CORRECT! Researchers at Cardiff University's Common Cold Center have proved Mom may be on to something. They recruited 180 volunteers, half of whom had to immerse their feet in iced water for twenty minutes a day while the other half sat with thei... Read More >

WRONG. Researchers at Cardiff University's Common Cold Center have proved Mom may be on to something. They recruited 180 volunteers, half of whom had to immerse their feet in iced water for twenty minutes a day while the other half sat with their ... Read More >

CORRECT! Researchers at Cardiff University's Common Cold Center have proved Mom may be on to something. They recruited 180 volunteers, half of whom had to immerse their feet in iced water for twenty minutes a day while the other half sat with their feet in an empty bowl. During the course of five days, almost a third (29 percent) of the chilled volunteers developed cold symptoms compared to just 9 percent in the control group. Professor Ron Eccles, co-researcher on the study offered this explanation: "When colds are circulating in the community, many people are mildly infected but show no symptoms. If they become chilled, this causes a pronounced constriction of the blood vessels in the nose and shuts off the warm blood that supplies the white cells that fight infection. The reduced defenses in the nose allow the virus to get stronger and common cold symptoms develop. Although the chilled subject believes they have ‘caught a cold,' what has, in fact, happened is that the dormant infection has taken hold." So, bundle up.

WRONG. Researchers at Cardiff University's Common Cold Center have proved Mom may be on to something. They recruited 180 volunteers, half of whom had to immerse their feet in iced water for twenty minutes a day while the other half sat with their feet in an empty bowl. During the course of five days, almost a third (29 percent) of the chilled volunteers developed cold symptoms compared to just 9 percent in the control group. Professor Ron Eccles, co-researcher on the study offered this explanation: "When colds are circulating in the community, many people are mildly infected but show no symptoms. If they become chilled, this causes a pronounced constriction of the blood vessels in the nose and shuts off the warm blood that supplies the white cells that fight infection. The reduced defenses in the nose allow the virus to get stronger and common cold symptoms develop. Although the chilled subject believes they have ‘caught a cold,' what has, in fact, happened is that the dormant infection has taken hold." So, bundle up.