When you feel a cold coming on, you may reach for a vitamin-C packet in hopes you’ll save yourself from the sniffles.
But experts say there’s little to no evidence this nutrient protects against getting sick or reduces the duration of your illness.
While a packet of Emergen-C or a tablet of Airborne won’t hurt you, doctors say you’ll probably pee out more of the vitamin than you can use, and that your money might be better spent elsewhere.
Emergen-C and similar brands like Airborne do not directly claim to fight colds and other viruses. Instead, they say they are immune supporting
According to the USDA, there’s roughly 51 mg of vitamin C in one orange – nearly all the FDA recommends per day. Other sources of the nutrient include kiwi, pineapple, broccoli, chili peppers and winter squash
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Heather Mangieri, a nutritionist based in Pennsylvania, told Vox: ‘There’s a lot of misinformation out there on vitamin C because it’s safe.’
It’s a nutrient that’s crucial for cell growth, repairing tissues and keeping skin, tendons and blood vessels healthy, according to Mount Sinai. Being deficient in it can cause nosebleeds, skin problems and easy bruising.
But even though it’s an important part of a balanced diet – it’s not a cure all.
TikTok health expert, microbiologist Wes, said: ‘With cold and flu season coming up I feel like it’s my civic responsibility as a microbiologist to make sure that everyone knows that supplements like Emergen-C and Airborne aren’t effective at preventing or treating colds whatsoever.’
The ‘myth’ that vitamin c, also known as ascorbic acid, can reduce how long you have a cold comes from Linus Pauling – a scientist in born in 1901, Wes said.
Dr Pauling, was an influential biochemist and two time Nobel laureate.
In 1960, Dr Pauling was sent a letter recommending he take a vitamin C supplement to prolong his life – and he did, reportedly taking as much as 18,000 mg per day – exponentially higher than the FDA-recommended daily amount of 75 to 90 mg.
He then published a book where he encouraged others to consume at least 3,000 mg of vitamin C per day, claiming it could prolong life, cure the common cold and even heal snake bites.
But major scientists now disagree.
For example, the FDA recommends women get 75 mg of vitamin C per day and men get 90 mg of vitamin C per day – about the amount in one orange, according to Mayo Clinic.
Both Airborne and Emergen-C say their packets contain 1,000 mg of vitamin C- between 11 and 13 times higher than the amount you need daily in a healthy diet.
A 2013 review from Cochrane Library said using ascorbic acid for the common cold has been a ‘subject of controversy’ for 70 years.
Reviewing 29 studies comprising more than 11,000 people, the researchers concluded that taking the supplements failed to reduce the likelihood of catching a cold or the length of time someone was sick with it.
Dr Pauling won two separate Nobel prizes – one for chemistry and one for peace. He remained a staunch defender of the benefits of Vitamin C until his death in 1994, at age 93
Dr Stuart Fischer, an internal medicine doctor in New York City, told DailyMail.com there were several over-the-counter alternatives – and natural remedies – that may help fight a cold
A 2016 review from Creighton University found when someone was severely sick, having vitamin C could ease your symptoms slightly, but it wasn’t consistent.
Further, the Creighton doctors wrote the amount needed would be best obtained by food, not by supplements.
It’s not dangerous to take more than the recommended dose of vitamin C, but it also may not be necessary to stay healthy, Dr Richard Lockey, a Florida immunologist, told Forbes.
When you take more than you need of the vitamin, your body processes it like the rest of your liquid waste, and it ends up in the toilet.
Dr Lockey said: ‘Could vitamin C be harmful if you take it? No. It’s a water soluble vitamin, and water soluble vitamins are not stored in the body the way that fat soluble vitamins are.’
So you could just be losing money, Kirstin Vollrath, a dietitian and professor at the University of Houston said. Professor Vollrath told Business Insider these products simply turn out to be ‘very expensive pee.’
A pack of 60 Emergen-C packets runs for $22 online and a pack of 30 Airborne tablets sells for $17 online.
Dr Stuart Fischer, an internal medicine doctor in New York City, previously told DailyMail.com there were several over-the-counter – and natural – remedies that may help fight a cold, including the age-old recommendation of chicken soup.
When it comes to preventing illness, one of the best things you can take, according to Dr Fischer, is probiotics.
He said: ‘My own particular way of preventing colds is probiotics. I don’t think anyone can get too many probiotics. I take 25 billion units of probiotics every morning.
‘And this to me is what people mean when they say they have a good immune system. It’s not something inherent in their chemistry, but it’s live good bacteria overwhelming the bad negative bacteria.’
In the end, Dr Fischer stressed that people who are coming down with a cold should rest and take in fluids with electrolytes to replace the fluid they are losing through sweating, which can happen when someone has a fever.
