This winter, cold season has lasted a long time.  I’ve had one lingering for a couple of weeks. I’ve actually given up on natural remedies. I don’t mean that I am taking otc cold remedies full of preservatives and artificial ingredients. I’m just tired of taking tinctures, drinking tea, and sucking on lozenges.

Cold-EEZE uses homeopathy and natural ingredients that “shortens your cold, works fast”.  We were sent two products to try:

Cold-Eeze Sugar Free All Natural Honey Lemon Cold Drop Lozenges

INDICATIONS: Cold-Eeze Honey Lemon Cold Drop Lozenges used to reduce the duration and severity of the common cold. Quigley Cold-Eeze Sugar Free All Natural Honey Lemon Cold Drop Lozenges No artificial colors or preservatives. Zinc. Gluconate. Glycine. Take at the first sign of a cold. Clinically proven to reduce the duration of the common cold. No. 1 pharmacist recommended Zinc remedy. Get better faster. Clinically proven Cold-Eeze with ZIGG. Effectiveness: Cold-Eeze, the original great tasting cold drop, proven to be safe and effective in reducing the duration and severity of the common cold in two double blind clinical studies. Cold-Eeze Cold Remedy Lozenges used to reduce the duration and severity of the common cold. Symptoms could include one or more of the following: cough. sore throat. stuffy nose. sneezing. post-nasal drip. and/or hoarseness.

Cold-eeze Cold Remedy Oral Spray

The new Cold-EEZE^® Cold Remedy Oral Spray is formulated with zinc gluconate, the same effective active ingredient found in the best-selling, clinically proven and #1 pharmacist recommended Cold-EEZE^®lozenges. The effective proprietary formula reduces the duration of the common cold.

The throat spray contains sucralose, which is a synthetic sweetener. The throat spray does not claim to be natural.  The lozenges, which do claim to be “all natural” are sweetened with Aesulfame-K, an artificial sweetener.  Holistic Med reports:

The public is waiting for an artificial sweetener that is unquestionably safe. But this one isn’t it. Even compared to aspartame and saccharin (which are afflicted with their own safety publems – see below), acesulfame K is the worst. The additive is inadequately tested, the FDA based its approval on tests of acesulfame K that fell short of the FDA’s own standards. But even those tests indicate that the additive causes cancer in animals, which means it may increase cancer risk in humans. In l987, CSPI urged the FDA not to approve acesulfame K, but was ignored. After the FDA gave the chemical its blessing, CSPI urged that iat be banned. The FDA hasn’t yet ruled on that request.”

Would I buy this product?  No.  Cold-EEZE may be clinically-proven to help colds, but I avoid artificial sweeteners.

Disclosure: The products described above were sent to us as free samples. Prior assurances as to the nature of the reviews, whether positive or negative, were not given. No financial payments were accepted in exchange for the reviews. The reviews reflect our honest, authentic opinions.