A study of more than 700 patients found cold sufferers who get a pill, regardless of what it contains, have less severe symptoms and recover a bit sooner than patients who don?t take pills.
The placebo effect was most pronounced among people who believed in echinacea?s healing properties.
The findings by researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Madison will be published in the July/August edition of the Annals of Family Medicine. The study was primarily funded by the National Institutes of Health.