Vitamin C useless in combatting colds

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/18/nvit118.xml

Vitamin C useless in combatting colds


      a.. Taking vitamin C supplements to prevent a cold is a waste of time
and money, say researchers. A review of 30 studies involving more than
11,000 people found that taking the tablets had no effect on the average
person.

  wrote:


But Echinacia seems to be beneficial...

 
Easy to claim. Hell of a lot harder to actually substantiate that claim.

 On Thu, 19 Jul 2007 19:33:32 +1000, "Rod Speed"


Oh, ye of little faith.
As a scientist, I would not make such a claim if I could not back it
up!

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/dn12126-echinacea-may-halve-the-risk-of-catching-cold.html

Echinacea may halve the risk of catching cold
11:58 25 June 2007
NewScientist.com news service
Roxanne Khamsi

A wide-ranging survey of studies involving echinacea suggests that the
herbal supplement can reduce the risk of catching a cold by about 60%.

Experts say that echinacea might offer a particularly beneficial boost
to people with weak immune systems. However, they also caution that
the long-term effects of taking echinacea remain unknown.

Echinacea supplements are prepared from a plant commonly known as the
purple coneflower, which is native to North America.

Many people have argued that the herbal supplement can protect against
the common cold, but others have said that more scientific evidence is
needed to back up this claim.

To address this debate, Craig Coleman at the University of Connecticut
School of Pharmacy in Hartford, Connecticut, US, and colleagues
reviewed 14 studies of echinacea involving more than 1600 subjects.

Immune boost
On average, the participants in these studies took 300 milligrams of
the supplement three times a day. Based on how often these people
became sick with the common cold, Coleman's team calculated that
Echinacea reduces the odds of catching a cold by 60%.

Moreover, when people did come down with a cold, those taking
echinacea were sick for a shorter period of time. The herbal
supplement seemed to reduce the duration of the cold by 1.4 days. The
average cold lasts from three to five days, Coleman says.

Ronald Eccles, director of the Common Cold Centre at the University of
Cardiff, UK, comments that the new analysis helps to resolve some of
the controversy surrounding echinacea: "Harnessing the power of our
own immune system to fight common infections with herbal medicines
such as echinacea is now given more validity with this interesting
scientific evaluation of past clinical trials.”

Researchers speculate that active compounds in echinacea called
phenols work to protect against cold viruses by revving up the immune
system.

According to Coleman, it is thought that certain phenols in the plant
stimulate the production of an immune signalling chemical, or
"cytokine", known as tumor necrosis factor-alpha.

Not for everyone
For this reason, some scientists say that only certain people should
use echinacea: "People with impaired immune function may benefit from
taking echinacea during the winter months to prevent colds and flu,
but healthy people do not require long-term preventative use," says
Ron Cutler at the University of East London, UK.

Coleman stresses that people with immune system disorders, such as
multiple sclerosis, HIV and rheumatoid arthritis, should not take
echinacea supplements. "Their immune systems are already too revved
up. It's probably not a good idea that they go anywhere near
echinacea," he says.

And Coleman himself says he is not about to start taking echinacea
supplements. "Honestly, at this point I wouldn't," he says. "I really
don't get a lot of colds."

He notes that people in the US who want to buy echinacea should look
for the "USP Dietary Supplement Verified" seal to make sure the
supplement has met manufacturing standards. Coleman adds that children
should receive only about a third of the dose recommended for adults.

Journal reference: Lancet Infectious Diseases (vol 7, p 473)

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Weblinks
Lancet Infectious Diseases
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/622214/description#description
Craig Coleman, Hartford Hospital
http://pharmacy.uconn.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id52&Itemid=
Lancet Infectious Diseases
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/622214/description#description

 

We'll see!!!


http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/dn12126-echinacea-may-halve-the-risk-of-catching-cold.html


This is the shit rag that made such a spectacular fool of itself about
spontaneous human combustion.


The same claims have appeared in that shit rag about Vitamin C too.

<reams of unsubstantiated claims flushed where they belong>