DOES COLDS SUPPORT ZINC? ZINC AND THE COLD COMMON

Does it cure the common cold with zinc? These days, as many individuals have colds and are looking for anything that will help, this is a common and serious question. The answer is no. Zinc is a non-soluble metal consisting of two atoms of zinc that share a pair of electrons that are used to galvanise steel in industry. One atom of zinc, however, is water soluble with its 2+ electrical charge. It combines to form hydrated, or solution, zinc ions carrying a 2+ charge with 4 to 8 water molecules. Solution zinc ions (Zn2+ ions) have strong and highly beneficial effects on upper respiratory infections, unlike the metal zinc (rhinovirus common colds). The cause of the great majority of colds is now known to be rhinoviruses, one of the five genera of the picornavirus RNA virus family of which much is known. Colds are nasal cavity infections and, in particular, infections of the nasal cavity's highly vascularized nasal mucosal turbinates. Shigeru Ishikawa, MD, PhD, of the Depart...