Fotolia_6154054_XS (2)A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was published in the Clinical Nutrition (2012 Aug 31; S0261-5614(12)00185-9). The subjects were 96 children who were under the age of six. Over a period of two months they received either 10 mg of zinc gluconate or a placebo. The subjects were evaluated every two weeks over a period of six months. The group receiving the zinc had fewer respiratory infections and infections were less severe when compared to the placebo group.