Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Science Wire: Marathoners and Vitamin C. Should you "C" the light?

People have been popping vitamin C to ward off the common cold for years. But, does it do any good? Well, for most people, not really. A recent report looking at results from 30 studies found that the benefits are so slight for most people that it makes no sense to spend the money and time to take a tablet of C every day (study). One specific group of people, though, really did benefit from taking C regularly: marathon runners and others exposed to extreme activity and cold conditions. For these folks, taking vitamin C regularly cut the risk of getting a cold in half. That’s a huge benefit that could really help keep a cold at bay when the big race is just around the corner.

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