|

Author:
Mike Freije

Those who start eating lemons at first symptoms of the common cold should slow down. According to a recent study, Vitamin C does nothing to prevent the common cold.

Australian and Finnish researchers after analysis of 55 studies say that the only effect that Vitamin C can have is to shorten the duration of a cold. Some 30 studies noted that 8% of adults and 13% of children who continued to take Vitamin C while they had a cold cut short its duration.

Nobel Prize-winning chemist Linus Pauling in his 1970s book, "Vitamin C and the Common Cold," sparked interest in the supplement that has grown to a more than $600 million annual business in Britain, the Times of London reported.

However, the study has shown that people who took up to 2 grams of Vitamin C daily caught colds at the same rate as people who took a placebo. The study was conducted by researchers Robert Douglas of Australian National University, Canberra, and Harri Hemila of the University of Helsinki. In order to assess whether supplemental vitamin C can reduce the risk of picking up a cold, the authors focused on 23 studies done in the general population, using doses of up to 2g daily. The result of the study "throws doubt on the utility of this wide practice," the researchers said in the journal Public Library of Science Medicine.

Nevertheless, one study found that very large doses of Vitamin C - 8 grams - taken on the first day of a cold appeared could shorten the disease itself. The authors say that the clinical significance of this minor reduction "is questionable, although the consistency of these findings points to a genuine biological effect."

But the authors did find evidence that the vitamin could help prevent colds in people exposed to extreme physical exertion or cold weather. They found six studies in which the vitamin or a placebo was given to marathon runners, skiers and soldiers exposed to significant cold and/or physical stress.

Those taking the vitamin experienced, on average, a 50 per cent reduction in common cold incidence. The authors urge "great caution", though, in making generalisations from this finding in 6 studies that is mainly based on marathon runners.

Several years ago researchers discovered that big doses of vitamin C can be dangerous for smokers.

Cigarettes and vitamin C are incompatible: big doses of this vitamin could be dangerous for smokers. According to Australian scientists, while smoking heavy metal cadmium penetrates into human organism. Big amounts of this metal could be found in wheat, in Crustacea and in rice imported from Asia. Usually vitamin C protects human organism from tumours due to its anti-oxidant effect. Though, as Australian scientists found out, in combination with cadmium the vitamin could provoke appearing cancer cells. Doses over 4 gram a day are dangerous for smokers. Cadmium could be contained in human organism for tens of years and it is very complicated to be removed. That is why not only today’s smoking or consuming bad food is dangerous, but even bad habits and infected food one used 10 years ago. The scientists state cadmium can penetrate to nature from batteries, smelting furnaces, dye stuffs and plastics.

Mike Freije
http://www.health-shop.com
http://www.health-shop.info

| Article Keywords: Nutrients

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Nutrients... What To Look For In A Men's Multivitamin A lot of men are starting to try to make sure that they get all of the vitamins and minerals that they need by taking supplements in order to improve their overall health and fitness. Although they are not a substitute for a good diet and exercise, multivitamins can help some men to maintain the right level for particular nutrients that they may be lacking or are deficient in. Unfortunately, there are so many different types of supplements that are aimed at men these days that it is hard to know what to look for in a men's multivitamin. Many of the multivitamins and mineral supplements currently sold on the market are formulated to be of benefit to those individuals that have specific deficiencies but there are also a good number of multivitamins that are just made to help to maintain a proper level of nutrients in the body. Still, you really need to know what to look for in a good men's multivitamin and because there are so many different types of multivitamins it can be very confusing. One word of warning it is not usually a good idea to choose your nutritional supplements based on the cost or price, primarily because some of the cheaper products are made from chemical rather than natural ingredients and a lot of health professionals think that they might no be as effective as the natural ones. Of course the caveat to this is based on how much you can afford to spend on your nutritional needs. If you do not have the money to buy the better brands of men's multivitamins then you might need to start with the cheaper ones and see if you notice any improvement in your general health. If money is an issue then it is possible to achieve some good savings on your men's multivitamins if you buy them online. There are some very good savings to be had at online...