There is still no cure for the common cold. But a clinical study is showing that rose hips can significantly reduce the incidence and severity of colds, in the wintertime no less.
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| Rose hips reduces incidence and severity of the common cold. |
Scientific research has determined that rose hips can help a number of conditions. But now we find that rose hips can significantly reduce our chances of catching the common cold.
These mature rose buds can also help reduce the severity of colds and increase general well-being according to a study from the cold north.
A cold Denmark winter study
In a 2018 study led by Dr. Kaj Winther, a professor at the University of Copenhagen,1 120 people were tested over a period of six months during the wintertime.
The people were randomly split into two groups. One group was given two grams of liquid rose hips. The other group was given a placebo. The study was double-blinded, so no one knew who was given what.
During the six winter months in Denmark, the volunteers reported their incidences of colds. They also reported duration and symptoms when they did have a cold.
The researchers found of the 107 volunteers who completed the study, 31 of the 58 people in the placebo group reported having a cold. That is over 53 percent of the group.
During the same period, only 24 out of 54 people in the rose hips group got a cold. That is 43.6 percent compared to 53.4 percent in the placebo group.
Rose hips reduced cold severity
But when symptoms were compared, the rose hips group had significantly more mild symptoms compared to the placebo group.
Only 15 of the rose hips group had headaches when they caught a cold, compared to 26 in the placebo group.
Only 15 people had muscle stiffness when they had a cold in the rose hips group, compared to 27 in the placebo group.
Only 20 people had fatigue when they had a cold in the rose hips group, compared to 29 in the placebo group.
Rose hips increases well-being
The researchers also found that the rose hips liquid boosted general well-being during the test period. The well-being scale for the rose hips group was 0.21. This compared to 0.12 – nearly half – for the placebo group.
The rose hips also boosted muscle flexibility and reduced general stiffness among the rose hips group. The stiffness scale fell from 2.40 to 2.02 in the rose hips group. Muscle stiffness in the placebo group jumped from 2.37 to 2.93 during the same period.
Wintertime does tend to increase muscle stiffness. This relates not only to catching colds, but being cold in general. It also likely relates to decreases in vitamin D from the sun, which tends to increase flexibility.
The liquid rose hips product used in this study was branded by Hyben Vital.
Of course, there is no cure for the common cold, and rose hips provide no exception. But a number of other natural strategies have been shown to reduce them and lighten their symptoms when they do happen. For example, scientific research has shown that pine bark extract, and garlic and zinc are natural strategies to combat the common cold. Probiotics also help prevent the common cold according to other research.
SCIENTIFIC REFERENCE
1. Kaj Winther, Lina Warholm, Joan Campbell-Tofte, Kristian Marstrand. Effect of Rosa canina L. (Rose-hip) on cold during winter season in a middle-class population: A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. Journal of Herbal Medicine, Volume 13, September 2018, Pages 34-41.