High friends I've not posted for quite a while, I've got extra problems going on at the moment but will leave my queries about them until after I've had some more investigations, due in the next 2/3 weeks. For now I'm thinking about taking vitamin C, I've already started taking good quality omega 3 fish oil capsules and thought vitC might help through the winter now that there's a lot of colds etc doing the rounds, also I am prone to ending up with a chest infection when getting a cold. I read that vit C can help the immune system so not sure if it's wise to take it or not, some thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated. At the moment I am reducing my pred by the DSNS method which so far is going well, I was on 10mg for 12 months and am now on 8mg due to introduce 7mg at the end of next week.
Many thanks for any advice
Sandra
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Sandybo
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Lots of people will swear by vit C - but there isn't any real evidence it prevents colds etc in normal human beings: it DOES do so for high level athletes but you can't really extrapolate that to us. On the other hand - I suppose the question has to be does it work for them because of their depressed immune systems which is sometimes a factor in high level training.
If you are eating loads of fruit and veg you should be getting plenty of vit C. The body doesn't store it, excess is washed straight out through the kidneys. So, as another member of the forum likes to say: it could well just create very expensive pee!
It works for me. Been taking it for years now, and can’t recall the last time I had a cold. Might be a coincidence as I do eat a lot of fruit & veg as well.
It doesn’t have to be that expensive, but you do need to look around, it comes in different strengths which may make one box/bottle look cheaper than another at first sight until you work out the item price.
As PMRPro says fruit and veg is probably as good, as if you have too much vit C the body just gets rid of it which can make the supplements pretty expensive for doing nothing. I have never taken vit C and I have not had a cold since my twenties. On the other hand if it makes you feel better it can do no harm apart perhaps to your wallet.
I read somewhere that there are 150 separate viruses that can cause the common cold. I think that by the time you get to our age we've probably built immunity to most of them. There is something cleansing about a proper cold. I just get snuffles and grotty feelings that never come to anything. I also read that if you dilute fresh orange juice in water you are more likely to absorb some of the vit C. Rather than having it straight where it goes straight through.
Hi Sheffieldjane, I believe it is over two hundred viruses. My father did research into the common cold, apparently it is difficult to grow in a laboratory, but easy if you have a load of people in a doctor’s waiting room!! Many years ago there used to be a facility doing research into the common cold where you stayed at a place in Wiltshire for ten days and were given the virus. You were payed too. It could have meant a nice holiday if you were lucky and the virus did not strike too badly.
How interesting Piglette! When my husband was a student he volunteered to test the flu vaccine. He became so ill he was hallucinating. He then developed eczema. Needless to say it was the first and last time he volunteered for anything.
Thank you ladies for your replies, sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you, unfortunately we lost our power earlier, one of the joys of living in the countryside, when the wind blows....trees and cables may come down!
Anyway, I have read your replies and decided to "hark to sense" as we say where I come from. I eat plenty of fresh veg, some raw, some cooked, and also fruit. Thinking back over the 3 years since I've had PMR & GCA, I've only had 2 colds that ended up on my chest, the others eventually cleared on there own. So thank you ladies for helping me to decide what to do.....save my money, not flush it down the loo.
I’ve taken Vit C for many years and find it does prevent me from getting flu/bad colds. I also eat healthily but as the body can’t store Vit C, I would rather take a supplement than worry about whether I’ve eaten enough fruit and veg throughout the day to meet my recommended daily allowance. Better to have too much than not enough as the body will get rid of what’s not required. I take 500mg time released before bedtime.
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