We all dread it, and we do everything we can to avoid it - but the cough & cold season is just a month or two away. Are there any vitamins we can take to prevent it?
Vitamin C is usually the vitamin that jumps to mind in conjunction with this answer, but a recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine considered whether vitamin D may actually be where it"s at.
Vitamin C is usually the vitamin that jumps to mind in conjunction with this answer, but a recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine considered whether vitamin D may actually be where it"s at.
Why did they think to look at Vitamin D? Recent evidence suggests that vitamin D plays an important role in immunity, and previous smaller studies had also suggested a relationship between lower vitamin D levels and risk of cough & cold. Vitamin D is a hotbed of research these days, as studies have shown that higher vitamin D levels are not only beneficial in terms of bone health, but are also associated with a lower risk of multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and possibly cancer.
As for our old friend, vitamin C: Overall, the evidence does not actually support that it decreases the risk or the severity of colds, though it may decrease the duration of colds slightly.
Dr. Sue © 2009 http://www.drsue.ca/ drsuetalks@gmail.com