The common cold is the most frequent infectious disease in humans, and the average person gets one several times per year.
Does Vitamin C Have Any Effect on the Common Cold?
Around 1970, Nobel prize winner Linus Pauling popularized the theory that vitamin C helps treat colds.
He published a book about cold prevention using megadoses of vitamin C, or up to 18,000 mg daily. For comparison, the RDA is 75 mg for women and 90 mg for men.
At that time, no reliable studies had proved this to be true.
But in the following decades, multiple randomized controlled studies examined whether the vitamin had any effect on the common cold.
The results have been fairly disappointing.
- Reduced cold severity: They reduced the symptoms of a cold, making it less severe.
- Reduced cold duration: Supplements decreased recovery time by 8% in adults and 14% in children, on average.
SUMMARY: Although vitamin C supplements have no effect on the risk of catching a cold, they appear to reduce its severity and duration.How Does Vitamin C Reduce the Severity of Colds?
Vitamin C is an antioxidant and necessary to produce collagen in the skin.
A vitamin C deficiency results in a condition known as scurvy, which isn’t really a problem today, as most people get enough vitamin C from foods.
SUMMARYVitamin C is essential for the proper functioning of immune cells. It is depleted during infections, so a vitamin C deficiency may increase their risk.
Other Nutrients and Foods That May Help
There is no cure for the common cold.
While taking supplements may be necessary to reach the high vitamin C intake required to improve colds, make sure not to go overboard.