Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is one of the most popular vitamins sold. Aside from taking it to treat colds, people down vitamin C in hopes of preventing or curing many other ailments. Many studies have examined the ways in which vitamin C helps limit or reduce colds and cold symptoms. While some of the claims about its properties have not been fully confirmed, there are two primary documented benefits of taking vitamin C for a cold. There is also one common mistake that causes vitamin C to work less effectively. Consult your doctor before adding a vitamin C supplement or self-treating any condition with the vitamin.
Antihistamine
Studies using vitamin C for colds have shown that it can reduce the severity of cold symptoms by acting as a natural antihistamine, the Learning Channel reports on its website. The same property also makes the vitamin useful for allergy control, as it appears to reduce histamine levels. Histamines are simple chemical substances which your immune system cells produce whenever they react with an antigen. Antigens are produced in response to foreign invaders like germs and bacteria. Histamines produce symptoms such as runny nose, inflammation and congestion. By suppressing histamine levels naturally, vitamin C may help you feel better when you have a cold.
Antioxidant
Vitamin C has antioxidant properties, which protect cells and their DNA from damage and mutation. Vitamin C supports your body's immune system, which is the first line of defense against the viruses that cause colds. It appears that this nutrient helps keep the immune system nourished, the Learning Channel explains. Free oxygen radicals, when generated in excess or not appropriately controlled, will cause damage in your body. Some antioxidants can even become radicals themselves after your body breaks them down and other antioxidants can work to regenerate them. According to Colorado State University researcher Richard Bowen, vitamin E can become a radical in your body, and can be regenerated through the activity of the antioxidants vitamin C and glutathione.
Increasing the Effectiveness
Vitamin C is actively transported in your body as an important part of immune function. The insulin in your body carries both glucose and vitamin C to all your cells, including those that seek, attack, and remove bacteria, viruses, tumor cells, and assorted microscopic materials from the blood, according to research by Drs. Fred and Ottoboni and published in 2005 in the "Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine." There is competition between glucose and vitamin C in your body, and this explains why large doses of vitamin C are necessary to overcome the inhibitory effects of glucose. Many of the sources for large doses of vitamin C, which you might buy at the store, contain high concentrations of glucose. To increase the potential of vitamin C, look for products that contain the lowest levels of glucose, or sugars.
References
- "Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics"; The effectiveness of vitamin C in preventing and relieving the symptoms of virus-induced respiratory infections; H.C. Gorton, K. Jarvis; October 1999
- The Learning Channel: The Benefits of Vitamin C
- Quack Watch: Vitamin C: How High Doses Prevent Colds
- "Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine"; Ascorbic Acid and the Immune System; Fred Ottoboni, M.P.H., Ph.D., Alice Ottoboni, Ph.D.; 2005
- Colorado State University: Free Radicals and Reactive Oxygen
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