Vitamin C question

[ckret01]

I am starting to get sick I can feel it. I just to two 500mg of vitamin C tablets. How much can you take in a day does anyone know? Or any home remedies that help kick a cold that is just starting

 

[hydster]

Airborne is a lifesaver at our house! Also Zicam is great too! I've heard that you should take about 2500 mg of Vitamin C but I have also read several studies that there is no concrete proof that Vit C helps keep a cold away.

I'd suggest warm liquids, zicam or airborne, if you have a sore throat gargle with salt water and take tylenol or ibuprofen.

Hope you kick it..I hate colds!

 

[Chattyaholic]

I don't know the answer about vitamin C, but I swear by Cold Ease lozenges.
If you start sucking on them when you first start feeling cold symptoms coming on they will usually nip a cold in the bud right away, or if you wait before you start taking them they will lessen the severity of the symptoms and reduce the time you have the cold.

When I used to get cold I would feel lousy for a week. Last January I caught a cold while on vacation (I think from the plane) and I sucked on Cold Ease and only felt bad for two days.

Just last week I woke up one morning with a scratchy throat and stuffy nose, started sucking Cold Ease right away (a couple in the morning, a couple in the afternoon, a couple in the evening) and the next morning I woke up the symptoms were gone.

Get some, try them, they work!!! They have zinc in them, I guess that's the ingredient that works on the cold.

 

[powellrj]

we have had luck with airborne. Everytime I catch it early, my cold will only last a couple of days and will be very mild.

 

[Deb in IA]

Excess vitamin C is simply excreted by the kidneys, meaning you pee out any extra vitamin C that your body doesn't use.

For that reason, you can literally take as much vitamin C as you want. Doses as high as 2000 mg have been used without adverse effects.

Linus Pauling was a famous advocate of vitamin C for fighting the common cold, but I think that more recent studies have questioned its effectiveness.

In any event, hope you feel better!

 

[Christine]

I just read an article yesterday that said that basically nothing works: vitamin C, echinea, vitamins, etc. The only thing with clinical proof behind it now are the zinc lozenges. So I picked up a box just to keep handy in the house for when I feel the first symptoms.

To the OP: Large doses of vitamin C are not harmful but I think at around 2,000 mg you can get some diarrhea or stomach upset.