Coughs, Colds &
Flu Research
Diet & Lifestyle
Vitamin
C - effective remedy for colds and pneumonia
The next time you suffer from
the common cold, reach for vitamin C is the advice given by a report
in the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease.
Research by a University in Finland revealed that vitamin C is an
effective supplement for people suffering from the common cold or
even pneumonia.
Reviewing over 60 studies on
the effects of vitamin C on the common cold, the researchers
discovered that there was a significant reduction in the incidence
of pneumonia when patients took vitamin C. Though six studies found
that there was no effect was shown in normal, healthily nourished
people in Western countries, a number of studies reported
significant benefits in those people suffering from heavy or acute
physical stress where the incidence of the common cold decreased by
50%. In 4 trials in the U.K involving British men, the incidence
decreased on average by 30% in the groups given vitamin C compared
with men given placebo tablets.
Regular vitamin C supplements
of more than 1g per day have been shown to consistently reduce the
duration of colds and, in two of the studies, absence from school
and work was reduced by 14-21% per episode.
Vitamin C seems to have
particularly high benefits for patients suffering from pneumonia.
Three trials recorded a reduction of at least 80% in pneumonia
incidence in people taking vitamin C supplements and one trial,
involving elderly patients hospitalised in the U.K. for pneumonia,
reported definite benefits from the use of vitamin C.
These researchers concluded
that vitamin C offers very real and significant benefits for people
suffering from the common cold or even pneumonia and should be used
to complement other treatments.
Source:
Hemila H
and Douglas RM. Vitamin C and acute respiratory infections. The
International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease 3(9): 756-61.
Sep 1999
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