Colds and flu and the big vitamin C myth

Whereas in the past doctors advised you to keep your vitamin C levels high in order to ward off colds and flu, new evidence suggests that nowadays this could advice could be almost irrelevant. The benefits of vitamin C are now under question, after scientists have found that taking daily vitamin C supplements do not protect the majority of people from colds and flu.

A review of 30 different studies, which involved a total of 11,350 people, discovered that a 200mg minimum dose of vitamin C every day did almost nothing to help make their colds shorter or less severe. The only people who could decrease their risk of catching a cold and flu by 50 percent if they ingested vitamin C every day and had sufficient vitamin C levels are those who are undergoing periods of high stress, such as marathon runners.

Researchers at the University of Helsinki and the Australian National University came to the conclusion that, for the majority of people, the benefits of vitamin C on a daily basis were so miniscule that they were hardly worth the expense or effort. They did find that high vitamin C levels could make the duration of colds and flu up to 13.6 percent shorter in children and 8 percent shorter in adults. However, as the majority of us only have 2-3 colds a year, this vitamin C benefit is almost insignificant.

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The information supplied in this article is not to be considered as medical advice and is for educational purposes only.