I seem to recall that David Epstein, lo, many long years ago, provided us with an exortation (or possibly just a claim) that taking zinc tablets warded off (or possibly just shortened the period of) a cold.
Professional scoffer that I am, I scoffed. Show me the money, I said. Sure, I said, a cold takes a full week to run its course untreated, but only seven days with zinc tablets. But it came to pass that many studies were done, and in the end, as the New York Times reports today, a Cochrane review finds in favour of zinc against colds. See http://tinyurl.com/47hkwrd Well done, David. Yet I seem to also recall (and here comes the psychology content) that zinc has a specifically destructive effect on olfactory receptors. This is so reliable that at one time (possibly still) it was used as a technique to render experimental animals anosmic, unable to smell, in behavioural experiments investigating olfactory function. The New York Times article alludes to this concern. True, the anosmic effect requires intranasal application, not pill swallowing. Still, I'm not sure I'd want to risk becoming less smelly for life in exchange for a few days less of the sniffles. Stephen -------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada e-mail: sblack at ubishops.ca --------------------------------------------- --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=8790 or send a blank email to leave-8790-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
