It was the 1970s, I was still a junior in radio and the last thing I wanted was a cold that would hang on for two weeks.
Touted as the cure of the day was vitamin C. Everywhere you looked someone was preaching vitamin C for colds — some said megadoses would work. I didn’t notice any difference and neither did anyone else I knew.
Then came the word that what we really wanted was vitamin D and if you wanted to really help your sick kids, give them 2,000 units — not just the standard 400.
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Today, researchers are debunking 30 years of vitamin D sales, saying the thinking about high-dose vitamin D is wrong.
I remember when the tide of mucous turned to echinacea. Everyone was sold on echinacea, but it did nothing for my family.
There were other various pills that came out with big advertising but didn’t do much, and today, in the middle of July, we have people with summer colds coughing in offices across the city or calling in sick.
Is there anything that really works for you?
Doctors tell me there is no cure. They tell me a cold will last about two weeks with medication or about 14 days without.
That’s what they say.
Let me know what you think.
Bob Layton is the news manager of the Corus Edmonton group of radio stations and a commentator for Global News.
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