Zinc for colds?  New Study Says Yes

A new meta-study suggests that taking zinc for colds can actually be helpful, but don’t expect miracles.  For a typical cold length of about one week, the effect was to reduce symptoms by one day.  Still, I’ll take it.

The study itself was what’s called a meta-study, which is when researchers don’t feel like going out and generating a huge amount of data themselves, so they go back and find a bunch of old studies that have already been conducted on the subject.  Then, they pick out the ones they feel are most relevant and add up all the data from those old studies, and presto!  Whole bunch of data to work with.

The advantage of this method is, first, it’s dirt cheap and fast, because hey, you don’t have to actually do anything other than find a lot of old studies.  Second, you get a big ol’ pile of data, because you’re summing up data across many studies.

The disadvantage is, these kinds of studies are SERIOUSLY vulnerable to selection bias.  Meaning, researchers have a sneaky tendency to cherry-pick only those studies that support their personal beliefs, and reject those studies that contradict those findings.

In this case, I’m inclined to trust these researchers, because they actually ditched two studies that showed a positive link between zinc and colds, but the quality of the studies weren’t so good.  Even with that, the remaining data showed favorable results with zinc supplementation.

Take Zinc For Colds Early

Here’s the thing.  If you’re going to take zinc to improve cold and flu symptoms, be sure to take it within 24 hours of first showing symptoms.  Otherwise, you’re probably not going to accomplish much.

My preference for zinc supplementation is a chewable that has about 30 mg of zinc and a nice little jolt of Vitamin C as well. I find, however, that if I take it on an empty stomach, I’ll get a little nauseous, which is common for zinc supplements, so take your zinc with a meal to avoid that.

Why is zinc effective for colds?  Probably due to the mineral’s role in the immune system’s ability to create T-cells, which help fight infection.  That’s probably also why you have to take it in the first 24 hours… just like the easiest way to stop an invasion is to fight it on the beaches, the easiest way to stop an infection is to beat it down before it can take hold in the body and spread.

Of course, other immune-enhancing strategies can help too, like avoiding sugar (you did know that sugar kills your immune system, right?).  Keeping your immune system strong year-round is the best strategy to avoid as many colds and flu as possible… think of using zinc like a last-minute boost to the system if all else fails.

Take a little zinc for colds (early!) and stay healthy!