Does Vitamin C Really Help With Immunity Amid Pandemic?

THANKS FOR WATCHING “MID- MORNING” THIS WEDNESDAY. SALES OF VITAMIN C HAVE SOARED SINCE THE PANDEMIC . EXPERIMENT PEOPLE SAY THEY WANT THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEMS TO BE BOOSTED. CAN YOU DO THAT? DOES IT WORK? HEATHER, YOU TOOK A LOOK AT THIS AND IT HAS CERTAINLY BECOME SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN WITH KAREN ABOUT RISK GOING AROUND. WE STARTED SEEING THIS HAPPEN IN MARCH, WHERE PEOPLE WENT OUT AND BOUGHT VITAMIN C.

I DIDN’T KNOW THIS BUT IT’S ACTUALLY THE THIRD MOST POPULAR SUPPLEMENT IN THE U.S. NUMBER ONE AS THE MULTI-AND NUMBER TWO IS VITAMIN D. IF YOU LOOK AT VITAMIN C, I MEAN, THAT STUFF IS GOING THROUGH THE ROOF RIGHT NOW. MY UNDERSTANDING ON THE RESEARCH ON INDIVIDUAL VITAMINS IN PARTICULAR TAKEN AS A SUPPLEMENT IS SKETCHY. IT SORT OF ALL OVER THE PLACE. A LOT IS INCONCLUSIVE BUT THERE ARE THINGS THEY CAN SAY, THE EXPERTS CAN SAY ABOUT VITAMIN C AND SOME OF THE STUDIES HAVE FOUND THAT IT CAN REDUCE OR SHORTEN THE COLD SLIGHTLY.

SO IF YOU’RE COLD LAST 10 DAYS, IT MIGHT REDUCE THE SYMPTOMS SLIGHTLY AND MAYBE A COLD WILL LAST NINETIETHS. WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THE PEOPLE WHO SWEAR BY IT? YOU MEAN EVERYBODY WHO SWEARS BY IT? EVERYONE SWEARS BY IT, I JUST FLOOD THE ZONE WITH EMERGENCY AND I’LL BE FINE. I AM LIKE RA. MAYBE YOU ARE FINE BUT MAYBE YOU WERE GOING TO GET THE COLD ANYWAYS.

NOTHING TO DO WITH THE VITAMIN C. WHAT THE STUDIES HAVE FOUND IS IT WILL NOT STAVE OFF THE COLD, BUT THERE DOES SEEM TO BE SOME SORT OF IMPACT ON THE IMMUNE SYSTEM. YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE HAS AN IMPACT? SLEEP, EATING ALL YOUR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES, DISTRESSING, ALL OF THESE THINGS. THEY KIND OF ADD UP TOGETHER, AND THEY ARE GOOD PANDEMIC OR NOT.

DO YOU THINK, IF YOU DON’T WANT TO ANSWER THIS, FEEL FREE TO POND, BUT YOU HAVE DONE A LOT OF RESEARCH ON DIFFERENT VITAMINS, DO YOU THINK THERE IS LITTLE HARM IN TAKING THE SUPPLEMENTS? THERE IS LITTLE HARM IN TAKING THE VITAMIN C. YOU CAN TAKE TOO MUCH. THEY LOOK AT 200 MILLIGRAMS NOT A GOOD IDEA. BUT THERE ARE DIFFERENT VITAMINS WHERE SOME YOU REALLY SHOULDN’T TAKE TOO MUCH, VITAMIN C IS A DIFFERENT ONE. ARE PEOPLE JUST WASTING THEIR MONEY THEN? IT COULD BE, BECAUSE REALLY, MOST OF US CAN AND SHOULD TRY TO GET THESE NUTRIENTS TO YOUR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.

I AM THROWING ALL THAT OUT, WE JUST COVERED THAT IN THE FIRST SEGMENT. STRAIGHT IN THE TRASH. VITAMIN C IS IN FOOD, IT’S IN MORE THAN JUST THE THINGS YOU THINK OF HAVING VITAMIN C. IT IS NOT JUST ORANGES.

AT BROCCOLI, SPINACH, EAT ALL OF THESE THINGS.

Source: WCCO – CBS Minnesota