Hot tip on beating common cold: Take zinc supplements

Alok adds: if a cold is once in a while dont worry it increses fighting power and thus increses immunity. If it is subsidede my lime water then great go ahead and have 2 -3 times . But if becomes chronic then definitely try Zinc in vitamins like easily available Zincovit.  Zinc over all improves immunity and reduces chances of relapse of even other sickness.       Hot tip on beating common cold: Take zinc supplements London: Taking zinc supplements can help cut the severity and duration of the common cold,a review by Indian researchers has claimed.The review on the ability of zinc to prevent and treat colds,published in The Cochrane Library,was carried out by a team at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh. The team,which analyzed data from 15 trials involving 1,360 people,found that those who received zinc supplements within 24 hours of the onset of cold symptoms and continued to take them for a minimum of five days were more likely to recover within a week than those given placebos.This review strengthens the evidence for zinc as a treatment for the common cold, lead researcher Meenu Singh said,according to BBC News. However,at the moment,it is still difficult to make a general recommendation,because we do not know very much about the optimum dose,formulation or length of treatment. She stressed that their review looked at only zinc supplementation in healthy people.But it would be interesting to find out whether zinc supplementation could help asthmatics,whose asthma symptoms tend to get worse when they catch a cold, she said. According to scientists,adults catch between two to four colds a year and children up to 10 a year and there is little a person can do to avoid these infections because the viruses responsible are so commonplace.PTI   SURE CURE: Those who took zinc supplements within 24 hrs of the onset of a cold got better in a week,says study