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The INDEPENDENT, October 21, 2010
Zinc can help lessen the time you suffer from cold symptoms
The common cold – wouldn’t
it be great if you could take an
over-the-counter treatment that
would reduce the number of
days and severity of your suf-
fering? New research shows
that zinc can keep the cold
virus from replicating – which
can reduce the time you suffer
by almost 50 percent.
“The catch is that you must
begin the zinc treatment as
soon as symptoms appear and
you must take a dose of at least
13.3 milligrams up to eight
times daily for the first couple of
days,” said Susan Mills-Gray,
Nutrition/Health Specialist with
University of Missouri Exten-
tion.
Zinc is best taken as a throat
lozenge or nasal gel. “These
mediums allow the zinc to
come into full contact with the
back of the throat allowing the
zinc to reduce the cold virus
replication,” Mills-Gray said.
Shopping tips:
• Make sure the supplement
is made from zinc gluconate or
zinc acetate.
• Avoid flavorings made from
citric acid and tartaric acid –
these interfere with zinc’s an-
tiviral action.
• The safe upper limit intake
is 40 milligrams daily – this is
why most zinc supplements
recommend only using three
lozenges (39.9 milligrams) per
day. Using the larger dose (106
milligrams) daily as indicated
by research is considered safe
for a couple of days. Only con-
tinue such a high dose for
longer if your care provider has
prescribed this level.
• There can be side effects
with short-term, high doses of
zinc: stomach upset, unpleas-
ant taste in mouth, interference
with copper absorption and im-
paired absorption of some an-
tibiotics. Long-term dosages of
100 or more milligrams daily
may lower levels of good cho-
lesterol, suppress immune
function and increase the risk
of prostate cancer.
• Zinc nasal gels may cause
temporary or permanent loss of
smell. Some people also expe-
rience pain in the nose immedi-
ately after use.
For more information, see
http://missourifamilies.org/fea-
tures/healtharticles/health85.ht
m .
Source: Susan Mills-Gray, Nutri-
tion/Health Specialist with Univer-
sity of Missouri Extention
Just for Fun
Casey and Kyle by Will Robertson
C r o s s w o rd Pu z z l e
October 7
puzzle answer
Here is a Halloween
pumpkin to color
The people
always have
some cham-
pion whom
they
set
over them
and nurse
into great-
ness…This
and no other
is the root
from which a
tyranny
springs.
PLATO
Greek
philosopher
(428-
348 BC)