16 of the Best Vitamin C Recipes to Beat the Common Cold (2024)

FAQs

How much vitamin C to fight a cold? ›

How much vitamin C can you take when you're sick? The average dose of vitamin C for colds is anywhere from 1,000 mg to 2,000 mg. This is based on the dose range in the studies that looked at the safety and effectiveness of vitamin C for treating colds.

Although many people take Emergen-C to prevent or shorten a cold, the scientific evidence showing it works is minimal. There's also mixed research about vitamin C's effectiveness in preventing or treating colds in the general population. If you still decide to take Emergen-C, keep it to one serving daily.

Kakadu plums. The Kakadu plum (Terminalia ferdinandiana) is an Australian native superfood containing 100 times more vitamin C than oranges. It has the highest known concentration of vitamin C of any food, containing up to 2,907 mg per 100 grams (g).

Self-Care for Common Colds: The Pivotal Role of Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Zinc, and Echinacea in Three Main Immune Interactive Clusters (Physical Barriers, Innate and Adaptive Immunity) Involved during an Episode of Common Colds—Practical Advice on Dosages and on the Time to Take These Nutrients/Botanicals in order to ...

Unfortunately, there is still no known cure for the common cold. However, you can reduce the duration of your illness by taking some promising vitamins and supplements, as well as engaging in good self-care. This includes vitamin C, Zinc, echinacea, and probiotics.

Both vitamin C and zinc are effective at boosting the immune system. However, you can't boost your immune system enough with these two nutrients while battling a cold. Instead, you need to be using these supplements year-round to avoid the common cold in the first place.

The study found that zinc shortened the time people felt sick from their colds. It also reported a lot of side effects. Compared with people who didn't take zinc, those who did commonly complained of upset stomach, problems with taste and mouth irritation.

Whether its tea, warm water with lemon or broth, drinking warm liquids can be soothing, prevent dehydration and ease congestion. Avoid salty foods, alcohol, coffee and sugary drinks, which can be dehydrating. Ice chips are another simple way to stay hydrated and calm a scratchy throat. Gargle with salt water.

Sources of Vitamin C

Citrus fruits, tomatoes and tomato juice, and potatoes are major contributors of vitamin C to the American diet [8]. Other good food sources include red and green peppers, kiwifruit, broccoli, strawberries, Brussels sprouts, and cantaloupe (see Table 2) [8,12].

How do I get 100% vitamin C? ›

Summary. Oral Zicam products claim to help with cold symptoms and shorten the length of a cold, but there's limited evidence about how safe and effective they are. The current nasal Zicam products do not use zinc because of the potential for serious side effects—instead, the nasal formulas are plant-based.

The bottom line. Immunity support products like Emergen-C typically contain several different vitamins and minerals. Although they're intended to help boost your immune system, there's not a lot of evidence that they're effective at preventing illness.

Taking more than 2000 mg daily is possibly unsafe and may cause kidney stones and severe diarrhea. In people who have had a kidney stone, taking amounts greater than 1000 mg daily increases the risk of getting more kidney stones. When applied to the skin: Vitamin C is likely safe for most people.

Taking vitamin C every day to try to prevent colds won't protect most people from colds. It only slightly shortens the amount of time that they're ill. Starting to take vitamin C once you already have cold symptoms won't have any effect on your cold.

Taking more than 2000 mg daily is possibly unsafe and may cause kidney stones and severe diarrhea. In people who have had a kidney stone, taking amounts greater than 1000 mg daily increases the risk of getting more kidney stones. When applied to the skin: Vitamin C is likely safe for most people.

According to the NIH, children between the ages of 1–3 years should not take more than 400 mg/day of vitamin C, children 4–8 years should not take more than 650 mg/day and children between 9–13 years should not exceed 1,200 mg/day.

The recommended daily amount for vitamin C is 75 milligrams (mg) a day for women and 90 mg a day for men. During pregnancy, 120 mg a day are recommended. The upper limit for all adults is 2,000 mg a day.