Vitamin C in doses as high as one gram daily for several winter months , had no consistent beneficial effect on incidence of the common cold .
For both preventive and therapeutic trials , there was a consistently beneficial but generally modest therapeutic effect on duration of cold symptoms .
There was no clear indication of the relative benefits of different regimes or vitamin C doses .
However in trials that tested vitamin C after cold symptoms occurred , there was some evidence that a large dose produced greater benefits than lower doses .
REVIEW ER 'S CONCLUSIONS Long term daily supplementation with vitamin C in large doses daily does not appear to prevent colds .
BACKGROUND The role of oral ascorbic acid ( vitamin C ) in the prevention and treatment of colds remains controversial despite many controlled trials .
There have also been a number of efforts to synthesize and /or overview the results of these trials , and controversy over what these overviews tell us .
OBJECTIVES The objective of this review was to answer the following two questions : ( 1 ) Does regular high dosage supplementation with vitamin C reduce the incidence of colds ? (
2 ) Does taking vitamin C in high doses at the onset of a cold have a therapeutic effect ?
The effectiveness of vitamin C in preventing and relieving the symptoms of virus-induced respiratory infections.
BACKGROUND An ever increasing dem and to evaluate the effect of dietary supplements on specific health conditions by use of a " significant scientific " st and ard has prompted the publication of this study . OBJECTIVE To study the effect of megadose Vitamin C in preventing and relieving cold and flu symptoms in a test group compared with a control group . DESIGN Prospect i ve , controlled study of students in a technical training facility . SUBJECTS A total of 463 students ranging in age from 18 to 32 years made up the control group . A total of 252 students ranging in age from 18 to 30 years made up the experimental or test group . METHOD Investigators tracked the number of reports of cold and flu symptoms among the 1991 test population of the facility compared with the reports of like symptoms among the 1990 control population . Those in the control population reporting symptoms were treated with pain relievers and decongestants , whereas those in the test population reporting symptoms were treated with hourly doses of 1000 mg of Vitamin C for the first 6 hours and then 3 times daily thereafter . Those not reporting symptoms in the test group were also administered 1000-mg doses 3 times daily . RESULTS Overall , reported flu and cold symptoms in the test group decreased 85 % compared with the control group after the administration of megadose Vitamin C. CONCLUSION Vitamin C in megadoses administered before or after the appearance of cold and flu symptoms relieved and prevented the symptoms in the test population compared with the control group
Vitamin C in doses as high as one gram daily for several winter months , had no consistent beneficial effect on incidence of the common cold .
For both preventive and therapeutic trials , there was a consistently beneficial but generally modest therapeutic effect on duration of cold symptoms .
There was no clear indication of the relative benefits of different regimes or vitamin C doses .
However in trials that tested vitamin C after cold symptoms occurred , there was some evidence that a large dose produced greater benefits than lower doses .
REVIEW ER 'S CONCLUSIONS Long term daily supplementation with vitamin C in large doses daily does not appear to prevent colds .
BACKGROUND The role of oral ascorbic acid ( vitamin C ) in the prevention and treatment of colds remains controversial despite many controlled trials .
There have also been a number of efforts to synthesize and /or overview the results of these trials , and controversy over what these overviews tell us .
OBJECTIVES The objective of this review was to answer the following two questions : ( 1 ) Does regular high dosage supplementation with vitamin C reduce the incidence of colds ? (
2 ) Does taking vitamin C in high doses at the onset of a cold have a therapeutic effect ?