The CLAIM A LITTLE ALCOHOL CAN HELP YOU BEAT a COLD

WHEN IT
COMES TO QUICK REMEDIES
for colds, many people insist that a glass of brandy or a
hot toddy – whiskey with hot water and lemon juice – is just
what the doctor ordered. It’s not difficult to see how mild
inebriation might have the potential to relieve cold and flu
symptoms, but so far no study has shown that alcohol has the
ability to kill germs in the bloodstream or stop a cold in
its tracks. And while alcohol may provide temporary relief,
it can prolong symptoms by increasing
dehydration.

Nonetheless, two large
studies have found that although moderate drinking will not
cure colds, it can help keep them at bay. One, by
researchers at Carnegie Mellon in 1993, looked at 391 adults
and found that resistance to colds increased with moderate
drinking, except in smokers.

Then, in 2OO2, researchers
in Spain followed 43OO healthy adults, examining their
habits and susceptibility to colds. The study, in The
American Journal of Epidemiology, found no relationship
between the incidence of colds and consumption of beer,
spirits, Vitamin C, or zinc. But drinking 8 to 14 glasses of
wine per week, particularly red wine, was linked to as much
as a 6O percent reduction in the risk of developing a cold.
The scientists suspected this had something to do with the
antioxidant properties of wine.

The bottom line: alcohol
will not help cure a cold, though moderate consumption may
reduce susceptibility.