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" Achoo! We&amp;#x27;re smack-dab in the middle of cold and flu season. But when you break out the cold medicine, do you chase it with natural remedies like vitamin C or echinacea? A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests fewer people are buying alternative cold medicines. See why experts say that&amp;#x27;s a good thing... According to the CDC, the percentage of Americans using alternative therapies for head and chest colds dropped sharply from 9.5 percent in 2002 to 2.0 percent in 2007. Studies have shown that popular natural cold remedies like vitamin C or zinc do little to prevent or treat cold symptoms. Research on the herb echinacea is inconclusive, at best. Dr. Ronald Glick, medical director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh-Shadyside told MSNBC that he&amp;#x27;s happy sales for alternative cold medicines have dipped. &amp;quot;It means that people are reading about the science and it&amp;#x27;s making sense to them and they&amp;#x27;re responding appropriately,&amp;quot; he said. I used to be a big believer in those little packets of vitamin C. I&amp;#x27;d reach for one if I was feeling tired or sick and would feel instantly better. I don&amp;#x27;t buy them anymore, and I wonder if the body benefits I noticed were all in my head. Do you take supplements like zinc or vitamin C when you have a cold? Does it work for you? What are your strategies to get better fast? Photo: iStock"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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