A new Cochrane Review finds that zinc supplementation CAN reduce the duration and severity of a cold SOME, but ONLY if it’s started early on.

‘Tis the season for colder weather, impending family gatherings, holiday preparations … and sick days caused by colds and the flu. Along with flu season comes the age-old bits of wisdom from our grandmothers (and their grandmothers). What’s correct and what’s a myth?

Was mom’s stay-well advice right? Don’t go out with wet hair. Rest. Cover your mouth when you cough.

As we head into the cough and cold season, I thought this post might be of interest. Especially since acute upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs or “colds”) are the most common reason people  seek medical care in the U.S. It’s said there are up to one billion colds reported in the U.S. each  year. Now there’s another option for trying to prevent them.

In a recent blog, “Echinacea demonstrates little benefit in treating common cold,” I told you about new research suggesting echinacea is NOT effective for reducing cold symptoms.

Long-time readers of this blog know how much I trust, how often I recommend, and how often I use in my practice the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. This trustworthy and evidence-based website (requires subscription) rates natural medications (herbs, vitamins, and supplements) for a wide variety of indications.

In my book, Alternative Medicine: The options, the claims, the evidence, how to choose wisely I write, ”Millions of people take echinacea because they’re convinced it works to combat the common cold, for which there of course, is no cure.”

Earlier this week I discussed how regular exercise can reduce your risk of depression. It can also help you reduce your risk or colds and the flu.

The CNN “The Chart” blog reported, “Working out regularly helps ward off colds and flu,” according to a study published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

HealthDay reported that after collecting “data on 1,002 men and women from ages 18 to 85,” investigators “tracked the number of upper respiratory tract infections the participants suffered” over 12 weeks during the fall and winter of 2008.

Study participants also “reported how much and what kinds of aerobic exercise they did weekly.”

The study authors found that “people who were physically fit and who engaged in exercise five or more days per week were about half as likely to suffer cold symptoms compared to participants who reported less physical activity,” WebMD (11/1, Hendrick) reported.

“What is more, researchers say the severity of symptoms fell by 41% among those who felt fittest and by 31% among the most physically active.”

According to MedPage Today, “In addition to the number of days spent with an upper respiratory tract infection, the severity and symptomatology of such infections was reduced as well, by 32% to 41% between the high versus low aerobic activity and physical fitness tertiles (P<0.05 for all). There were also significant reductions in the middle tertiles.

So, ’tis the season to begin some regular exercise. The benefits are huge!

When given preventively over the winter months, probiotics reduce fever, cough, and runny noses in children, researchers said in a new study. They found that a 6-month course of probiotics – good bacteria that can aid immune function – was a safe and effective way to ward off flu symptoms and reduce their duration in 3 -5 year olds.

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With winter cold comes the flu season, when more time spent indoors means more opportunities for the virus to spread. Some physicians who care for children have had their shipment of flu vaccines for almost two months, and other organizations are pushing influenza prevention through vaccination as well. One of these, Say Boo to the Flu, ties its efforts to Halloween – having children dress up in costume for a night of games where they and their families can get flu shots. But what else can you do to keep to flu virus from infecting your kids?

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Many people, when they are feeling miserable from a cold or the flu, get the urge to gorge on food. But picking the right foods may benefit and even speed healing.

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Vitamin and mineral supplements are, of course, a staple of a lot of people’s lives. But a report from CBS News suggests that some are not only unnecessary, but could be dangerous.