Does pumping up the vitamin C really help after you already feel sick/have symptoms?
Short answer: No.
...research suggests that taking vitamin C regularly may reduce the symptoms and/or duration of a cold once you’ve contracted it - but it doesn’t PREVENT you from catching a cold, and it won’t do much good once you’ve already caught it......
The results of the poll I posted show that most people will try whatever it takes to feel better - and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t pop vitamin C drops like candy whenever I feel a cold coming on...
My advice, in this case, would be to do whatever it is that helps you feel better - each individual (and individual case) is different...and many times it’s mind over matter, anyway (so if vitamin C is your placebo, have at it)!
As far as the research community knows, there is little risk associated with taking vitamin C - although REGULAR supplementation might affect how well some medications work...so, as always, make sure to check with your doctor if you have any concerns......
Here’s a link to the Office of Dietary Supplements’ fact sheet on vitamin C.
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i take a lickin' and keep on tickin'---no, seriously, i take supplements daily and am convinced that they help my immune system to keep the cooties away.
ReplyDeleteFor those of you who are Johnny-on-the-spot, and have already read this post...I need to own up to a mistake (and am totally going to blame "mommy-brain" on this one): CALCIUM can interfere with iron absorption - vitamin C actually aids in iron absorption (when taken at the same time)......I've corrected my error in the initial post - so if the context of this comment is confusing, just ignore it!
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