Vitamin C can speed up the recovery process from the common cold in individuals.

Question

An article from Mayo Clinic explains the benefits from using Vitamin C, such as speeding up the recovery process from common cold symptoms. However, this is limited to an extent. The article explains that while Vitamin C "doesn't prevent you from getting a cold", there's some "limited research that additional Vitamin C might speed up the recovery process slightly in some people", according to Dr. Jesse Bracamonte, a family physician for Mayo Clinic.

Answer 1

Upon looking at another source from the National Library of Science, similar research was concluded that consuming Vitamin C can aid recovery time upon getting a cold. This article states that it, "decreased severity and duration of colds when vitamin C is consumed at doses at or above 0.2 g/day, it is most reasonable for patients to obtain this from their diet, considering supplementation did not decrease the overall incidence of colds in the general population." Therefore, stating that it isn't a prevention tool, nor something that once taken can rely on to cure or keep common colds away.

Answer 2

Looking into this, the base claim of Vitamin C speeding up one’s recovery from the common cold is true, however there are complexities to this. Researchers from the Cochrane Collaboration did quite the exhaustive meta analysis of 29 studies asking the question of whether large doses of vitamin C (in this case defined as regular dosages of 200mg or more)  protects against colds or relieves their symptoms. They found that taking vitamin C everyday over long periods of time did lead to a decrease in the duration of the cold by about 10%, as well as a mild decrease in the severity of symptoms. 

Although many studies found that if one starts taking the vitamin C only after becoming ill, there was no measurable decrease in the duration of the illness.

It’s also worth mentioning that the majority of claims that vitamin C intake can prevent the common cold are likely false. As this was only found to be true in cases where the individuals experienced short periods of very strenuous physical activity, such as marathon runners. In these niche cases it was found that taking a lot of vitamin C starting well beforehand (2-3 weeks) decreased their risk of developing a cold by roughly 50%.

All of the above is outlined in this article by the National Library of Medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279544/

Comments

Good job using a credible source to back up your claim. I love how you also included statistics to prove your point and to make your fact-check more detailed. It shows that you spent time on your research.

Answer 3

After looking into multiple online sources about the topic of Vitamin C speeding up the recovery process of common colds, I found that this claim is accurate. In the source provided, Dr. Jesse Bracamonte explains the beneficial effects of Vitamin C and claims that while it cannot prevent or automatically cure common cold symptoms, it can definitely shorten the amount of time you're sick for. Upon further research, Dr. Bracamonte is a well-educated expert with many awards such that prove his credibility.

For starters, the National Library of Medicine acknowledges that "Taking vitamin C every day to try to prevent colds won't protect most people from colds. It only slightly shortens the amount of time that they're ill." To back this up, they included a study where researchers from the Cochrane Collaboration investigated the question of whether taking Vitamin C can cure a cold or simply relieve the symptoms. Their research focused on additional studies that tested a dose of 1,000 or more mg of vitamin C per day. Results showed that it was not possible for an individual to be cured from taking Vitamin C, but it did shorten the amount of time people were ill for by 10%. Symptoms were also less intense in those who took the vitamin. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279544/). 

Additionally, an article by Cleveland Clinic explores this claim and explains the benefits of taking Vitamin C. Dr. McDonnell states that “It helps your immune cells get to the site of an infection and then helps those immune cells eliminate whatever’s infecting your body." In other words, taking Vitamin C while you're sick strengthens your immune system in order to fight infections in your body. It is also noted in this article that there is research that contradicts the claim of Vitamin C preventing a cold, but that is different from reducing how long someone is sick for (https://health.clevelandclinic.org/benefits-of-vitamin-c).

Overall, Vitamin C does help in speeding up the recovery process for someone who is sick with the common cold. Even if it cannot immediately cure the illness, taking Vitamin C comes with many benefits and doesn't negatively impact the body if you take the recommended amount.