Airborne falls into this category. It contains vitamins A, C and E, minerals, echinacea, ginger and a bunch of other herbs. The manufacturer made strong statements about the ability of this mixture of ingredients to shorten the duration and to lessen the symptoms of the common cold. These claims continued until the Federal Trade Commission in 2008 accused the company of making unproven claims and levied a fine of $30 million dollars.
The bottom line is forget about Airborne and other similar formulas. They are a waste of money. My pharmacology text when I was in medical school summarized treating the common cold like this. "Buy a four poster bed. Throw your hat onto one of the posts. Get a bottle of whiskey and drink until you see two hats. Then go to sleep."
I doubt that we have progressed much farther in curing the common cold.
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