European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 14, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Opposed changes in the Ryas. Lha recommended vels of essential nutrients which the National Ademy of sciences has revised every five years since my. Initially the Adas were used to ensure hat us is were Well fed. Today they also help determine a size and Content of school lunches the average Sot ment of food Stamps to poor families and the daily fits of Federal prisoners among other things. Of  of Adas is the Mai reason the3ademy walked when its nutrition committee \,.r, a commended last fall Afler a $500,000 yearlong Udy that the minimum daily allowances Tor vitamins and c be Cut by about one third. Of. Combating the common cold by Janee. Flody new York times very year at Aboul this time the Start of the Peak season Lor colds researchers announce yet another promising Way of treating this common ailment. Recent possibilities include drugs that Block the proliferation of cold viruses and substances that help the body resist them. Tha latest is a nasal Spray with antibodies that prevent the largest group of cold viruses trom entering Colls in the nasal passages whore most colds begin. But the general use of such techniques is years in the future it indeed they Ever prove practical and effective meanwhile. Americans spend Well Over $500 million a year on Over the counter remedies in Hopes of defeating the common cold. Not that people Are now less tolerant of colds than their ancestors. Ancient remedies could fill a Book among them ingesting snakeskin. Wrapping a dirty sock around the neck passing the victim three times under the Beefy of a horse and tying the skin of fish to tha feel. Perhaps the most time honoured cure Lor colds was to place a hat on a bedpost get into bed and drink alcohol until one sees two hats we Are More sophisticated in our approaches now but no less determined. Drugstore shelves Sag with As Many As 150 Over the counter cold remedies. Many relieve various discomforting symptoms but some can cause More misery than the cold itself none can cure  oven hasten the end of a cold the consumer trying to select wisely among cold Relief preparations is hard put to sort through the Multi ingredient choices. And most cold victims do not know when in is beef just to let nature take its seven Day on average course. Tha tendency is to Lake a medication that is touted by an acquaintance  has worked in the past fiut not All colds Are alike they vary from person to person and within the same person from cold to cold. They also change Over time. So what was right for one cold May not be Best for another and what brought Relief at a cold s outset May be totally inappropriate in its fourth  fifth Day. Ii is important then to know what is in the products and to try to match your treatment with current symptoms. Medical experts Are highly critical of the Many products that Lake a Shotgun approach by including drugs to relieve All manner of symptoms that might be associated with a cold. Manufacturers want to sell to the widest Market possible and uninformed Consumers Best.  is it breast tending and infection published Between 1970 and 1984. And found most of them seriously lacking for scientific reasons. Twelve of the studies found thai breast Leeding prevented infection while eight found no difference Between breast and bottle feeding. Such divergent results should be reason enough to consider the research suspect but Bauchner found f almost allot tha studies also ignored an important act i women who breast feed Are not the same As women who Don t. Women who breast feed tend to be of higher economic status tend to be More educated and ten not to smoke Bauchner says. These differences Are important confounding variables As they Are known in scientific parlance and could mean the results Are caused by something other than the subject under study f doctors might ask a bottle feeding Mother whether  not her baby s gotten a respiratory tract infection and often they do Bauchner says Bui what can a the Case is that it s the Mother s smoking that s causing tha child to Gat infections and not lha Mode of  a re analysis of data presented in the 20 studies seems to suggest that. Al Best breast feeding provides a minimal Protection against infection in industrialized countries. This is in marked contrast to third world countries where unsanitary conditions and contaminated water make bottle feeding dangerous. Although he would like to Sec More controlled studies looking at the problem Bauchner says he realizes the differences Between women who breast feed and those who Don t Aren t easy to eliminate statistically and can t be manipulated As they would be in a chemistry Experiment Lor example. You can never do an experimental study because you can t Hava one. Person breast feed and one person not Tisl for the Sake of Good experimental  us How americana spend Over Tsoo million on ramen to in Hopes of conquering tha common cold. Who take drugs just in Case Are an easy Mark too. The combinations of ingredients May be contradictory an example is a remedy combining a cough suppressant with an expectorant.  the ingredients May interact adversely with other medications being Laken and increase the risk of a logic reaction read the package insert  Label Lor warnings Aboul interactions. Wise Consumers avoid any medication they Don t need if Only to diminish the risk of unwanted Side effects in Many cases cold victims do better taking one  two single ingredient products to relieve particular symptoms in the Long run the limited ingredient approach is less costly and potentially More effective than a Mulli ingredient Blitz. The following types of drugs Are commonly used in cold preparations Antl histamines these Are designed to Lelieve a symptoms of allergy an allergy As opposed to a cold lends to persist longer than a week and to Wax and Wane Wilh the weather allergies Are also less Likely to produce feelings of feverish Ness. In a significant 1979 study of 271 patients at several medical centers the Antihistamine  maleate Chlor Trimeloni was shown to dry nasal secretions and reduce nose blowing. An important Side effect of All antihistamines however is drowsiness. Users of such drugs should avoid driving and operating dangerous machinery. Other Side effects can include blurred vision constipation dry Mouth and Urino retention. For someone Wilh thick bronchial secretions the drying effects of  can make in More difficult to Clear Hose secretions. Excessive doses can cause restlessness other antihistamines often found in cold preparations include  Pheni Ramine pyrite mine and trip Olidine As Well As the More sedating  Riphen hydrazine and Dox Lamine some of tie same drugs Are found in Over the counter sleep aids. Of Longe Avants these relieve congestion by constricting swollen blood vessels. Taken orally they can increase blood pressure and Are inadvisable for those Wilh High blood pressure to a nasal Spray  drops the action is limited to upper respiratory passages reducing the risk of unwanted effects elsewhere. However if used More than three Days sprays and drops can produce a rebound reaction that worsens congestion and increases dependence on the medication. All decongestants stimulate the Central nervous system to some extent. The stars and stripes Page 15 \--3te- -