NutritionDoc

Airborne is a mixture of 17 vitamins, minerals, and herbs, including megadoses of vit. A & C.

 

Americans will spend an estimated $300 million in 2007 on this cold remedy, which was created by a former California second grade teacher. Victoria Knight-McDowell has said that she invented Airborne 10 years ago because she was tired of constantly catching colds from her students.

Apparently, she has not gotten tired of having no credible evidence that Airborne works.

 

According to the company, a study it funded several years ago showed that Airborne relieved cold symptoms faster than a placebo. But Airborne will NOT make the study public. And a Feb. 2006 investigation by ABC-TV discovered that the company that carried out the study, GNG Pharmaceutical Services, is actually a 2 man operation started up just to do the Airborne study.

 

"There was no clinic, no scientists, and no doctors," ABC reported.

 

If Airborne has any impact on colds, its high dose of vitamin C - 1000 mg per tablet- might be the reason.

 

As for taking Airborne to repel germs in an airplane, restaurant, or other crowded environment "that is non-sense", says cold expert Jack Gwaltney of the U of Virginia in Charlottesville. "Nothing you can swallow can do that."

 

CAUTION: Each Airborne tablet contains 5000 International Units of the retinol form of vitamin A. Use 2 and you have hit the Tolerable Upper Intake Level- the largest amount of retinol that can be taken every day for months without risking liver damage, birth defects, and increased risk of hip fractures. Follow the package directions and you will be taking 10,000 IU every 6 hours.