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Mayo Clinic Minutes
Winter is cold and flu season. Can taking more vitamin C help prevent disease?
Mayo Clinic family physician Dr. Jesse Bracamonte details the health benefits of vitamin C in this Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
View: Mayo Clinic Proceedings
Journalists: Broadcast quality video (1:05) is available in the downloads at the end of this post. Courtesy: “Mayo Clinic News Network.” Please read the script.
Would you like to prevent colds this winter? Just drink more vitamin C-rich orange juice, right?
“We know that vitamin C helps the immune system function properly. Vitamin C helps with wound healing, protects collagen and joints, and even helps protect some tendons,” Dr. Bracamonte says. . “But overall, taking too much vitamin C to prevent colds has not been proven to be true.”
Dr. Bracamonte said that while taking vitamin C will not prevent colds, there is limited research that adding vitamin C may slightly speed up the recovery process for some people. I am.
“So if your cold lasts about seven days, you could save about 13 hours,” Dr. Bracamonte says.
If you include fruits and vegetables in your diet, you need to get enough vitamin C, he says. But if you want an extra boost of vitamin C, try taking a daily supplement.
“In most cases, that’s 500 milligrams of vitamin C. Too much of anything is not necessarily a good thing. You need to be careful with your intake and make sure you don’t exceed the recommended daily intake.” Dr. Bracamonte says.
He says it’s best to consult your medical team before taking any new supplements.
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