What is it about?
In animal studies, vitamin C administration has been shown to have protective effects against diverse viral and bacterial infections. In humans, several infections such as the common cold and pneumonia decrease vitamin C levels indicating that vitamin C metabolism may be involved with infections. The controlled trials discussed in this review strongly indicate that vitamin C has an effect on respiratory infections in certain contexts, but there appears to be heterogeneity in the effects.
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Why is it important?
On average, adults experience around 2 colds per year, and children around 6, making respiratory infections a major source of morbidity. Therefore, even if vitamin C has modest effects on the severity of the common cold, or effects limited to special circumstances, the effects may have public health relevance.
Perspectives
If a person suffers from frequent colds, it is reasonable to test individually whether he or she may benefit from vitamin C supplementation during the winter. For all common cold patients, it is not unreasonable to test whether 6-8 g/day therapeutic vitamin C appears beneficial, starting soon after the onset of symptoms. Further research is needed, yet vitamin C is safe and cheap, which makes testing at the individual-level practical.
Dr Harri Hemila
Helsingin Yliopisto
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Vitamin C for the common cold and pneumonia, Polish Archives of Internal Medicine, January 2025, Towarzystwo Internistow Polskich/Polish Society of Internal Medicine,
DOI: 10.20452/pamw.16926.
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