"Amy's No-Chicken Noodle soup and my mom," I whimpered when a friend asked what I wanted. I was suffering from the worst kind of cold: the kind that made me trade books for blankets and a Friday-night party for the quiet comfort of my bed.
According to data from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, American adults are afflicted with two to four colds each year. This nasty, seemingly unavoidable infection is caused by more than 200 different viruses. Symptoms usually last one to two weeks and typically include sneezing, sore throat, cough, headache and enough mucus to make breathing through your nose a difficult (or entirely impossible) task.
It seems everyone has a recipe for a rapid recovery, though: chicken soup, lots of sleep, Dayquil, tea with honey and even a little Jerry Springer. Are these remedies backed by science? Or are they just a dose of comfort when you're feeling ill?
Chicken Soup
Mom's tried-and-true remedy may hold quite a bit of validity, according to a 2003 article published in Nurse Practitioner. What makes it work? A group of researchers found that hot soup actually suppresses the body's inflammatory response to infection, decreasing dreaded symptoms like runny nose, watery eyes and scratchy throat.
Meanwhile, aromatic ingredients like sage, parsley and thyme exhibit mucus-loosening properties. Additionally, inhaling soup's hot vapors warms the nose, throat and sinuses, further loosening thick secretions. Hot tea had a similar effect. It may be that a bowl of chicken noodle - or, in my vegetarian case, No-Chicken Noodle - is just what the doctor ordered.
Echinacea
Testing the efficacy of herbal remedies is tricky business. With no rules governing the quantity and quality of preparations among manufacturers, one bottle of Echinacea may be much different than its neighbor on the drugstore shelves.
While some evidence suggests that this relative of the daisy is effective in shortening the duration of a cold when taken at the onset of symptoms - and may even have a hand in prevention - other evidence points in the opposite direction. A recent review of trials, published in Clinical Evidence, reconfirmed these inconsistent results. In other words, the jury is still out on Echinacea.
Vitamin C
In 1970, Nobel-prize winner Linus Pauling published his book, "Vitamin C and the Common Cold," advocating supplementation to ward off the nasty virus. But does it really work? After decades of research into the matter, the role this antioxidant vitamin plays in curbing or preventing the common cold has not been totally resolved.
Though 200 mg or more of Vitamin C did not seem to decrease cold incidence, the same hefty dose taken at the onset of symptoms did seem to reduce the duration of cold by about eight percent in adults. It may also decrease the severity of infection via respiratory defense mechanisms.
Contrary to the Pauling
recommendations, most nutrition professionals would insist a megadose of vitamin C is inappropriate on a daily basis because, unless you are vitamin C deficient, your body will excrete any excess vitamin C that is not needed in the urine.
Vitamin E
Yet another powerful antioxidant, Vitamin E, may have a hand in warding off a cold this season. A group of Tufts researchers found nursing home residents experienced a 20 percent reduction in common cold when taking 200 International Units (IU) of Vitamin E daily.
What about college kids? Results (like others) are inconsistent. Your best bet? Meet the recommended intake of 15 mg/day with a hearty dose of nuts, seeds and whole grains.
Zinc
Zinc's role in the treatment of the common cold continues to intrigue researchers. Of seven intervention studies, only two revealed that zinc - often given in the form of lozenges - reduced the duration and severity of the common cold.
Because zinc plays an important role in the immune system, clinicians would encourage everyone to meet the recommended intake of eight mg/day with foods like lean meat, chicken and legumes.
So, what are we to make of these inconsistent results? Alan Greene, M.D., in the Department of Pediatrics at the Stanford School of Medicine, insists, "Late bedtimes and poor sleep leave people vulnerable... your body needs fluids to function properly."
Maybe sleep, fluids - and if you're lucky, the comfort of your mother's cool touch! - are the most important factors in bouncing back from a cold in a hurry. After all, who knows more about colds than a pediatrician?
Heather Erzen is a graduate student and dietetic intern at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and the Frances Stern Nutrition Center.
