Does Vitamin C Work Against Colds?

A short infographic on the research and how much you need for any health benefits.

Even though most of us grew up hearing unqualified praises for vitamin C during the cold season, the scientific research doesn’t actually hold up. Here’s a short summary of the research on whether vitamin C is good for colds and exactly how much you need for any benefits:

To help you shop smart for vitamin C, we tested 29 top-selling brands for label accuracy and common contaminants. Check out our full reports for free here.

For more information on Labdoor’s independent tests on 29 best-selling vitamin C brands, get our full reports and rankings for free here.

If you learned something from this story, please click the ❤ below, comment if you have any questions, and follow Labdoor for more research-driven articles on health topics that matter to you. Thanks!

Sources:

1. Infographic Design: Sherzod Max
2. Almendrala, A. (2015, September). Sorry, Your Vitamin C Megadose is Basically Useless; Maybe Just Wash Your Hands More?. Huffington Post.
3. Douglas RM, et al. (2004, October). Vitamin C for preventing and treating the common cold. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
4. Gorton HC & Jarvis K. (1999, October). The effectiveness of vitamin C in preventing and relieving the symptoms of virus-induced respiratory infections. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapy. 22(8):530–3.
5. Hemiliä, H. (2004). Vitamin C Supplementation and Respiratory Infections: a Systematic Review. Military Medicine, 169:920–925.
6. Hemiliä, H., Chalker, E., & Douglas, B. (2007). Vitamin C for preventing and treating the common cold. Cochrane Database Systematic Reviews, 3;CD000980. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD000980.pub3
7. K Akhilender Naidu. (2003). Vitamin C in human health and disease is still a mystery? An overview. Nutrition Journal. 2:7. doi: 10.1186/1475–2891–2–7
8. Mayo Clinic. (2015). Drugs and Supplements — Vitamin C (ascorbic acid).
9. Michels AJ and Frei B. (2013). Myths, Artifacts, and Fatal Flaws: Identifying Limitations and Opportunities in Vitamin C Research. Nutrients. 5(12):5161–5192. doi: 10.3390/nu5125161
10. Paddayatty, SJ & Levine, M. (2001, February). New Insights into the Physiology and Pharmacology of Vitamin C. Canadian Medical Association Journal. 164(3).
11. Schleicher, R.L., Carroll, M.D., Ford, E.S., & Lacher, D.A. (2009). Serum vitamin C and the prevalence of vitamin C deficiency in the United States: 2003–3004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 90, 1252–1263.
12. Thompson, June (2007). Vitamins, minerals and supplements 5: Overview of vitamin C. Community Practitioner, 80(1), 35–36.