Nightly News   |  February 16, 2011

Study: Zinc zaps common cold symptoms

Zinc supplements may reduce the length and severity of colds if taken within a day of the onset of symptoms. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

Share This:

This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>>> there were a couple of health stories today you might have heard something about this morning. the first one had to do with zinc, which as you may know is marketed for the common cold as lozenges and other forms. british researchers took a closer look at 15 separate studies and after adding up the pros and cons concluded that taking zinc on the first day of the onset of a cold can make a difference.

>> it does seem to show some evidence that taking zinc may reduce the severity and the duration of symptoms of a cold.

>> zinc can also reduce the length of the average cold by about a day in all the experts found. but should you take zinc every day to reduce the chances of getting a cold in the first place? no, they say that could be harmful to your health and it doesn't look that way, but look for a run on zinc lozenges.