The immune system in the human body is known to protect against various diseases and illnesses like flu, cold, and others. To make one’s immune system stronger, many resort to vitamin C. The vitamin is often touted as a natural cold remedy. However, Dr. Andrew Huberman shared his thoughts on this remedy and busted the age-old myth.
Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, in his recent podcast, ‘How to Prevent and Treat Colds & Flu,’ on Huberman Labs, highlighted how Vitamin C has been the longest-running remedy for colds in the world. Tiredness, exhaustion, and allergies often lead to colds and flu. But if one is sick, is Vitamin C the answer to it?
Dr. Huberman recently asked his followers on his social media what they did for a cold or flu. “What do you do for a colder flu, and what are you curious about in terms of what one can take for a cold or flu?” He revealed that most of the answers he received were from people stating how they resort to chewing a raw clove of garlic every day during the winter or even fermented garlic. Some of them said they use Echinacea, vitamin C, and zinc.
Furthermore, Huberman highlighted how vitamin C consumption to prevent colds or flu is nothing but a myth. Research suggests that most people believe a very effective way to hasten colds or flu is to make them last a shorter duration of time or prevent colds or flu by taking vitamin C. Huberman makes it clear to all those consuming vitamin C to prevent colds by stating:
“There is some evidence, and it’s not great, frankly, that points to the fact that taking 6 to 8 grams of vitamin C per day, that is a lot of vitamin C each day, can perhaps delay the onset of a cold or shorten the duration of a cold. We’re talking about very high doses and not a very robust effect.”
Taking vitamin C daily to try to prevent colds or flu will not help most people. It helps in shortening the period that they’re ill. But vitamin C will not have any effect on your cold once you are already down with illness. Furthermore, he explained in the podcast that those who are not accustomed to a heavy dosage of vitamin C can experience significant health distress.
“Chances are you’re going to experience some significant gastric distress. Some people can build up to that level or take it with food in a way that doesn’t cause that gastric distress, but many people will experience gastric distress.”
It is known that vitamin C is present in fruits and vegetables, and citrus fruits and berries have high levels of vitamin C. However, according to Huberman, it is not necessary for vitamin C in the high dose range to be effective in treating or preventing colds and flu.
“Vitamin C is probably not a very good investment if you’re taking it solely for the purpose of enhancing your immune system function and staving off cold.”
Dr. Andrew Huberman explains how one can improve immune system functionality naturally
Dr. Huberman discussed another vitamin that most people are aware of, which is vitamin D. Most physicians would agree that supplementing with anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 IU of vitamin D per day is probably safe for most people.
“People who are vitamin D deficient are people, oftentimes who have diminished immune system function and are more prone to acute respiratory tract infections.”
He says that just because people with low levels of vitamin D tend to get colds and flu more often than people who don’t, that does not necessarily mean that vitamin D deficiencies are the reason for that. For instance, we know that people who get regular sunlight in their eyes as early as possible in the day after waking up set in motion a huge number of different benefits.
“Sunlight increases the amount of vitamin D in your system, but a bunch of other things as well. It increases in cortisol, increases in dopamine, and increases in serotonin and relates to improved immune system function.”
As per many meta-analyses, vitamin D helps improve immune system function, which, in turn, can act as a protectant against colds and flu. It might be a good idea to include it in your general kit of nutrition and supplementation tools. One can follow this if their goal is to keep the innate immune system fighting off colds and flu sufficiently. Proposals suggest that Echinacea is another compound that can improve the body’s immune system function.
In conclusion, Huberman states that vitamin C is only marginally beneficial when it comes to the common cold. But we need it for immune function, bone structure, iron absorption, and healthy skin.
