Background
With the growth of the Internet, social media platforms have emerged as major sources of medical information. We assessed the reliability, quality, and accuracy of the most-viewed YouTube videos containing information on the effect of vitamin C on the common cold.
Methods
The YouTube videos were searched on August 1, 2022, using the keywords: (“ascorbic acid” OR “vitamin C” OR “Sodium Ascorbate” OR “L-ascorbic”) AND “common cold”. The 30 most-viewed videos were included in our study. The reliability and quality of the videos were analyzed using modified DISCERN and Global Quality Scales, respectively. When the videos included at least one correct or inaccurate scientific statement about the effect of vitamin C on the common cold, they were classified as accurate or misleading videos, respectively; those without any pertinent information were considered neither accurate nor misleading. If a video contained both accurate and inaccurate statements, it was classified as misleading.
Results
Of the 30 most-viewed videos, 73% were unreliable, and 67% contained misleading information and were of a poor quality. Of these 30 videos, 14 videos were produced and posted by customers who were not specialized in medicine or nutrition. Moreover, these videos were of significantly lower reliability, quality, and accuracy than those produced by nutrition or fitness channels or by medical or nutrition professionals.
Conclusion
The reliability, quality, and accuracy of videos uploaded by non-professionals were low. Therefore, video creators should upload reliable, high-quality videos to ensure the dissemination of accurate medical information.

Citations

• Regulatory systems and scientific evidence for health functional foods in Korea
  Seung-Won Oh
  Journal of the Korean Medical Association.2025; 68(5): 311.     CrossRef
• Characteristics of the most viewed Hybrid Assistive Limb-related videos on YouTube
  Makoto Nagasawa, Sho Nakamura, Hiroto Narimatsu
  Health Informatics Journal.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Guidelines for nutrition counseling in primary healthcare clinics
  Gyeongsil Lee, Seung-Won Oh
  Journal of the Korean Medical Association.2024; 67(4): 278.     CrossRef
• YouTube, Health Information, and Health Literacy
  Seung-Won Oh
  Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2023; 44(6): 301.     CrossRef

Citations

• A cross-sectional study to evaluate hypovitaminosis C prevalence and risk factors in an acute geriatric unit in Lyon, France: the HYPO-VIT-C protocol
  Alfred Quillon, Laure Guittard, Karine Goldet, Madeleine Etienne, Emilie Blond, Mikail Nourredine, Géraldine Martin-Gaujard, Sébastien Doh
  BMJ Open.2023; 13(8): e075924.     CrossRef
• Vitamin C – a scoping review for Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023
  Jens Lykkesfeldt, Anitra C. Carr
  Food & Nutrition Research.2023;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Vitamin C Intake and Cancers: An Umbrella Review
  Zeyu Chen, Yin Huang, Dehong Cao, Shi Qiu, Bo Chen, Jin Li, Yige Bao, Qiang Wei, Ping Han, Liangren Liu
  Frontiers in Nutrition.2022;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Role of Vitamin C in Selected Malignant Neoplasms in Women
  Anna Markowska, Michał Antoszczak, Janina Markowska, Adam Huczyński
  Nutrients.2022; 14(4): 882.     CrossRef
• From Foods to Chemotherapeutics: The Antioxidant Potential of Dietary Phytochemicals
  Michelle A. Briggs
  Processes.2022; 10(6): 1222.     CrossRef
• Utilization of redox modulating small molecules that selectively act as pro-oxidants in cancer cells to open a therapeutic window for improving cancer therapy
  M.S. Petronek, J.M. Stolwijk, S.D. Murray, E.J. Steinbach, Y. Zakharia, G.R. Buettner, D.R. Spitz, B.G. Allen
  Redox Biology.2021; 42: 101864.     CrossRef
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  A.A. Svistunov, M.A. Osadchuk, A.M. Osadchuk, I.D. Loranskaya, E.D. Mironova
  Profilakticheskaya meditsina.2021; 24(5): 118.     CrossRef
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  Marcelo Villagran, Jorge Ferreira, Miquel Martorell, Lorena Mardones
  Antioxidants.2021; 10(12): 1894.     CrossRef
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  Bárbara Nieva-Echevarría, Encarnación Goicoechea, Patricia Sopelana, María D. Guillén
  Foods.2021; 11(1): 58.     CrossRef
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  Michael Kennedy
  Internal Medicine Journal.2018; 48(8): 901.     CrossRef
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  Sepideh Zununi Vahed, Roya Salehi, Soodabeh Davaran, Simin Sharifi
  Materials Science and Engineering: C.2017; 71: 1327.     CrossRef
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  Peter G. Miller, Benjamin L. Ebert
  Nature.2017; 549(7673): 462.     CrossRef

