How Can I Boost My Immune System Fast
Healthy ways to strengthen your immune system Dont smoke. Eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables. Exercise regularly. Maintain a healthy weight. If you drink alcohol, drink only in moderation. Get adequate sleep. Take steps to avoid infection, such as washing your hands frequently and cooking meats thoroughly.
What I Did When Sickness Was Coming On
About 3 months ago I attended a medical lecture on osteoarthritis in the elderly. There was someone there seated near me, who was coughing during the lecture, but frankly I did not think much about it. Some days later, I awoke in the morning with a low grade temperature, sneezing and coughing and felt that I had picked up an upper respiratory infection. I was not tested, nor did I go to the doctors or the hospital to be tested.
I took 10,000 mg of plain vitamin C , 5 times during the day. Yes, I swallowed 50,000 mg of vitamin C during the day from about 6 AM until about 10 PM that night. I awoke the next morning, feeling great, with no symptoms of an infection!
I can tell you many stories about people who take a minimum of 10,000 mg of vitamin C every day on my recommendation, and who all have told me that they are feeling great, and like myself, do not get ill and are not at all worried about their health in this coronavirus pandemic!
Pharmaceutical medicine does not like vitamin C. After all, vitamin C works, is not expensive, and has no side effects. But vitamin C has changed my life, and the life of everyone I know who will take the time to listen and to have an open mind on this subject.
What Are The Health Benefits Of Vitamin C
Besides possibly being able to fight off colds and other infections, vitamin C has a number of important functions in the body. As an antioxidant, vitamin C can help prevent cancer by preventing carcinogens to form in the GI tract as well as in foods.
Vitamin Cs antioxidant activity can decrease DNA damage from oxidation, protein damage from oxidation, and lipid peroxidation. This means that it can help decrease LDL cholesterol and increase HDL cholesterol in your body, which may result in a lower risk of atherosclerosis.
Vitamin C is important in the formation of collagen, which means it helps wounds heal faster and maintains the structure of connective tissues and skin. Vitamin C is essential for certain enzyme reactions in the body, including those that produce norepinephrine and serotonin.
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How Safe Is Vitamin C
Vitamin C is very safe. If you get it through food sources there is very little chance of overdosing.
Even if you take supplements of vitamin C, you shouldnt notice any side effects as long as you take the daily recommended dosage.
Even if you take more than the daily recommended dose, your body is usually able to flush out the extra amount so that you dont get a toxic buildup of vitamin C in your body.
Extremely high amounts of vitamin C are considered to be more than 2,000 mg daily for adults. You may notice certain side effects such as diarrhea, nausea, and kidney stones.
Does Vitamin C Really Help Colds
30 May 2013
Each week, MyHealthNewsDaily asks the experts to answer questions about your health. This week, we asked nutrition and infectious disease experts: Does vitamin C help prevent or treat colds?
Joy Dubost, registered dietician and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association
The science shows that overall, regular ingestion of vitamin C had no effect on the common cold, as far as in the incidence . Now, most of these studies looked at people who took more than 2,000 mg of vitamin C, which is a very large dose.
The recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, is 75 mg for most adults, and 2,000 mg is the upper limit you don’t want to go over that because you’ll have gastrointestinal distress.
does support a healthy immune system. So if you’re not getting enough vitamin C, you will be more susceptible to colds. If you are taking vitamin C while you have a cold, it could prevent complications such as pneumonia by boosting your immune system.
****
Dr. Mark Levine, chief of molecular and clinical nutrition in National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
For the average person, vitamin C supplements for colds don’t do much of anything, and I don’t recommend them. After I say that I like to explain why: There are a lot of trials on vitamin C and colds, of variable quality and people analyze these, so there are analyses of analyses.
Overall, I say eat more fruits and vegetables.
****
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The Nutrient Appears To Have Modest Prevention Power
Image: Wavebreakmedia Ltd/Thinkstock
Vitamin C is often touted as a natural cold remedy. The nutrient is featured in supplements promising to boost the immune system. Nobel laureate Dr. Linus Pauling famously claimed that taking large doses of vitamin C helps thwart a cold. Is there something to these claims? “The data show that vitamin C is only marginally beneficial when it comes to the common cold,” says Dr. Bruce Bistrian, chief of clinical nutrition at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Cold And Flu: Prevention And Natural Therapies
Its important to strengthen and maintain a healthy immune system all year round so that your body can adequately fight influenza viruses and the viruses that cause the common cold. Though many people believe its not possible to ward off a cold or the flu, with the exception of the flu vaccine, the truth is we actually have a great deal of control over our health during the cold and flu season. Scientific studies support the effectiveness of cold and flu prevention strategies and natural therapies. By following these measures, we can exert some control over whether we get sick, the duration of recovery time, and the severity of symptoms.
