Nutritional Myths Debunked Again- Vitamin C

Does vitamin C help prevent colds and/or shorten their severity or diration? Say it ain't so, Joe but the answer is no! PhD Charles Marshall sums up the disappointing scientific results on Quackwatch.com:

Does it make sense to supplement with vitamin C? If so, should it be done daily or only at the first sign of a cold or other infection? And what dosage should be used? The many studies done in the last 30 years clearly prove that daily vitamin C supplements, whether 100 mg or 5,000 mg, do not prevent colds and provide, but only for some people, only a slight reduction in duration and severity of colds. Dr. Thomas Chalmers concluded in 1975: "I, who have colds as often and as severe as those of any man, do not consider the very minor potential benefit that might result from taking vitamin C three tines a day for life worth either the effort or the risk, no matter how slight the latter might be."

If you choose to supplement when a cold strikes, there is no reason to take more than 250 mg per day, as shown in the 1974 Anderson study. This amount is easily obtained from the age-old "remedy," fruit juices. Supplementation with larger amounts of vitamin C has not been shown to be more effective, and it may cause diarrhea or have other adverse effects.

In an age when many subscribe to mega dosing with oral vitamin C or even vitamin C IV's, this is eye-opening news. So, feel good and, if you don't, save on the vitamin C! Pat & Pattie