Background
Humans are exposed to mercury via many different routes and in different forms. Studies concerned with the exposure in the general population were done many times in the past. But, the treatment of mercury exposure and mercury intoxication is limited. Therefore, chelators such as birth anti lewistite, 2,3-dimercaptopropanol (BAL), dimercaptopropane-1-sulphonate (DMPS), and dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) were given to patients with acute symptoms resulting from the central nervous system due to confi rmed mercury poisoning. In this paper, we reported the effects of oral Vitamin C on mercury excretion Methods: This study has been reviewed in the clinical fi ndings of 213 patients aged 30-80 who visited Kosin University Gospel Hospital during 3 months from March to September 2007. We measured hair mercury levels at the initial visit and at 3-4 months after the oral vitamin C (4 g/day) treatment. Results: The number of patients who had initial hair mercury level over 1.5 ppm were 57 patients among 213 patients, and 41 patients rechecked the hair mercury level. Twenty patients who had hair mercury level over 1.5 ppm were treated with oral vitamin C for 3 months and rechecked the hair mercury level and 21 patients without vitamin C treatment. The vitamin treatment group had a hair mercury level that was three times lower than the non-treated group. Conclusion: The vitamin C oral treatment signifi cantly decreased the level of hair mercury.

Citations

• Hair analysis in health assessment
  Paulina Wołowiec, Izabela Michalak, Katarzyna Chojnacka, Marcin Mikulewicz
  Clinica Chimica Acta.2013; 419: 139.     CrossRef

Background
: Although fatigue is the most common symptom in primary care, both doctors and patients tend to overlook it. According to one study, 27% of the adults felt fatigued for one week and 6% of the adults complained of unexplained fatigue for over two weeks. Stress play an important role in the etiology of fatigue. Thus, antioxidants are currently taken by people who complain of fatigue. Vitamin C is one of the most common antioxidants. We intend to find out whether intravenous vitamin C is really helpful or not in people who complain of fatigue.

Methods : We have investigated 19 outpatients who chiefly complained of fatigue and visited the department of family medicine at one university hospital from July 1, 2004 to Nov 30, 2005. The patients were treated by Vitamin C 10g and Vitamin B complex injection for 4 weeks, and they conducted a questionnaire survey concerning the severity of symptom before and after injection. The questionnaire with 9 questions consisted of 7 score index. The results were statistically analyzed with Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test and a P-value under 0.05 was considered significant.

Results : Three patients were males and 16 patients were females. The average age group was 47.7±13.6 years. While the fatigue severity score of the patients before vitamin C injection was 5.2 (3.0∼7.0), the fatigue severity score after injection was 3.3 (1.4∼4.8), which was significantly decreased (P＜0.0001).

Conclusion : We think that the vitamin C intravenous injection to people who complained of fatigue was helpful.

Background
: There are several reports that vitamin C is one of antioxidants and can be used to protect cardiovascular diseases. Inflammation plays a major role in atherosclerosis, and the measurement of inflammatory markers such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs- CRP) may provide methods for risk prediction and reveal independent risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of our study was to assess the correlation between vitamin C intake and plasma hs-CRP concentration.

Methods : The study subjects consisted of 2,012 individuals who underwent periodic health examination in a university hospital in Busan from June 2002 to January 2003. The subjects were questioned concerning their past medical history, alcohol intake, smoking status, physical activity. Body mass index, abdominal circumference, blood pressure, fasting glucose, lipid profile, general blood test, and hs-CRP were measured. The exclusive responsible dietitian evaluated the average calorie intake and vitamin C intake by food frequency questionnaire. To quantify the correlation between vitamin C intake and plasma hs-CRP concentration, Pearson correlation coefficient and Spearman correlation coefficient were presented.

Results : The vitamin C index (r=-0.051, P＜0.05) and the vitamin C intake per calorie intake (r=-0.075, P＜0.01) showed a significant correlation with the plasma hs-CRP level. The vitamin C intake and the vitamin C intake per calorie intake were significantly correlated with the plasma hs-CRP level after adjusting for sex, age, body mass index and smoking status.

Conclusion : These findings suggest that there was a significant correlation between the vitamin C intake and the hs-CRP concentration. Therefore, inflammatory status is higher in a person who takes small amount of vitamin C than a person who takes it plentifully. The former is presumed to have a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases thereafter.