Is it good to eat citrus fruits during common cold?

[jackson6612]

Is it good to eat citrus fruits during common cold?

[Darby]

Some people think that Vitamin C is effective against colds; the clinical evidence is fairly weak, though.

[nugget]

i think lots of fruit and liquids would help a cold along, as they are full of vitamins anyway.

[MrMistery]

vitamins are not medicines. You can't take them and get rid of a disease. Vitamin C does help the immune system develop, but if you already have a cold then it won't help you heal faster(i have read some articles saying it will, but not so convincing. maybe new evidence?!).

[Cynthia Joffrion]

It has worked for me in the past.

[Jedi of Zen]

I am a nursing student. I agree that vitamins are NOT medicines. But they are co-factors that serve a purpose. I think the observable effect on immunity is more cumulative and long-term. ie, someone who has been eating a vitamin-rich, balanced diet for the last 6 months catches a cold - that person will probably fare much better than someone who has been eating junk food every day for the last 6 months. Having said that, though, I don't think, at the very least, that vitamin C consumption HURTS, by any means, when you have a cold. imo best source of vitamins, generally, is in raw fruits and veggies, not supplements (I only say that b/c brand quality tends to be hit-and-miss, and most people don't really do any *thorough* research on the brand of the supplements they take). And of course, we all know that a good thing to do when one has a cold is to gently consume lots of clear liquids. I would just be careful about trying to get your vitamin C from iron-rich veggies, though, whenever one is sick. Because iron can enable pathogenic microrganisms to thrive.

[canalon]

Vitamins are not enzymes...
And you do need vitamin to be healthy, but that doesn't mean that they can cure you. It's just that if you have a healthy diet your body is just better equiped to fight for itself.

And excess vitamin C can hurt you (although arguably Vit C is one of the vitamins that needs really ridiculous amounts to toxic).

[nugget]

they are cofactors
they help some reactions to occur, they help enzymes.
some of these vitamins our bodies cannot synthesize, so we need to take them in somehow, such as vitamin D.
the importance of Vitamin C - ascorbic acid, is that it is essential for maintianing the redox state within a cell. it scavenges for oxygen radicals, which are produced as a result of various enzmatic oxidative reactions that involve oxygen. So Vit C helps ur immune system because it inhibits the oxidative destruction in the white blood cells. So it only makes sense to think that it will help ur body in fighting an infection as it will keep the number of "soldiers" high

Ascorbic acid helps other functions as well, but this is the main importance of vitamins, as cofactors for many reactions helping to maintain and stabilize them.

[mcar]

Yes they do. But consider cultural aspects... the yin and yang theory suggests that hot foods are preferable than cold ones. Citrus I think is considered cold, hot foods like a cup of soup is good for those with common colds. This is just a theory.
Researches have shown that vitamin C has a potential role in combating diseases and enhancing immune system response.