Health Claims

Taking vitamin D might help kids between 1 and 15 years old get fewer colds and lung infections, but scientists aren't totally sure yet.

Causal

Taking vitamin D supplements doesn't really help prevent common colds or similar infections for most people, based on a big review of studies.

Causal

When people use saltwater rinses for stuffy noses from colds, they often feel a little bit of discomfort. This shows that even though it's mostly safe, it can still have some minor bad effects.

Descriptive

About 4 out of 10 babies didn't handle saline nose drops well when they had colds, showing that many little kids don't like this treatment.

Descriptive

Using saltwater nose rinses might help working adults get back to work faster when they have colds or sinus infections, which could save money.

Correlational

Using saltwater nose rinses might help you get over a cold about a third of a day faster, but the study wasn't sure if this small difference was real luck or just chance.

Correlational

Using saltwater nose rinses for colds and sinus infections doesn't seem to help adults much, according to studies comparing it to other treatments.

Quantitative

Scientists found that two chemicals, pyrithione and hinokitiol, don't stop viruses from getting into cells at the start of an infection, but they do work later on to slow down how the virus copies itself.

Mechanistic

Two chemicals, pyrithione and hinokitiol, can fight certain viruses by needing zinc helpers to work, and they do this by raising zinc levels inside cells—a new way to stop these viruses.

Mechanistic

These two chemicals help zinc quickly get inside cells and go to specific spots like mitochondria. This temporary zinc boost is what makes them fight certain viruses.

Mechanistic

Two chemicals stop a virus from cutting an important protein in cells, which might help prevent the virus from making copies of itself.

Mechanistic

Two special chemicals can stop certain viruses from growing in lab tests by messing up how the viruses build their parts, which might help fight these types of viruses.

Mechanistic

Taking very high doses of vitamin C right when you start feeling a cold won't make the cold shorter or less severe for healthy adults compared to taking normal amounts.

Causal

A chemical called PDTC messes with how two viruses build their parts, but in different ways: for one virus, it stops a key cutting step inside the virus, and for the other, it blocks a different cutting spot so a part doesn't get finished.

Mechanistic

A chemical called PDTC helps move zinc into cells, and this zinc helps fight off certain viruses.

Mechanistic

A chemical called PDTC stops two types of viruses from copying themselves by messing up their genetic material, which was shown in lab experiments.

Mechanistic

Different types of zinc supplements work about the same in male rats eating a diet high in phytic acid, because they grew similarly and had similar zinc levels in their bodies.

Descriptive

When male rats eat food low in zinc and also get phytic acid added, it makes their zinc levels drop even more compared to rats that don't get the extra phytic acid.

Causal

When male rats eat a diet high in phytic acid (which makes it hard for their bodies to absorb zinc), giving them a special type of zinc called EDTA disodium zinc helps their bodies use the zinc better than other zinc types. This leads to better growth and more zinc in their blood and bones.

Causal

Blood zinc levels are the best way to check if you have enough zinc, but they can change throughout the day or if you're sick.

Descriptive

Foods high in phytate, like beans, can block zinc absorption, but eating protein helps your body take in more zinc.

Mechanistic

When added to foods like tortillas, zinc oxide and zinc sulfate are absorbed about the same.

Descriptive

Some studies show zinc gluconate supplements are absorbed better than another common form, but other studies find no real difference in zinc levels in people's blood. The results are mixed.

Descriptive

Taking zinc glycinate pills for 6 weeks raises zinc levels in the blood more than other zinc types or fake pills in women.

Descriptive