What Happens to Your Cold Symptoms When You Take Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin known for its role in supporting the immune system. It acts as an antioxidant, protecting your cells from damage and helps strengthen your skin barrier, allowing it to keep out harmful microbes.

Some studies have shown that vitamin C can help prevent or reduce cold or flu symptoms. However, not all studies demonstrate these benefits.

Some studies report that vitamin C can reduce the duration of cold or flu symptoms by about 10 to 30 percent. However, these benefits were mainly seen in people with severe symptoms rather than those with milder symptoms.

Supplementing with vitamin C may shorten the duration of a cold by increasing the body’s ability to resist bacteria that can make colds worse or longer. It also strengthens your immune system to help fight cold-causing bacteria or viruses.

People who take vitamin C supplements regularly may experience milder cold symptoms than people who don’t take vitamin C. Some studies suggest that vitamin C may help reduce the severity of a cold by about 15%.

Vitamin C can help reduce the severity of symptoms because it has an effect antihistamine effect, which can help relieve sneezing and runny nose.

People who engage in strenuous physical activities, such as professional athletes, especially in extremely cold weather, may benefit from vitamin C for colds.

One study found that the risk of developing a cold decreased by about 50% in people who took vitamin C two to three weeks before these activities. However, there is not enough evidence to support this benefit in people who engage in more moderate activity.

Although there are some benefits to taking vitamin C for colds, current research suggests that it is only helpful if you take it before cold symptoms appear. Taking it after a cold starts probably won’t have any effect on your cold.

Other limitations of taking vitamin C for a cold include:

• Side effects: Vitamin C can have some side effects, especially in high doses, such as diarrhea, nausea, and stomach upset.
• Drug interactions: Vitamin C may interact with certain medications, such as statins (e.g. Zocor) and cancer treatments.

To get the most out of your vitamin C for colds, keep these tips in mind:

• Eat more fruits and vegetables of varied colors, such as red peppers, citrus fruits, strawberries and broccoli. Consuming up to five servings of fruits and vegetables can provide up to 250 milligrams of vitamin C.
• Choose raw fruits and vegetables for their highest vitamin C content. For example, half a cup of raw red pepper contains up to 95 milligrams of vitamin C.
• Opt to steam or microwave your fruits and vegetables instead of cooking or boiling them to reduce nutrient loss.
• Prolonged storage may reduce the strength of vitamin C.
• Avoid storing your vitamin C supplements near sunlight or in high humidity areas, as this may cause the vitamin to break down and become less effective.

Dosage

Although there are no specific recommendations for the dose of vitamin C needed to boost the immune system, clinical trials have used doses greater than 1,000 milligrams. That’s significantly higher than the recommended daily amount of vitamin C, which is about 90 milligrams for adult men and 75 milligrams for adult women. However, daily doses of up to 2,000 milligrams from fruits and supplements have been used safely.

Consult your doctor before using high doses of vitamin C if you have other health problems, especially if you have problems with iron absorption.