Regular vitamin C supplementation shortens the
duration of common cold infections.
Although vitamin C has no preventive effect in the
general community, it may reduce the incidence of
respiratory symptoms in restricted population groups
such as people under acute physical stress and
people with a particularly low dietary intake of
vitamin C. Given the reported benefits, it is
puzzling that major textbooks have rejected the
possibility that vitamin C might be beneficial
against colds. In this study, it is shown that the
most influential reviews on vitamin C and the common
cold, cited in the major textbooks, contain numerous
errors. Vitamin E supplementation has no overall
effect on the incidence of the common cold or
pneumonia, but in the case of both infections a
substantial modification of the vitamin E effect was
found. A major finding in this study is
heterogeneity in the effects of vitamin C and
vitamin E. While there is no evidence that ordinary
people might benefit from supplementation, the
heterogeneity indicates that further study should be
carried out to identify the conditions in which
these vitamins might be beneficial.
duration of common cold infections.
Although vitamin C has no preventive effect in the
general community, it may reduce the incidence of
respiratory symptoms in restricted population groups
such as people under acute physical stress and
people with a particularly low dietary intake of
vitamin C. Given the reported benefits, it is
puzzling that major textbooks have rejected the
possibility that vitamin C might be beneficial
against colds. In this study, it is shown that the
most influential reviews on vitamin C and the common
cold, cited in the major textbooks, contain numerous
errors. Vitamin E supplementation has no overall
effect on the incidence of the common cold or
pneumonia, but in the case of both infections a
substantial modification of the vitamin E effect was
found. A major finding in this study is
heterogeneity in the effects of vitamin C and
vitamin E. While there is no evidence that ordinary
people might benefit from supplementation, the
heterogeneity indicates that further study should be
carried out to identify the conditions in which
these vitamins might be beneficial.