If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. So the news that a product derived from ginseng root with the catchy-sounding name COLD-fX® can actually help prevent colds and flu should be taken with a fair amount of skepticism.

But a peer-reviewed double-blind clinical study published Tuesday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal may challenge your skepticism. The four-month study of 323 adults 18-65 years of age by scientists in Alberta during the winter of 2003/04 showed that subjects who took the commercial preparation had 25% fewer upper-respiratory infections than those who were given a placebo; those who got infections reported that they were less severe, on average.

This seems to confirm earlier, smaller studies that showed that treatment with COLD-fX® reduces the actual amount of cold or flu virus in patients' systems.

From our archive:
08/08/2005  Doctor's Order
03/10/2003  Why Can't We Cure the Common Cold?