When adults with cold symptoms take zinc gluconate lozenges, their colds might get better faster, but this only worked in a special test setting and not with real-world colds or different zinc types.

49

Pro

0

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

49

Community contributions welcome

49

Effect of treatment with zinc gluconate or zinc acetate on experimental and natural colds.

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2000 Nov

The study gave people the exact same zinc lozenges mentioned in the claim and found they really did shorten colds by about a day, just like the claim says.

Contradicting (0)

0

Community contributions welcome

No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Effect of treatment with zinc gluconate or zinc acetate on experimental and natural colds.

Score: 49

DOI: 10.1086/317437

Similar Assertions

Taking zinc lozenges doesn't make cold symptoms less severe, according to a study with 273 people who were given cold viruses.

0

49

92%

Taking zinc lozenges many times a day for about a week doesn't help adults feel better faster or less sick when they have a cold caused by a specific virus.

35

0

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Taking zinc lozenges for 5 days raises zinc levels in your blood, showing your body absorbs it, but it doesn't help with cold symptoms.

35

0

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Zinc lozenges don't help reduce how long colds last or how bad they feel, whether you catch a cold naturally or in a study where they give you a cold virus.

49

0

88%

Taking zinc lozenges several times a day for about a week doesn't help reduce how often or how long people with colds shed the virus, meaning it doesn't stop the virus from copying itself or spreading to others.

35

0

85%