As we approach the cold and flu
season, I thought it might be interesting to follow up on the
persistent vitamin C myth of using it as a prevention and cure for
the common cold. Some people have also claimed it to be a cure for
cancer.
Hundreds of studies have now concluded that vitamin C does not treat
the common cold. The results of many studies of various types,
involving hundreds of thousands of people from around the world have
all arrived at the same conclusion - vitamin C has no effect to
prevent or cure colds or cancer.
The FDA, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical
Association, the American Dietetic Association, the Center for Human
Nutrition at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,
and the Department of Health and Human Services do not recommend
supplemental vitamin C for the prevention or treatment of colds.
Vitamin C does have other benefits and the studies did not say
vitamin C is bad for you, it just does not provide the cancer and
common cold remedies claimed.