Everyone thinks that if they have the common cold or flu if they increase the dose of vitamin C in their diet (via copious amounts of orange juice, honey and lemon tea, and vitamin c supplements etc etc…). As a kid I used to take these chewy Vitamin C pills in the hope that they would help prevent me from catching the cold from school especially at every new term start but to my dismay; I still caught the cold. So does vitamin C actually work? Studies have stated that although vitamin C does not prevent the common cold but it actually can reduce the severity and duration of it. The Chemistry of Vitamin C Vitamin C is also known as ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid is known to have anti - carcinogenic properties. In English that means that it can prevent cancer in the body. Vitamin C reacts with organic free radicals to protect from the damage caused by free radicals in cells.