Yesterday, I reported on these pages that a new study found Vitamin C and D3 to be effective in preventing and treating covid-19 infection. Today, the press is reporting that another new study has found that taking Zinc helps to fight flu and the common cold.
What’s going on? No, seriously, what is going on? In the past eighteen months, naturopathic physicians, homeopaths and journalists have been accused of spreading misinformation for claiming that Zinc and Vitamins C and D3 are highly effective preventatives against respiratory illnesses.
Why have scientists and the media performed a 180 degree turn here? I’m genuinely stumped. Maybe you can help me out. According to The Times newspaper this morning:
Zinc supplements can cut how long cold and flu-like symptoms last, or even stave them off entirely, according to a large-scale review.
Researchers suggested that GPs could start prescribing zinc to patients demanding antibiotic prescriptions, to reduce antimicrobial resistance.
Their paper, published in BMJ Open, reviewed 28 studies involving almost 5,500 people. They found that taking zinc by mouth or as a nasal spray could help people with respiratory tract infections (RTIs)…
They concluded that zinc was “a viable ‘natural’ alternative” for managing RTI symptoms at home, although they could not identify an ideal dose from the data. The research team said zinc “provides clinicians with a management option for patients who are desperate for faster recovery times and might be seeking an unnecessary antibiotic prescription.”
Over-prescription of antibiotics is thought to be a key driver in the evolution of bacteria that are not killed by existing medicines.
We’ve always known that taking zinc and vitamin supplements helps to stave off the Winter flu. This isn’t news. When I was studying for the Leaving Certificate (Final exam in Irish secondary school education), I was coming down with a cold. I bumped into a biology teacher.
She told me to get some Vitamin D3 and Zinc into me and that I should make a habit of it throughout the Winter. That was 1992. Some years later, when I got my first radio gig, my family doctor gave me the same advice.
This is well known. As I said in my article about Vitamin C yesterday, if the NHS provided supplements to the elderly and to the immunocompromised, there would be no more Winter crises.
I don’t imagine that the drivers of the scamdemic and the jab pushers are happy that vitamins and minerals are being recommended to deal with flu and covid. What’s gong on? Beats me.
