Even as I sit here it seems I can feel my throat burning, my glands swelling, my head compressing, my nose congesting, and my whole body weakening. Is it psychological? Probably so. Even still, am I paranoid about getting sick? Definitely.

Lately, I have been getting bombarded from every direction with encumbering germs.

I've been told tales of malicious viruses wiping out whole apartments in their fury. I've heard of the woes of stuffy noses and the dreadful greenish goo that is dispersed from them.

There are even accounts of illnesses causing Montezuma's revenge to come out in full force, debilitating bowels everywhere in their wake.

All of these horrors have plunged me into paranoia about the prospect of contracting such a noxious ailment.

So what do I do besides fearfully flee in the opposite direction every time I hear a noise that resembles a sneeze or a cough? Besides the normal recommendations of getting adequate sleep, washing your hands regularly, and consuming chicken soup, I have been using vitamin C to help protect myself from getting sick.

Although it seems like an obvious suggestion to take vitamin C, you may not know why, when, or how much of the stuff is enough.

Vitamin C is an antioxidant and one of its main roles is to protect your cells from damage.

If you are the next victim of this terrible virus going around campus, your immune system will need to take action. During your body's recovery your cells become damaged. Vitamin C helps to repair the cellular damage that occurs whenever your immune system is attacked and it may keep you healthier.

The bad news? Bombarding your system after you have been hit may not be a panacea for the common cold, although it may help reduce its effects on the body.

We do know that when that stuffy nose hits, vitamin C helps to deactivate the histamines behind the congestion.

Vitamin C also helps in creating a hormone that is responsible for speeding up your metabolic rate when your body needs to produce more heat.

This hormone comes into play when you have a fever or when you are trudging through the tundra otherwise known as State College.

So exactly how much vitamin C do we need to help us stay healthy?

The experts recommend 60 milligrams. Turns out, the vitamin C content in just one orange exceeds that daily recommendation.

However, if you are a smoker or hang around friends that smoke a lot, your dietary needs may jump to 100 milligrams. In addition, oral contraceptives may also increase your body's need for vitamin C.

Knowing this, don't go crazy with vitamin C supplements, as your body will just rid itself of what it doesn't use. It may even start to have adverse effects if you take 1,000 milligrams or more. My personal recommendation is to go out and treat yourself to some quality Florida oranges.

They are in season this time of year and taste absolutely delicious. And unless you eat a few bushels, you are probably not going to have any toxic effects from them.

Also, they are much cheaper than the supplements that many companies are trying to pawn off as cold suppressers.

Don't be fooled -- there is nothing better than an orange a day to keep the doctor away.