Vitamin C for colds: Is it effective?

Vitamin C for colds is a common cure heard everywhere. While apples keep the doctors away, oranges bring you Vitamin C.

But traditionally it is believed that Vitamin C for colds is an effective remedy. But is Vitamin C for colds a win-win battle? Does this mean your orange juice is your secret fighter against cold? Are your strawberries the guardian angel? Let’s find out.

What is Vitamin C?

Let’s talk about Vitamin C or ascorbic acid, a micronutrient, which is a water-soluble vitamin and an essential dietary nutrient involved in the repair of tissue during the formation of collagen. It also functions as an antioxidant that neutralizes harmful free radicals.

Vitamin C cannot be actively produced by mammals as opposed to plants. Vitamin C garnered a major reputation for being effective in the treatment of scurvy, a deadly disease that majorly killed sailors during old times.

Vitamin C can be naturally found highest in food items such as:

1) Citrus fruits (oranges, strawberries)

2) Leafy veggies

3) Bell peppers

4) Guavas

Does Vitamin C prevent colds?

(Image via Pexels/cotton-bro studio) (Image via Pexels/Tima Miroshnichenko)

It has been traditionally believed that regular use of supplements could lessen a common cold duration. Before Vitamin C for colds was medically discovered, our ancestors and generational parents believed in certain fruits that help battle the common cold.

Vitamin C, which was officially discovered by Albert Szent-Györgyi and won him the Nobel in 1937, became a rabble-rouser for its traditional view as a protective agent against the cold. This allowed extensive studies on Vitamin C, especially the 1945 placebo-controlled trials.

The topic again became popular with Linus Pauling, a double Nobel laureate, whose best-seller book in 1970, “Vitamin C and the Common Cold”, advocated the concept of “Vitamin overdose" to strengthen immunity and Vitamin C for colds as an effective treatment. Pauling theorized the evolutionary inability of mammals to produce Vitamin C that can be solved by daily dietary intake.

Pauling in his book and other works advocated having 1 gm of Vitamin C every day for colds and other ailments. But this was followed by ground research that denied Vitamin C providing any effective changes against the common cold.

So, no, Vitamin C does not help treat the common cold. This remained a tradition against science that Pauling defended till the end.

Can Vitamin C for colds be an effective treatment?

Vitamin C does not decrease the frequency of colds in the general population, but it has halved the frequency in people under heavy short-term physical stress. This was supported by 1970s publications of reviews that all concluded that Vitamin C for colds is not an effective treatment.

The primary study conducted showed that no significant effect was produced with a high dose of Vitamin C in people to work against the common cold. So, the myth has been declared wrong.

Vitamin C does not actively help against colds but a balanced intake helps build immunity in individuals. So, in simple terms, Vitamin C is effective in halving the cold duration, which is beneficial as a precaution but no active change is shown to produce in people who were given Vitamin C overdose while going through a cold.

How much Vitamin C to take per day when sick?

No certified amount is prescribed by experts to ingest Vitamin C as a remedy for colds. Even the Cochrane review deems that one gram per day or more of Vitamin C does not affect the common cold in general.

However, in trials with participants who were under heavy short-term physical stress— marathon runners, sprinters, skiers, and soldiers, daily Vitamin C intake helped reduce the cold frequency by half. The same review also reported that for people who took Vitamin C regularly as opposed to those who didn’t, the cold duration was shortened by 8% in those adults and by 14% in children.

So, there remains a good ray of hope. Here is a list below of recommended Vitamin C intake.

RDA recommendation for Vitamin C:

Men- 90 mg daily

Women- 75 mg daily (for pregnant and lactating women, 85 to 90 mg daily)

UL for vitamin C: 2000 mg daily

(>2000 mg can lead to diarrhea)

Yes, while Vitamin C undoubtedly works a miracle component in building good immunity hence avoiding catching colds frequently, but it is not a prescribed substance to treat colds. There is no proof.

While not the best item, it nevertheless is a great addition to your diet. A good orange on the go is always a great way to build a healthy immunity system and prevent colds.