Does vitamin C shorten a cold?
If you take it before the cold starts. The authors of the study reviewed 30 research trials that included 11,350 people who took 200 mg or more of vitamin C daily at various stages of a cold. Results of the review showed that taking vitamin C before a cold starts may reduce the duration by 8% for adults and 13.6% for children. Does it reduce risk? Only at extremes. The review also found that vitamin C taken before a cold starts does not reduce the incidence of colds in a general adult population but may reduce the incidence in people exposed to extreme physical or cold (temperature) stress. For example, a group of athletes and soldiers on sub-Arctic exercises who took daily vitamin C reduced cold risk by 50%. Does it make a cold less severe? Not if youre already sick. According to the reviewed trials, vitamin Cs effects on cold severity were inconsistent. A slight benefit was attributed to vitamin C in reducing days absent from school or work, but according to the review no significant
