Vitamins & Nutritional Supplements for Bronchitis

In a double-blind study of elderly patients hospitalized with acute bronchitis, those who were given 200 mg per day of vitamin C improved to a significantly greater extent than those who were given a placebo. The common cold may lead to bronchitis in susceptible people, and numerous controlled studies, some double-blind, have shown that vitamin C supplements can decrease the severity and duration of the common cold in otherwise healthy people.

Vitamin C and vitamin E may prevent oxidative damage to the lung lipids by environmental pollution and cigarette smoke exposure. It has been suggested that amounts in excess of the RDA (recommended dietary allowance) are necessary to protect against the air pollution levels currently present in North America, although it is not known how much vitamin E is needed to produce that protective effect.

A review of 39 clinical trials of NAC (N-acetyl cysteine) found that 400 to 600 mg per day was a safe and effective treatment for chronic bronchitis. NAC supplementation was found to reduce the number of aggravations of the illness in almost 50% of people taking the supplement, compared with only 31% of those taking placebo. Smokers have also been found to benefit from taking NAC. In addition to helping break up mucus, NAC may reduce the elevated bacterial counts that are often seen in the lungs of smokers with chronic bronchitis. In another double-blind study, people with chronic bronchitis who took NAC showed an improved ability to expectorate and a reduction in cough severity. These benefits may result from NAC’s capacity to reduce the viscosity (thickness) of sputum...