Vitamin C For Preventing & Treating Colds & Flu

Vitamin C can help to prevent colds and flu and also help to treat colds and flu, but it has to be used in high enough doses to be effective.

Winter Ailments : See Also

Cold Products

Cold Information

Flu Products

Flu Information
Articles : How You Catch Colds & Flu : How To Treat Colds & Flu : How To Prevent Colds & Flu : Flu Vaccines : Swine Flu : Man Flu
Related Pages : Children's Coughs & Colds : Catarrh & Sinus Problems : Aromatic Decongestants : Steam Inhalers : Cough : Sore Throat : High Temperature & Fever ::

Does Vitamin C Prevent Or Treat Colds & Flu?

The use of vitamin C for preventing or treating colds and flu has been controversial for many years. Linus Pauling brought the debate into the public eye in the early 70's with the publication of his book 'Vitamin C And The Common Cold', which showed that his research using high doses of vitamin C prevented and reduced cold and flu symptoms.

Medical research to support these claims has been done, with mixed results, and current medical opinion is that vitamin C has at best a very small effect for most people, though for people under high stress, such as athletes and soldiers the effect can be very significant. However, much of the research has used low doses of vitamin C, rather than the high doses recommended by Linus Pauling, and several high dose studies have produced significant results, and so there is still strong support among nutritionists that vitamin C for colds and flu actually works.

To put this all in perspective, the medical recommendation that 60mg a day is all the vitamin C you need seems to be far too low. While this will prevent scurvy it doesn't maximise the antioxidant and immune systems in the body, and vitamin C supplements of 500mg -2 grams daily throughout the year seem sensible for everyone, on top of eating at least five portions of fruit and veg a day. This improves general health, and that must be good for fighting off colds and flu.

Taking extra vitamin C when you get colds and flu depends on the risk. If you just get a mild, occasional cold, then it may not be important. If you catch every cold going around, or if there is a flu epidemic, then taking extra vitamin C at the first sign of any symptoms seems sensible, together with some of the other remedies we recommend below to maximise your chances of getting better quicker.

Vitamin C For Preventing Colds & Flu

Vitamin C is essential for boosting your immune system, and some studies have shown that taking at least 1 gram of Vitamin C every day helps to prevent colds and flu by reducing the number of times you suffer and also reducing the severity of the infections. However, 1 gram of vitamin C is about 20 oranges worth, and so taking vitamin C supplements acts as a good insurance policy, and is best taken in divided doses throughout the day as vitamin C is rapidly excreted by the body. 500mg or more, morning and afternoon would be a good way to take this as a preventative.

Taking 2 grams of vitamin C daily and doubling this to 4 grams daily if there is a flu epidemic has been recommended as the best preventative dose by some vitamin C researchers.

Vitamin C For Treating Colds & Flu

Even more vitamin C is needed to fight an infection, and a dose of 1 gram every hour as soon as symptoms start for the first six hours, and then 1 gram three times a day has been shown in one study to reduce cold symptoms by 85% compared with using cold remedies alone. In a flu epidemic you may want to take even higher doses. Some experts recommend taking 3 grams when symptoms first appear, and then 1 gram every hour, halving the dose if you get diarrhoea.

Vitamin C can have a laxative effect with some people when taken at high doses. If you get diarrhoea then halve the dose. Higher doses of vitamin C may be needed to be effective in flu, and increasing the dose up to the level of your bowel tolerance will maximise the dose your get. Doses of 100g a day have been recommended by some vitamin C experts, and it is safe to take at this level in the short term until the symptoms have gone.