Natural cold and flu remedies

While the misery of the cold and flu season might be inevitable, one thing is changing - where we look for relief. Many people are turning to natural cold and flu remedies, such as vitamin C, zinc, echinacea and others. This is particularly true for children, as many over-the-counter cold and flu treatments are unsuitable for them.

But do alternative treatments offer the relief that pharmaceutical companies can't? There's growing evidence to suggest that some might - at least to a modest degree.

Natural cold and flu remedies: How good is the evidence?

First things first: cold and flu viruses are not the same thing. While colds are unpleasant, flu is much worse.

• The symptoms of flu are more severe; they include fever and body aches along with congestion.
• Flu can be dangerous, especially for older people. In a non-epidemic year, the NHS says there are 600 deaths in the UK associated with seasonal flu.

However, because there's some overlap in symptoms, treatments for colds and flu are often lumped together. How well do natural cold and flu remedies work? Most effects are small, but that’s generally good: a big positive effect is likely to have a big negative effect. So long as there's little risk in trying a supplement, the evidence of a benefit doesn't need to be quite so strong.

Which natural cold and flu remedies should you consider?

The following offers a guide to the cold and flu supplements most often recommended by the experts. Note that some have been studied with colds and others with flu.

Vitamin C for colds

While vitamin C has long been used for treating and preventing the common cold, you might be surprised at how conflicting the evidence is. While it seems to boost some aspects of the immune system, studies do not show that vitamin C - at least in doses of 1 gram per day - can help prevent colds in most people.

As a treatment, the evidence is somewhat better. Some studies show that that it may help prevent more serious complications of a cold and that vitamin C may reduce the duration of a cold by as much as 24 to 36 hours. However, other studies show that even very high doses - 3 grams a day - have no effect.

Bear in mind that the high doses of vitamin C sometimes recommended for colds and flu can upset the stomach and even cause diarrhoea in some people. Also, it is not a good idea to give high doses of vitamin C to children.

Echinacea for colds

Echinacea has been granted a Traditional Herbal Registration Certificate in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). This allows it to be sold for the relief of symptoms of the common cold and influenza type infections, based on traditional use only. Registration is not based on date from clinical trials. In fact, studies of echinacea for the common cold have had mixed results. While some studies do not support echinacea as a treatment, others show it can reduce the length and severity of colds by 10% to 30%.

One 2005 study published in “Phytotherapy Research”, tested a formulation prepared with fresh Echinacea purpurea plants and suggested the product “may have led to a faster resolution of cold symptoms.”
However, another study published in 2005 in the New England Journal of Medicine found that echinacea was no more effective than a placebo in preventing colds. It also did not reduce the severity of cold symptoms.