This mineral can significantly increase your recovery from the common cold, according to the latest research from the University of Helsinski.
According to an analysis of three randomized controlled trials, zinc acetate lozenges may speed up the recovery from a common cold by up to three-fold.
On the fifth day of the study, 70 percent of the zinc group recovered compared to just 27 percent of the placebo group.
The effects of zinc were not modified by age, sex, race, allergy, smoking, or common cold severity. Therefore, zinc treatment for colds may have a wider scope of application.
The study abstract provided the following methods and results:
We analyzed IPD for 3 randomized placebo-controlled trials in which 80–92 mg/day of elemental zinc were administered as zinc acetate lozenges to 199 common cold patients. We used mixed-effects Cox regression to estimate the effect of zinc.
Results.
Patients administered zinc lozenges recovered faster by rate ratio 3.1 (95% confidence interval, 2.1–4.7). The effect was not modified by age, sex, race, allergy, smoking, or baseline common cold severity. On the 5th day, 70% of the zinc patients had recovered compared with 27% of the placebo patients. Accordingly, 2.6 times more patients were cured in the zinc group. The difference also corresponds to the number needed to treat of 2.3 on the 5th day. None of the studies observed serious adverse effects of zinc.
The researchers concluded: “The 3-fold increase in the rate of recovery from the common cold is a clinically important effect. The optimal formulation of zinc lozenges and an ideal frequency of their administration should be examined. Given the evidence of efficacy, common cold patients may be instructed to try zinc acetate lozenges within 24 hours of onset of symptoms.”
The study showing that this mineral can significantly increase your recovery from the common cold was published in the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases.
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REFERENCES:
1. “Zinc Acetate Lozenges May Increase the Recovery Rate from the Common Cold by Three-fold.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, n.d. Web. 11 May 2017.
2. “Zinc Acetate Lozenges May Improve the Recovery Rate of Common Cold Patients: An Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis.” Open Forum Infectious Diseases. Oxford University Press, 03 Apr. 2017. Web. 11 May 2017.