WFPs Advice
8 Preventive Strategies To help you maintain a healthy immune system, incorporate these 8 strategies into your daily routine:
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Intravenous Vitamin C Alone In Patients With Covid
A pilot clinical trial in China randomized 56 adults with COVID-19 in the intensive care unit to receive intravenous vitamin C 24 g per day or placebo for 7 days. The study was terminated early due to a reduction in the number of cases of COVID-19 in China. Overall, the study found no differences between the arms in mortality, the duration of mechanical ventilation, or the change in median sequential organ failure assessment scores. The study reported improvements in oxygenation from baseline to Day 7 in the treatment arm that were statistically greater than those observed in the placebo arm .4
Does Vitamin C Help With A Cold Yes But It Won’t Help Prevent It
- The belief that vitamin C can help you steer clear of a nasty cold has been a myth for decades, but it has since been disproven.
- Research shows that at least 200 mg per day of vitamin C, while you’re sick, can help you get better sooner and decreases the severity of your symptoms.
- Though many people turn to supplements to get extra vitamin C, physicians recommend sticking to vitamin C rich foods, like papaya or red bell pepper.
- This article was reviewed by Tania Elliott, MD, who specializes in infectious diseases related to allergies and immunology for internal medicine at NYU Langone Health.
- This story is part of Insider’s guide for Treating the Common Cold.
Walk through the aisles of any pharmacy when you’re trying to keep an impending cold at bay and you’ll be met with a slew of options from over-the-counter medications to cough drops, herbal teas to vitamin C powders.
The belief that vitamin C can help you steer clear of a nasty cold has been around for decades but has since been disproven. That said, vitamin C can help with your cold in other ways. Here’s what you need to know.
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The Side Effects Of Too Much Vitamin C
If you’re planning to take that much vitamin C every day for an extended period, it merits a talk with a doctor.
Sevilla says that taking more than 2,000 mg of vitamin C daily has been known to cause GI effects like nausea and abdominal pain. It’s primarily because of those issues that the tolerable upper intake level the max you should take unless under the direction of a doctor is 2,000 mg for adults.
And if you’re debating between a food and a supplement, Sevilla recommends sticking with food as your source of vitamin C, if you can manage it.
Does Taking Vitamin C Help To Prevent Colds
Studies have shown that taking vitamin C does not help to prevent colds.
In a systematicreview, taking a daily dose of vitamin C was not shown to decrease the likelihood of getting sick with an upper respiratory infection . Commonly used over-the-counter vitamin C products like Emergen-C and Airborne have 1 gram of vitamin C per packet or tablet. It doesnt appear they prevent you from getting sick.
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How Much Vitamin C Per Day When Sick
Vitamin C is a water-soluble nutrient with many vital functions in your body. It helps strengthen your immune system, aids collagen production and wound healing, and acts as an antioxidant to protect your cells from free radical damage. Here we are going to provide the information to needs on how much vitamin c per day when sick.
How Much Vitamin C Should Be Taken To Fight Off A Cold
For normal, healthy adults, the daily recommended amount is 75 mg for women and 90 mg for men. For young children up to 3 years of age, the recommended amount is 15 mg per day and is 25 mg per day for children between the ages of 4 and 8.
In cases of pregnancy and breastfeeding, the daily recommendations are higher. For pregnant women, the recommended dosage is 85 mg and for those breastfeeding, it is 120 mg per day.
If you have a cold or other illness you are trying to fight off, there are increased recommended amounts. For both men and women, you can have up to 2000 mg per day.
For children 3 and under, the upper limit is 400 mg per day and for those 4 to 8 years of age, the upper limit is 650 mg. For women who are either pregnant or breastfeeding, up to 2,000 mg per day should be ok.
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Vitamin C In Animals Vs People
As mentioned in a previous blog post, most animals and plants produce their own vitamin C, and only a few cant.
The amount of vitamin C that these animals produce is equal to between 5 and 15 grams per day, if they are healthy. They produce much more when stressed or sick. Up to three times more and some animals produce even more than that.
People must rely on external food stuffs or supplements to get enough vitamin C. Enough vitamin C so that all the body functions that depend on it work in an optimal way and prevent a vitamin C deficiency.
The challenge is that our bodies dont absorb all vitamin C we take. And we can only store very little as a reserve. Also, vitamin C has a very limited short life in the body and lasts only a few hours.
Remember, your body is in constant need of vitamin C. Especially when youre sick or stressed. Any kind of physical or emotional stress.
Heres an interesting study that proves the human body needs more vitamin C when is under stress or sick.
Vitamin C Dose Chart For Several Conditions
Dr. Robert Cathcart used vitamin C to treat many illnesses in his medical practice. He found that patients can tolerate more vitamin C when theyre sick.
In other words, the sicker the person is, the more vitamin C the body can tolerate by mouth before diarrhea occurs. Vitamin C is one of the safest substances.
