Vitamin C, are we overdosing?
By Angela Epstein
Vitamin C is commonly seen as the best way of warding off colds
As the season of colds begins, many of us reach for megadose Vitamin C supplements in the belief that they will stave off infection. But is the theory right - or are we, in fact, overdosing?
In 1970, Nobel Prize-winning chemist Linus Pauling proposed in his book, Vitamin C And The Common Cold, that taking a dose of 1,000mg a day could help fight the virus. The current recommended daily allowance of Vitamin C is only 40mg.
Despite Dr Pauling's faith, the evidence in support of his theories on Vitamin C has been mixed.
However, a recent review of 30 studies involving a total of 11,000 people found there was, in fact, no evidence that, for the average person, taking extra Vitamin C can stop sneezes, sniffles and coughs.
Researchers at the Cochrane Collaboration, an organisation that evaluates medical studies, did, however, conclude the vitamin may have health benefits other than keeping adult colds at bay, and that more studies on colds in children, and its affect on pneumonia, were needed.
There is no doubt that Vitamin C - or ascorbate, to give it its proper chemical name - has a number of vital functions, including tissue growth and repair, maintaining healthy gums and helping the body to absorb iron from food.
High doses won't do any harm as Vitamin C is water-soluble and can't be stored in the body. However, this means we need to consume it on a daily basis to maintain our health.
Deficiency of Vitamin C can lead to bleeding gums, 'liver spots' on the skin, depression and, in advanced cases, 'scurvy' - open sores forming on the body, loss of teeth and, in extreme cases, even death.
Here are excellent sources of Vitamin C;
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