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6B Daily News ��� Wednesday, March 27, 2013 KWIK KUTS Sierra Sound NEW & USED CD���s Special Orders Avail. Car Stereo Sales - Service Installation We make house calls! Family Hair Salon 20 % off Stromer Realty 590 Antelope Blvd 226 So. Main St., Red Bluff Bldg. A, Suites 10 & 20, Red Bluff 527-3735 (530) 527-3100 ANY RETAIL PRODUCT with any chemical service of $50 or more 200 Regular $ Haircut off Reg. $13.95 Not good with other offers Expires 3/31/13 With coupon 1064 South Main St., Red Bluff ��� 529-3540 Cure for common cold remains elusive DEAR DOCTOR K: Is there any way to prevent a cold? DEAR READER: The typical cold is a relatively mild misery that goes away without special treatment after about a week. Still, it���s a misery most of us Dr. K would rather avoid. by Anthony L. Colds are caused by Komaroff, M.D. viruses ��� more than 200 different types. Because the infection is not bacterial, antibiotics don���t help. Over-the-counter cold medicines are available, but not always effective. So the search continues for anything that can fend off cold-causing viruses or speed their exit from your body. Here is a rundown of some of the candidates. ��� Vitamins. Nobel laureate Linus Pauling proposed that large daily doses ��� 1,000 to 2,000 milligrams (mg) ��� of vitamin C could prevent colds. Pauling was a genius who made major scientific discoveries and was awarded the Nobel Prize. But even geniuses can be wrong. By and large, research hasn���t supported his assertion. There���s some evidence that vitamins D and E might help fend off respiratory infections, but the evidence is not strong enough to recommend either vitamin for cold-fighting purposes. ��� Echinacea. The research hasn���t been very encouraging. One review found some evidence that a certain part of one particular species of the Echinacea plant family might be an effective early treatment for colds in adults. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. Other plant-based treatments, such as ginseng, elderberry, garlic and olive leaf, have been offered as cold preventives and cures. But none has emerged as clearly effective. 92ND ��� Zinc. The results have been mixed. A 2011 meta-analysis found that generally healthy people who took zinc within 24 hours of the onset of cold symptoms reduced the duration and severity of their colds, compared to people who took a sugar pill. But there���s no word yet on what dose and formulation of zinc is best. ��� Exercise. Here���s another reason to work out. Regular exercise may put your body in a better position to fight off a cold. Regular exercise seems to invigorate the immune system. (But there is also some evidence that the kind of intensive training that top athletes engage in can actually weaken the immune system.) ��� Sleep. Your mother was right: Getting a good night���s sleep keeps you healthy and may keep colds away. In one study, people who got less than seven hours of sleep a night were almost three times as likely to get a cold as those who got eight or more hours of sleep. I know I���m going to get letters from people who swear that a vitamin, or an herbal preparation, or zinc works for them. I���m not really disagreeing with them. Studies ask whether a particular treatment works for the average person. A treatment that does not work for the average person still may work for some people. Perhaps they have different genes. If you���re convinced a treatment helps you, and if it doesn���t pose any risk (and most of those above don���t), then why not use it? Dr. Komaroff is a physician and professor at Harvard Medical School. To send questions, go to AskDoctorK.com, or write: Ask Doctor K, 10 Shattuck St., Second Floor, Boston, MA 02115. APRIL 19, 20, 21, 2013 NEW START TIME FOR SATURDAY ROUNDUP EVENTS 2:30 PM 1921 ~ 2013 Friday Family $ Packs www.redbluffroundup.com (530) 527-1000 35 RODEO 1-800-545-3500 AMERICA���S ORIGINAL EXTREME SPORT!