Does vitamin C really prevent the common cold?

Vitamin C rich foods like oranges, lemons and mosambis have long been recommended for prevention of common cold. Although some of you might have found it to be helpful, others might not agree with it. The role of vitamin C in preventing cold has always been debatable.

Unfortunately there is no evidence that vitamin C can totally prevent cold but there are a few studies showing that vitamin C can reduce the severity of cold symptoms and the duration of cold. A randomised controlled trial by Sasazuki S and colleagues found that vitamin C may significantly reduces the frequency of the common cold but had no apparent effect on the duration or severity of the common cold. Another study by Hemilä H and colleagues suggested that it may be worthwhile for people with common cold to eat citrus fruits due to its individual therapeutic effect. A review of 21 clinical studies, it was found that vitamin C reduced the duration of cold episodes and the severity of cold symptoms of by an average of 23%.  Overall, there is still a lot of inconsistency and no single study has come up with clearly defining results as to whether vitamin C can really be helpful in treating or preventing cold. But that should not affect your choice about eating citrus fruits because vitamin C helps in a lot of other ways to boost your health. It is a natural antihistamine and helps in controlling allergies by reducing the levels of histamine. It is anti-inflammatory and helps control diabetes and prevent heart disease. Here are a few more health benefits of vitamin C