Zinc and Colds

Zinc supplements may reduce duration of cold symptoms by about one day.
ABC World News (2/15, story 6, 1:20, Sawyer) reported, "A new study" suggests that "zinc supplements taken within 24 hours of the onset of a cold can reduce the cold by a whole day." USA Today (2/16, Szabo) reported that researchers arrived at that conclusion after conducting a "research review of 15 studies" according to an analysis published Feb. 15 in The Cochrane Library.
The Washington Post (2/15, Stein) "The Checkup" blog reported that in studies involving 1,360 people, "zinc syrup or lozenges taken within a day of the first symptoms reduce the severity and length of the illness, the researchers concluded." And, after one "week, significantly more patients who took zinc no longer had symptoms compared to those who took placebos, the researchers reported." Moreover, people who took zinc supplements "for at least five months were less likely to get colds and miss school because of them," the researchers reported.