Zinc prevents and treats the common cold

Posted on Mon, 4 Apr 11

If you take zinc regularly you can reduce your risk of catching a cold, and if you start taking zinc when the cold catches you, you will beat it quicker.

A large review of 15 clinical studies totalling over 1300 people found that zinc supplements significantly reduce both symptoms and severity of illness (1). Zinc has been shown to support your immune system and may even be directly antiviral.

Taking zinc within 24 hours of the start of symptoms was found to cut the risk of still having symptoms at day 7 of a cold by about half. And for prevention taking zinc for at least 5 months cut cold risk by a third. People who took zinc also had significantly lower rates of school absence, and prescription of antibiotics.

How much zinc for your cold?

Most studies used zinc gluconate lozenges, dissolved in your mouth once daily as a preventative and increasing the dose to one every two hours if you have a cold. Make sure your lozenge contains zinc gluconate, not another type of zinc, and is free of sorbitol, mannitol or citric acid as these may reduce its effectiveness (2).

It has also been suggested that as a cold treatment a zinc gluconate lozenge disolved in your mouth slowly (over 20-30 min) and containing at least 18 mg of zinc would be most effective (3).

References:

1. Singh M, Das RR. Zinc for the common cold. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2011, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD001364. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001364.pub3.

2. Braun, Lesley. Herbs and Natural Supplements: An Evidence-Based Guide, 3rd Edition. 2010. p. 1041.

3.  Eby GA 3rd. Zinc lozenges as cure for the common cold--a review and hypothesis. Med Hypotheses. 2010 Mar;74(3):482-92.