BATON ROUGE — Want to keep the common cold away this winter? Just drink more orange juice packed with vitamin C, right?

"We know that vitamin C does help your immune system function well. It helps with wound healing, helps with even collagen and joint protection, and even some tendon protection. Overall, though, vitamin C taken in extra doses to prevent common colds hasn't proven true," Dr. Jesse Bracamonte said.

While it doesn't prevent you from getting a cold, Bracamonte says there is some limited research that additional vitamin C might speed up the recovery process slightly in some people.

"So if you were going to have a common cold that lasts about seven days, it may cut it down about 13 hours," Bracamonte said.

He says you should be getting an adequate amount of vitamin C if you're including fruits and vegetables in your diet. But if you want to pump up the vitamin C even more, you could try a daily supplement.

"Most cases, it's 500 milligrams of vitamin C. Too much of anything is not necessarily a good thing. You just want to be mindful of how much you're taking, and you're not exceeding the recommendations of the daily allowance," Bracamonte said.

He says it's best to talk with your healthcare team before taking any new supplements.