Does drinking orange juice actually help if you have a cold?

There are plenty of at-home remedies that claim to help with a cold, from eating a garlic clove to gargling salt water. One of the most popular — and tastiest — is drinking orange juice. And it makes a lot of sense; orange juice is packed with vitamin C, a proven immune booster.

But does it actually help clear a cold?

“Research shows that taking a [vitamin C] supplement regularly can help to ward off cold symptoms, but taking it after you have a cold already does not shorten the duration,” explained Amy Shapiro, MS, RD, a registered dietitian, to Health.

Moreover, the citric acid in orange juice can actually make things worse.

“It contains citric acid, which irritates the lining of your already-inflamed throat,” said Taz Bhatia, MD, a professor of integrative medicine at Emory University and author of What Doctors Eat.

Instead of orange juice, consider liquids that can help sooth a sore throat, including:

• Decaf Tea
• Water with lemon
• Soup
• Ice chips or ice pops