Can Vitamin C Fix Your Cold?

This is the first of a series I'm doing on vitamins and minerals. I'll describe what they are, why you should care and what you can do moving forward to optimize yourself. Without further ado...

Vitamin C (aka- ascorbic acid)

- Vitamin C is water soluble meaning it is not stored in your fat cells and you essentially pee out any excess you may consume that you don't use.

- It is essential, meaning you can't create it on your own and you have to have a steady supply from your diet.

- Vitamin C acts like an antioxidant fighting free radicals and their damage. It can also recharge other antioxidants that have been spent fighting radicals.

- It is VITAL for making collagen. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body and is responsible for connective tissue like hair, nails, skin, and joints. Collagen is also super important in wound healing.

- C is super important to your immune system too.

- It helps increase iron absorption and decreases your risk of getting the gout.

- A deficiency of Vitamin C can look like you have very slow wound healing, poor skin, hair and nails, you are easily bruised, bleeding gums and/or you experience fatigue and have a weekend immune system.

So...to answer the question "Can Vitamin C Fix Your Cold?", the answer is no, studies have not shown that consuming Vitamin C can make a cold go away faster. BUT, if you are consuming enough vitamin C and other key nutrients to keep your immune system in tip top shape you can avoid getting the cold in the first place.

- Adults need 75-100mg/day (that number increases if you are a smoker)

- The highest Vitamin C containing foods may surprise you at first...

red and green peppers

kiwi

oranges

broccoli, kale and Brussel Sprouts to name a few

So there's a few facts about Vitamin C. Next we'll go over the B vitamins. If you have comments, feel free to comment below or shoot me an email natalie@drnataliewhitaker.com

Until Next Time!