinc lozenges reduced the average duration of cold symptoms from nine days to only three.

A 1992 study at Dartmouth College, supported the efficiency of 23 mg. Zinc lozenges. How does zinc work? Zinc ions may interfere with the replication of cold viruses in the throat, according to George Eby, who conducted the initial study on zinc. But more recent research suggests that zinc may owe its cold-fighting properties to its effect on our immune system, rather than directly on the virus. In either case, many experts now recommend sucking on a 23 mg. zinc lozenge every two hours at the first sign of a cold.

ECHINACEA: HERBAL DEFENSE

The immune enhancing properties of this popular herb are now well documented in the medical literature. Over 300 journal articles confirming the effectiveness of echinacea have appeared in the past decade. Herbalist Christopher Hobbs recommends taking a “protective dose” of 6-8 echinacea capsules or 2-3 droppers of extract a day when exposed to others with colds or during the early stages of a cold.

These dosages should be doubled or tripled during a full-blown cold. Some research also suggests that large doses of echinacea work best in a ten-day course, but that smaller doses may be taken on a daily basis.

So armed with this information, I have ordered my supplements on line, express delivery, and because I have trained hard for this fight, am confident that I will put a hurt on this so called common cold, and will come out the winner.

I predict it will be over quickly!