Do supplements like Emergen-C and Airborne really help you prevent or get over a cold? One microbiologist says they don’t.
TikTok user Wes (@microbiologywes) is a microbiologist who posted this PSA on Sep. 21.
“With cold and flu season coming up, I feel like it’s my civic responsibility as a microbiologist to make sure that everyone knows that supplements like Emergen-c and Airborne aren’t effective at preventing or treating colds whatsoever,” he says to start the video.
“You see, the myth that things like Vitamin C can reduce the amount of time that you have a cold—that myth was started by a guy named Linus Pauling, who was a scientist back in the 1970s,” he continues. “And since then there has been no evidence to support his claims.”
Who is Linus Pauling?
Pauling was a chemist who won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in the 1950s as well as the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962 for his work to end the nuclear arms race. However, he earned his true historical distinction by promoting the myth, as outlined by this Vox article, that Vitamin C could cure a host of ailments, including the common cold.
“And many of his papers and research that he published have since been shown as ‘not reproducible’—meaning we can’t do it again. So he was doing something wrong,” Wes says.
An academic article from 1997 reviewing Pauling’s work says there was some truth to his thesis. “Pauling was correct in concluding from trials published up till then, that in general vitamin C does have biological effects on the common cold, but he was rather over-optimistic as regards the size of benefit,” the article states.
“There’s a little evidence to say that Vitamin C can reduce the severity of your symptoms,” says Wes. “Like if you had a really, really bad cold—like I’m talking bedridden, nose is stuffed up, you can barely breathe,” Wes continues. “It might help reduce the severity of the symptoms, but it’s not going to do anything for the duration.”
So what do Emergen-C and Airborne do?
“Supplement companies like the ones that produce Emergen-C or Airborne are just trying to make a quick buck off of you,” Wes says. “Because 99 percent of people don’t get a severe cold.”
“What is the best way to get rid of a cold or deal with it? Make yourself comfortable. Colds suck, so make yourself happy. Eat the food that you like. Stay hydrated. Have some nice tea. And relax,” Wes advises. “Stay home if you can, but if you have to go out make sure you’re wearing a mask. So you’re not making other people miserable as well as yourself.”
In the caption, he writes, “I’m not saying you can’t take them. If it makes you feel good, go for it. But they aren’t the panacea they are routed as. It’s just as effective to stay curled up in bed and be comfortable.”
Emergen-c advertises its products as “dietary supplements” that will provide customers with “everyday immune support.” Similarly, Airborne promises to “give you and your family’s immune system MORE of what it wants” with a cocktail of vitamins C, D, A, and E, as well as Zinc, Selenium, and Manganese.
Viewers weigh in
The video has amassed more than 169,000 views. In the comments, users weighed in on the advice and some explained why they take the products anyway.
“Emergen-C is my favorite placebo,” wrote one user. “It makes me feel like I’m doing something when there isn’t much else to do before getting sick.”
A second user wrote, “People get so mad when I try to tell them this.”
A third user wrote, “Logically, I know that what you’re saying is true, but my Emergen-C in a tall glass of water has been the way I’ve started my day for the past four years and it’s too late to change the routine.”
In response, Wes wrote, “If it makes you feel better, go for it.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Wes via TikTok comment and direct message for comment. We also reached out to Emergen-C and Airborne parent company Schiff via email for comment.
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