Is there any justification to take high doses of vitamin C?
Let’s see what the Cochrane Collaboration reveals.
2007: Preventing and treating the common cold
- Routine mega-dose prophylaxis is not justified.
- Hope springs eternal for people exposed to brief periods of severe physical exercise or cold environments.
2007:Preventing and treating pneumonia
- Evidence is too weak to advocate widespread prophylactic use of vitamin C.
- But it might reasonable for pneumonia patients with low vitamin C blood levels because its cost and risks are low.
2005: During pregnancy
- Not enough data to know if it’s worth the time and trouble.
2004: For asthma
- Insufficient evidence to recommend a specific role for vitamin C.
- More studies are needed in children with asthma.
- One is listed here.
The bottom line?
It’s pretty clear there is little if any reason to take Linus Pauling-level doses of ascorbic acid. Yet, hope springs eternal. If we could just do one more, really, really good study, I’m sure we could justify Dr. Pauling’s musing.
7/18/07 19:19 JR