Zinc "Not Effective" In Children's Colds The Journal of the American Medical Association 1998;279:1962-1967, 1999-2000
Zinc gluconate glycine lozenges are "not effective" in children or teenagers with colds, according to a study published in the June 24th issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Some previous research has found zinc lozenges effective in treating colds in adults. But the results of a new study -- the first to check how effective the lozenges are in treating colds in school-age children -- suggest they are no more effective in treating cold symptoms in this age group than sugar pills or "placebos," according to the authors, a team of researchers led by Dr. Michael L. Macknin of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio.
"The common cold is one of the most frequently occurring illnesses in the world," the researchers report. More than 200 viruses can cause common colds. In the US, children average 6 to 8 colds a year, and adults average 2 to 4 colds. Consequently, even a treatment that is only partly effective in relieving cold symptoms is of major significance, Macknin and colleagues write.
The researchers tested zinc gluconate glycine lozenges in a group of 249 children in 1st through 12th grade who had at least two of nine common cold symptoms. They gave half of the students cherry-flavored lozenges containing 10 milligrams of zinc, 5 or 6 times a day for 3 weeks. They gave the other half of the students look-alike, cherry-flavored sugar lozenges. All students started taking the lozenges within 24 hours of developing cold symptoms.
The researchers found that students who took the zinc lozenges had cold symptoms just as long as those who took the sugar pills. In both groups, symptoms lasted an average of 9 days. These symptoms included cough, headache, hoarseness, nasal congestion, nasal drainage, muscle ache, scratchy throat, sore throat, and sneezing.
Compared with students who took the sugar lozenges, more students who took the zinc lozenges reported unpleasant side effects, including a "bad taste" in the mouth, nausea, diarrhea, and mouth, tongue or throat discomfort, the researchers report.
In a previous study, Macknin and colleagues found that adults who took lozenges containing 13.3 milligrams of zinc roughly 6 times a day got over their colds faster than those who took sugar lozenges. The 10 milligram zinc lozenges they gave children in the new study provided a comparable dose, given the children's lower weights, they note.
"Despite what seems to be a sufficient dosage, the dosage in our current study may have been too low for children and adolescents," they write. "Because the mechanism(s) of action of zinc in treating the common cold is unknown, the optimal dose of medication is also unknown." Since adults in the previous study took lemon-lime-flavored lozenges, and the children took cherry-flavored ones, it is also possible that the cherry flavoring, "in some unknown way inactivated the zinc," they add.
But the study "by no means closes the door on zinc gluconate lozenges," Dr. Anne Gadomski, of Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, New York, writes in an editorial accompanying the study. Future studies should try to determine, among other things, whether different doses of zinc help ease cold symptoms or shorten the duration of colds in children, she writes. But in the meantime, parents should know that currently there is no evidence to support the use of zinc lozenges in children with colds.
"Although many alternative therapies for the common cold have been described, none has the weight of evidence behind it to warrant recommendation at this time," Gadomski writes.
Nutrition Farm® Comment: this is a surprising study to say the least and one that we believe deserves more study. Though we doubt if the cherry flavor would have affected the zinc absorption by the children, it is possible since phytates (a component of plants) do bind zinc and make it unavailable. They should have tested for this potential flaw prior to the study.
Not surprising is their comments pertaining to "unpleasant side effects, including a "bad taste" in the mouth, nausea, diarrhea, and mouth, tongue or throat discomfort" -- these are related to using zinc as a lozenge rather than a swallowed pill. What they do not tell you is that 25% of the subjects in the adult study also experience the same side effects. These side effects do not occur when swallowing zinc unless an extremely large amount is taken.
Nevertheless, whether zinc is effective in reducing the severity of colds in children is unimportant when compared with the need for children to supplement their diet with zinc. A mild form of zinc deficiency is common in children in the United States and even more so in other parts of the world. Children affected have poor appetite, suboptimal growth, and reduced sense of taste and smell. Mood changes may also occur.
There is also recent evidence that respiratory infections in children is reduced by taking zinc supplements (see the news article Zinc Supplements Cut Respiratory Infection Rate).
To get more zinc in your diet, try using Folate Plus™, a potent special vitamin/mineral product containing zinc, copper, folic acid and vitamin B12. Our multi-mineral product Nutri-Vite™ Mega Minerals also contains zinc.
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