I think the temperature dipped into the teens last night. I was out late and, when I left the comfort of the warm sound stage in which I was working, my car looked as if it was frozen solid. As I stood next to it, my fingers already trembling as I fumbled to unlock the door, I could see each of my frustrated breaths as they escaped my mouth in the form of such words as ... well, suffice it to say that they weren't words you'd say in church. I was also amazed by how quickly my nose began to run, reminding me that I am not yet out of the woods with the cold I have been nursing for a week.

When I finally arrived home, I jumped on the computer before heading off to bed. I was determined to find out what actually helps stave off and reduce the effects of a cold. What I found were hundreds upon hundreds of home remedies, many of which seemed a little crazy to me. However, the three methods I came across that seemed to have merit were as follows:

Garlic. A recent British study showed that a daily garlic supplement reduced the number of colds test subjects developed (as compared against a placebo group) and also cleared up colds faster. The study pointed out the importance of making sure the garlic supplement contains allicin, a purified version of the garlic's most biologically active agent.

Zinc. There is mounting evidence to suggest that popping some zinc lozenges at the onset of a cold may help reduce its severity. Doctors suggest sucking on one zinc lozenge every two hours or so for the first day you feel cold symptoms (scratchy or sore throat, runny nose). It seems that the zinc does little to effect the cold after the initial symptom stage, however.

Echinacea. Research has gone back and forth on this one, with some reports showing no benefit to echinacea and others, such as a recent University of Connecticut meta analysis of 14 major studies, suggest that it can reduce the average person's chance of developing a cold by 58 percent.

Whether or not these cold prevention/severity reducing methods actually work still remains to be seen, but they at least seem to be well-researched. Have any of you tried any or all of these remedies? And if so, did they work?

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