The table below is the vitamin C dose chart from Dr. Catchcart. It documents the bowel tolerance doses for many conditions.
In the table above we can identify how much vitamin C the body needs under different conditions. For example:
- A person in normal health needs 4-15 grams in 4-6 divided doses
- Mild colds need 30-60 grams in 6-8 divided doses. Severe colds need much more, between 60 and 100 grams or even more.
- Hay fever or asthma needs 15-60 grams in 4-8 divided doses.
- Cancer needs between 15 and 100 grams in 4-15 divided doses.
When proper amounts are used, ascorbic acid will destroy all virus organismsFrederick R. Klenner. First physician to use vitamin C therapy, with over 40 years of medical practice
It is interesting that the more severe the condition, the more vitamin C the body needs. And the more frequent the doses should be to maintain high levels of ascorbic acid in the blood.
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What Are The Sources Of Vitamin C
Vitamin C can be found in a variety of fruits and vegetables. Citrus fruits, like tangerines, grapefruit, oranges, limes, and lemons, are especially high in vitamin C.
Vegetables that contain vitamin C include tomatoes, red and green peppers, and leafy green vegetables such as collard greens and spinach. Be aware that cooking food too much can decrease vitamin C levels in food.
Along with food sources, you can find vitamin C supplements as well as some unusual products that contain vitamin C such as tea and cough drops.
Are There Side Effects Or Risks To Consider
Taking an increased amount of vitamin C for a short period of time is generally considered safe.
Vitamin Cs tolerable upper intake level is 2,000 mg per day for adults ages 19 and older.
Emergen-C packets contain 1,000 mg each. This means that you can probably still consume vitamin C through your diet without hitting the max UL.
Consuming 2,000 mg or more may cause:
- nausea
- diarrhea
- abdominal pain
Emergen-C contains far lower levels of all of the other vitamins and minerals on its ingredient list. No other ingredient comes this close to the respective UL for adults.
Talk to a doctor or other healthcare provider before use if you:
- take prescription medication
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Should I Take More Vitamin C When Im Sick
Many people pop vitamin C pills when they feel a cold coming on. Though vitamin C helps the immune system, it does very little for a cold.
A study from the Australian National University found that vitamin C supplements did not prevent colds at all. Supplementation, in a few cases, helped people get over the cold a little bit faster since about 8 percent of participants had one less day of sickness due to vitamin C.
If you want to play it safe and add more vitamin C when youre sick, its still best to do it through food. Add more citrus or greens. Even if the vitamin C doesnt make a difference, the healthy food will help you feel better.
Vitamin C Does Not Prevent Colds
“Nobel prize winner Dr. Linus Pauling famously claimed in the 1970s that high doses of vitamin C prevented the common cold,” says Mike Sevilla, a family physician in Salem, Ohio.
But Pauling had little evidence to back his claim. The foundations of his argument came from a single study of a sample of children in the Swiss Alps, which he then generalized to the overall population.
Turns out he overgeneralized, and numerous studies have since disproved Pauling’s claim.
“Unfortunately, follow-up research has shown that vitamin C does not prevent the common cold,” Sevilla says. Yet this misconception continues to live on.
“In my family practice office, I see patients from a variety of cultures and backgrounds and the use of vitamin C for the common cold is well known across all of them,” Sevilla says.
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What Supplements Do I Need To Take
No one can answer that aside from your doctor. To learn more about the various supplements that doctors commonly recommend, check out this article.
Keep your body healthy by supplying it with the nutrients it needs and by engaging in routine exercise. Go PRO today for access to certified personal trainers, workout plans, and more.
Food Sources Of Vitamin C
Food
Bell pepper, red, raw
Bell pepper, green, raw
Lemon juice
In large population studies, people who eat lots of fruits and vegetables high in vitamin C appear to have a reduced risk for various types of cancer, including cancers of the mouth, esophagus, stomach, colon, and lung. But it’s not clear that these benefits come specifically from vitamin C. The Age-Related Eye Disease Study found that a daily supplement containing 500 milligrams of vitamin C, 400 international units of vitamin E, 15 mg of beta carotene, 80 mg of zinc, and 2 mg of copper can help slow the progression of macular degeneration, an age-related eye disease that causes vision loss. But we don’t know what benefits, if any, are conferred by vitamin C in particular.
Many people take vitamin C supplements in unnecessarily high doses to prevent or treat various conditions for which its effectiveness is unproved. The vitamin C supplements have variously been touted for preventing cardiovascular disease and osteoarthritis, staving off sunburn, and improving the appearance of wrinkles. None of these purported benefits have been verified in scientific studies.
The recommended vitamin C dosage per day for healthy women is 75 mg per day . For adults, the tolerable upper intake level the highest daily intake likely to pose no risks is 2,000 mg per day.
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