Loading...
Despite many published studies and reviews, zinc's reputation as a treatment for the common cold has yet to be validated conclusively. In a new review and meta-analysis, researchers attempted to sort through the confusion.
They identified 17 randomized controlled studies suitable for a systematic data review and inspected 14 of them for inclusion in a meta-analysis. In most studies, children and adults with naturally occurring rather than laboratory-induced colds were enrolled, and all studies were industry sponsored. The researchers' findings: With the caveat that significant heterogeneity existed among studies and the quality of evidence varied, zinc shortened cold symptom duration in adults by about 2 days. No effect was seen in children.…