The notion that popping vitamin C supplements will automatically ward off the common cold has been debunked by experts. According to Daniel M Davis, head of life sciences at Imperial College London, this idea has persisted for over 50 years largely due to the advocacy of Linus Pauling, a double Nobel prize winner and influential chemist.
Pauling's 1970 book Vitamin C and the Common Cold made waves, sparking high demand that led to the production of supplements on an industrial scale. However, Davis notes that research has shown no correlation between vitamin C supplementation and reduced cold-catching rates. In fact, studies indicate that individuals taking vitamin C supplements are just as susceptible to catching a cold as those who don't take any.
The modest benefits reported in some studies – about an 8% reduction in symptom duration for adults – are also tempered by the realization that individuals regularly taking high doses of vitamin C tend to be more health-conscious overall. Therefore, Davis suggests focusing on vitamin D if one wants to bolster their immune system.
Unlike its cousin, vitamin D is better established as crucial for immunity and can be readily obtained through sun exposure between March and October or taken as a supplement during the winter months, according to NHS guidelines.
Pauling's 1970 book Vitamin C and the Common Cold made waves, sparking high demand that led to the production of supplements on an industrial scale. However, Davis notes that research has shown no correlation between vitamin C supplementation and reduced cold-catching rates. In fact, studies indicate that individuals taking vitamin C supplements are just as susceptible to catching a cold as those who don't take any.
The modest benefits reported in some studies – about an 8% reduction in symptom duration for adults – are also tempered by the realization that individuals regularly taking high doses of vitamin C tend to be more health-conscious overall. Therefore, Davis suggests focusing on vitamin D if one wants to bolster their immune system.
Unlike its cousin, vitamin D is better established as crucial for immunity and can be readily obtained through sun exposure between March and October or taken as a supplement during the winter months, according to NHS guidelines.
I'm totally surprised people still think popping vitamin C will keep them from getting sick lol like what about all those ads back in the day saying it's the magic cure for the common cold? 
anyway i guess that 8% reduction in symptom duration is kinda a win but idk if it's worth getting on supplements for... and yeah vitamin D makes way more sense imo 
i remember reading linus paulings book back in school and thinking it was legit but now i see how much misinformation has spread 
its all about getting ur daily dose of vitamin d tho, thats where its at 
at least u dont have to rely on supplements or overpaying for them 
my doc always says get ur sunshine in if u can
i mean, vitamin d is def where its at fam...sun's been good for ages 
& if ur not gettin enough from that, jus take a suppl 
but vits C? no thanks. all it does is give u a headache or somethin 
& ppl still go for it like its magic pill 
! I mean, I get it, vitamin C is good for you and all that, but does popping pills really keep the sniffles at bay? Apparently not. It's like, we've been told to take them for years and now experts are like "hold up, nope". And it's not just about the supplements themselves, but also people who take them are already super health-conscious... so what's the point? I'd rather just enjoy some sunshine during the winter months 
i mean i knew it was just a myth but i thought for sure all those ppl who took it regularly had some kinda magic shield against germs lol anyway so now davis is saying we should focus on vitamin D instead 
but what about all those ppl who live in places w/ super low sunlight lol can they still just take a diff supplement or something? i dont know 
so what can we do instead? I think it's great that experts like Daniel M Davis are speaking out about this and reminding us to focus on real immune system boosters... vitamin D is where it's at, imo! 
just think about it like this: if ur already takin good care of urself (eatin healthy, exerisin regularly etc) then maybe u can try supplementing with vitamin D and see the diff 
Vitamin C has been getting so much hype over the years... I guess you could say it's time to set the record straight 
Interesting that all those years of taking it hasn't actually made a huge difference in preventing colds. But hey, at least we're learning more about what works and what doesn't 
and I was thinking about how sun damage affects our skin... like, have you ever noticed how some people get these weird sunburn scars that never fully fade away? 
... but hey at least we can blame Linus Pauling instead of ourselves 
. It's crazy how an idea can stick around for so long due to one person's influence... Linus Pauling, you're a legend and all, but even your Nobel prizes couldn't make this fact go away 
. The 8% reduction in symptoms is still a good thing, I guess? But it's not like taking vitamin C is going to magically protect you from getting sick either 
. At least now we know that if we want to boost our immunity, we should be focusing on vitamin D instead 
I've always been skeptical about those vitamin C supplements claiming to ward off the common cold 
. It's crazy how this idea has stuck around for over 50 years just because of Linus Pauling's influential book back in 1970. The thing is, research has shown that taking vitamin C doesn't actually reduce your chances of catching a cold 
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. But let's be real, if vitamin C really worked that well, we'd see some serious correlation between taking them and not catching a cold. Newsflash: there isn't one