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Gargling with Water Prevents Colds |
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Written by SuperHuman
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Thursday, 01 May 2008 |
Gargling is a proven way to improve dental health, but can it prevent the common cold?
Many Japanese people gargle with water and iodine to promote health and prevent colds and flu. Japanese researchers found that people who gargled with water three times a day had fewer upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) than a control group. They followed 387 healthy adults for 60 days during the winter. Gargling with water cut down on the incidence of URTIs by 35 percent compared to a group that gargled with water mixed with iodine. Subjects who gargled with water had fewer symptoms when they contracted colds. If the results of this study are true, gargling regularly with water is a cost-free method of preventing colds and promoting public health. (Am J Prev Med, 29:302-307, 2005)
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