One Simple Way to Fight a Cold

"I'll bet you $100 and the nicest bottle of wine you have in your cellar... you're wrong..."

My attending, "Dr. Mac," was shocked by the bet I offered. Attending physicians are doctors charged with teaching medical students, residents, and fellows. It's not often a student (like me at the time) knows more than the attending. Even when they do, students never speak up. That's what I hated most about my medical training then and medical practice today. Paternalism is rampant, and searching for truth is lost on many doctors at all levels of training. As regular Health Report readers know, that's not how I operate...

In this case, "Dr. Mac" – a kidney specialist, or "nephrologist" – was teaching me about diseases of the kidney, specifically stones. In an off-handed way, he mentioned to a patient that ascorbic acid caused kidney stones. That's when I threw down my bet... that it just wasn't true. I told him he was reciting folklore and with no support from clinical evidence supports.

By the way, I don't think he thought I was disrespectful, but I know my bet surprised him.

Ascorbic acid, as you may know, is vitamin C, the most amazing chemical around... and perhaps the most controversial. As a kidney doctor, Dr. Mac deals with kidney stones and the terrible pain people experience when they get them. If there is any doubt that something might cause trouble, he'll stay away. He was certain that vitamin C caused stones, and I took the other side. Guess what?

He lost.

The bet cost him $100 and a 1982 Chateau Margaux – which I still have in my cellar (once I drink it, I'll keep the bottle to remind me).

He had based his opinion on an old study done in test tubes filled with blood drawn from patients given large amounts of vitamin C. The study actually reported a lab error...

In the 1970s, some researchers were testing vitamin C blood concentrations. A lab technician accidentally left the test tube samples on the research bench overnight. When the researchers returned, they found oxalate crystals in the blood in the tubes. It turns out these crystals can form one type of kidney stone and even harm the kidney tubules (the tiny filters inside your kidney). From that data, the researchers reported to doctors all over the world that high doses of vitamin C can cause kidney stones. I hope you see the absurdity of the conclusion as easily as I did.

Sadly, most doctors today discourage you from using vitamin C because of a 1970s lab error. In fact, one of the most commonly used review books for medical licensure lists "vitamin C abuse" as a cause of calcium oxalate stones.

Yet this theoretical event has never been confirmed in a living, breathing human. It's just not true: No clinical evidence supports the hypothesis that vitamin C can cause kidney stones. Moreover, the benefits of vitamin C far outweigh any theoretical risks.

When I researched vitamin C for the first time almost 30 years ago, I actually discovered an amazing fact. Vitamin C reduces the symptoms of the common cold within hours. But you won't hear drug companies tout that fact. Amazingly, most doctors don't even know it – most still believe it causes kidney stones. Ask your doctor. I date you.

As most everyone knows, vitamin C also prevents scurvy. For years, the federal government set its recommended daily allowance at just the amount needed to prevent scurvy.

But that's not nearly enough...

Turns out, a single genetic mutation (an error) in primates prevents us from making ascorbic acid. That's right. Humans don't make it, but your dog and cat (and most other animals) produce their own vitamin C. As a result, we have to get it from outside sources. A few other mammals besides primates – the fruit bat and the guinea pig for example – can't synthesize the stuff either.

If we estimate the amount of ascorbic acid we need by comparing our body mass to other animals that synthesize vitamin C, we need a lot more than the government recommends. Also, because vitamin C is water-soluble, it is not stored in our tissue for long.

The level of vitamin C in your body is important. Many studies show incidences of various diseases rise as vitamin C intake falls. And it's perhaps the best-known antioxidants – a class of chemicals renown for fighting cancer and other ailments.

Here are a number of other amazing things it can do:

Remember, though, the most important thing vitamin C can do is stop a common cold in its tracks. Usually caused by simple viruses, the cold can make you miserable for several days. Research over the last 30 years shows vitamin C fights off colds as well, if not better, than any other treatment. Taken at the first sign of a cold, vitamin C quickly acts as an antihistamine (which "dries you up") and an antiviral (which lessens all the symptoms). In fact, people who take vitamin C to fight a cold typically miss one full workday less than folks who don't.

So how much vitamin C should we take?

Our bodies can store up to about 2,500 milligrams and is depleted at a fairly constant rate of 5% a day. That means we use up about 125mg of vitamin C per day. After a few days of added stress, poor diet, or heavy exercise, the body easily loses 50% of the total pool, or about 1,250 milligrams. When you're sick, you burn through even more.

When it comes to vitamin C, what do I do?

I look for simple, cheap, and safe things to improve the long-term quality of my life. You can too.

Here's to our health,

David Eifrig Jr.