4 ms·

Zinc for prevention and treatment of the common cold

• xenospn 2y ago
  tl;dr zinc does not affect or prevent the common cold.
  • cpncrunch 2y ago
    "The findings suggest that zinc supplementation may have little or no effect on the prevention of colds but may reduce the duration of ongoing colds, with an increase in non‐serious adverse events. Overall, there was wide variation in interventions (including concomitant therapy) and outcomes across the studies, as well as incomplete reporting of several domains, which should be considered when making conclusions about the efficacy of zinc for the common cold."
• SvenL 2y ago
  I think if you have a normal diet and no zinc deficiency there is no value of supplements, but if there is a deficiency it may help. This could explain why it didn’t help to prevent the infection but there was some evidence that it reduces the duration. Most people don’t eat much when they’re sick.