Garlic for the common cold

Abstract

The included study found that people who took garlic every day for three months (instead of a placebo) had fewer colds. That is, over the three-month period, there were 24 occurrences of the common cold in the garlic group, compared to 65 in the placebo group. When participants experienced a cold, the length of illness was similar in both groups (4.63 versus 5.63 days). Quality of the evidence More participants in the garlic group (four) than the placebo group (one) noted a smell when burping, so it is possible that blinding of participants was not adequate. However, other potential biases were well controlled. The only included study is directly relevant to the review question. Although the trial is small, there were enough participants to provide precise, reliable results. There is no evidence that results were selectively reported. However, this was possible as the outcomes do not appear to have been decided in advance. Considering the financial incentive for supplement companies to produce positive trials, it is also possible that trials that showed no e ect of garlic were never published. Overall, the quality of the evidence is moderate. Side e ects Possible side e ects in this small trial included odour and a skin rash. More information is needed about the possible side e ects of garlic.

Community acquired respiratory virus infections in cancer patients—Guideline on diagnosis and management by the Infectious Diseases Working Party of the German Society for haematology and Medical Oncology

“…In contrast to this widespread use, there is very little evidence to recommend any such measures. In particular with regard to cancer patients, evidence is too poor to give a sound recommendation in favour of the use of vitamin C [50], echinacea [51], garlic [52], zinc [53], humidified hot air [54] or Chinese herbal medicine [55]. Surprisingly, even painkillers [56] and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [57] may ease the pain but have little influence on severity and duration of the CRV infection.…”

Influence of Dietary Advice Including Green Vegetables, Beef, and Whole Dairy Products on Recurrent Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Studies with RCTs and whole foods for URTI are scarce. Positive effects on the duration or prevention of URTIs in adults or children were observed with the intake of probiotics, prebiotics, milk, fish oil, kiwi fruit, garlic, xylitol, and elderberry [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. The studies focused on a single whole food product, not a combination of food products.…”

Prävention von Infekten der oberen Atemwege

“…2 Jahre später veröffentlichte dieselbe Arbeitsgruppe ein Review-Update mit derselben Fragestellung. Erneut konnte nur die bereits dargelegte Studie eingeschlossen werden [34]. Die Ergebnislage blieb stabil.…”