Vitamin C gets cold shoulder

Taking Vitamin C supplements to ward off the common cold is a waste of money, Canadian researchers claim.

Other remedies such as echinacea, ginseng, vapour rubs and cough medicine also had little effect, the study concluded.

Researchers found that the best way to prevent a cold was to take a zinc supplement. Academics who looked at 67 studies examining the effectiveness of cold preventions and remedies discovered that few lived up to the hype.

Only about one in 20 colds was caused by bacteria. Most colds were caused by a virus that can't be treated with antibiotics.

To prevent the illness spreading, the authors recommended hand-washing.

"The best evidence for the prevention of the common cold supports hand-washing and possibly the use of zinc supplements," said Dr Michael Allan, of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Alberta in Canada.