How Much Vitamin C to Take When Sick?
Can too much be an issue in the case of absorbic acid? Like, how much vitamin C to take when sick? From the moment anyone feels a cough coming on, this acid is the first choice for many in supplements, juice, cough drops, tea, and other varieties. For the amount, do dig in.
Vitamin C was originally promoted for the common cold back in the 1970s. But while it’s widely used, specialists indicate there’s very little evidence that vitamin C does anything to the common cold.
Some relief can be sensed in people who are ill taking 1,000 to 2,000 mg of vitamin C daily, though that is an extreme amount and over the recommended amount.
What is Vitamin C?
Vitamin C is an important vitamin and antioxidant that your body uses to keep you strong and healthy. Vitamin C is used in the upkeep of bones, muscle, and blood vessels. Vitamin C also helps with collagen production and helps the body absorb iron.
It is also known as ascorbic acid. It supports growth and development and is highly crucial in the body’s healing process. It also helps in the absorption of iron by the body.
If not stored or synthesized by the body, which is why it must be taken daily as part of the diet. Keep in mind that you are most likely to get enough if you have a balanced diet with plenty of vegetables and fruits.
Vitamin C is found naturally in fruits and vegetables, especially oranges and other citrus fruits. The valuable vitamin is also present naturally as a dietary supplement in the form of vitamin C pills and vitamin C chewable tablets.
Can Vitamin C Prevent or Treat Cold Symptoms?
Vitamin C has been studied for decades as a treatment for colds, or to prevent colds. But with disappointing results.
Overall, professionals have found little to no benefit from vitamin C in preventing or treating the common cold. Daily doses of vitamin C reduced cold duration slightly — by 8% among adults, and by 14% among children.
In 2010, studies showed that daily vitamin C consumption did not keep the number of colds a person got low.But at times, it brought symptoms into decline.
The findings were not so for people in really good health, such as runners who participated in marathons. People of that type, who consumed a daily amount of vitamin C, lowered their risk of getting a cold by fifty percent.
The average adult that catches a cold 12 times per year would still have an additional 11 days per year of misery were the person on a daily high dose of vitamin C for 12 months.
For the average child, having roughly 28 days per year of being ill with the cold, a daily high dose of vitamin C would still most likely have in store approximately 24 days per year of the misery of illness from a cold.
When vitamin C was tested for cold treatment in 7 studies, it was no more effective than placebo in shortening the duration of cold symptoms. If you take at least 0.2 grams of vitamin C per day, you are not likely to catch fewer colds, but they may be a day or two shorter.
Is Vitamin C Safe to Take?
Generally, vitamin C will not harm you if you get it from eating food like fruits and vegetables. For most people, it’s also okay if you supplement in the right amount.
The RDA, or daily recommended dose, is 90 milligrams for men and 75 milligrams for women. Too much vitamin C (more than 2,000 milligrams a day for adults) can cause kidney stones, nausea, and diarrhea.
Bottom Line
How much vitamin C should you take if you’re sick? The usual dose of vitamin C for the common cold is 1,000 to 2,000 mg. This is based on the range of doses in trials that looked at the safety and effectiveness of vitamin C in the treatment of the common cold.
If you take vitamin C on a regular basis and you catch a cold or the flu, you may not feel quite as bad. If you take it after you already have a cold or flu, however, your severity and length won’t be affected.
More than 2000 mg per day is possibly not safe and may cause kidney stones and diarrhea. In people who have had a kidney stone, taking more than 1000 mg a day increases the risk of having more kidney stones. Topical : Vitamin C is likely safe in most individuals.
