Zinc Lozenges

Zinc Therapy Reduces the Duration of Colds by Half.

Zinc may provide relief from the annoying symptoms of a cold, including cough, sore throat and stuffy nose, new research suggests.

Researchers instructed 50 people with a cold to take a zinc lozenge containing 12.8 mg of zinc acetate, or a placebo, every 2 to 3 hours for as long as their symptoms persisted.

Each day, patients rated the severity of their symptoms including:

• Sore throat Scratchy throat
• Runny nose Hoarseness
• Congestion Muscle ache
• Sneezing Headache
• Coughing Fever

The zinc group reported symptoms for an average of 4.5 days and those in the placebo group for about 8 days

Runny nose and cough appeared to respond best to the mineral. Coughing lasted about 6 days in the group of patients taking a placebo compared with 3 days in the group taking zinc.

Side effects of zinc lozenges included dry mouth and constipation.

But consuming high doses of the mineral for more than 3 days can be dangerous, investigators warn. Too much zinc can lead to a deficiency of copper, a rare condition that can disrupt normal growth and metabolism.

Researchers recommend that if there is no clear evidence of improvement after 3 days of zinc treatment, this could indicate something more serious than a simple cold.

Some researchers suggest that zinc may help to reduce cytokines, immune system proteins that help to drive inflammation, but the current investigation found no significant differences in levels of cytokines between the two groups.

Annals of Internal Medicine August 15, 2000;133:245-252, 302.

The central issue though is that it needs to be sucked on NOT swallowed and smaller doses more frequently seem to work better. I usually advise patients to suck on a quarter lozenge every 30 minutes. If started early on this approach seems to work well for the clear majority of patients.

Two cautions should be heeded though; if the lozenges make one nauseous they should be stopped immediately as that is a sign of zinc toxicity. If you follow this guideline and listen to your body you will avoid the copper imbalance referenced in the study. Also most zinc tablets don't taste very good. Anabolic Laboratories makes a great product.

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