Does anyone else take Vitamin C?

Shamrock, BSN, RN · Dec 12, 2003

I believe in the power of vitamin C. What do you consider a high dose? I take 500mg BID. It would stand to reason that you might not get "sick" as often since C boosts the immune system, but I don't think it's a cureall.

KaroSnowQueen, RN · Dec 12, 2003

I am a big believer in vitamins. My doctor told me a few years ago when I was dreadfully sick with a raging sinus infection to take 5000 mg of C a day when I was sick and 1000 to 2000 when I was well. I think it helps!!!!

AmyLiz · Dec 12, 2003

Yep. I take it along with a multivitamin & it helps. So far, no flu (knock on wood) and that's after being exposed to it by my husband and my daughter.

Dixen81 · Dec 12, 2003

Yes! I take extra vitamin C and calcium along with a good multivitamin, and I notice a big difference in how I feel. So far I have not gotten sick, either, though my hubby and son did. Does anyone know of vitamin C and calcium supplements that my four year old can take that will be yummy to him? He will not drink milk, so I worry about him not getting enough calcium. He loves cheese, but I don't want to give him too much because it constipates him. Any ideas? Thanks!

roxannekkb · Dec 12, 2003

I am also a great believe in vitamins. I have never had the flu, and no serious illnessess. I take about 1,000 mg of vit C again, along with other vitamins. Whenever I feel a cold coming on (mine always start with a scratchy throat) I make up a "brew" of about 5,000 mg vit C (used the powdered kind), honey, and add it to hot water. I drink it down and the symptoms usually disappear. I also take echinacea at the first sign of a cold as well.

I don't really care what the "scientific" studies show. Vit C really works.

elkpark · Dec 12, 2003

I used to be sick so often, esp. in the winter, with minor things -- an idiosyncracy of my immune system, I would come down with ANY virus to which I was exposed, although I go for decades (literally) without catching anything bacterial (my father is the same way; must be genetic).

Some ten or twelve years ago, based on what I was reading in the literature, I started taking Vit. C 1000 mg, Vit. E 400 iu, and beta carotene 25,000 mg daily (in addition to a standard MVI).

Since starting that routine, I hardly ever catch a cold or GI bug. Purely anecdotal and may not mean anything, but I'm a believer! Even if it's just the placebo effect, it's cheap and won't hurt me, so why not?

Tweety, BSN, RN · Dec 12, 2003

I take a multivitimin without iron (males don't need extra iron).

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant and thus can boost immunity. It's power is in that, not as a "cold" prevention cureall. One can still catch a virus.

I have citrus trees and eat a lot of fruits and veggies. Once I did an analysis for nutrition class and my diet that includes berries, citrus, etc. gave me 6000% of the recommended ADA! (On a good day, not a bad day like I mentioned in the break room, hehehe). So I don't supplement.

Lots of foods will provide adequate vitamin C without supplementing. But I believe in the power of Vitamin C as an immunity booster!

(I also take 400 u of Vitamin E, and get plenty of betacarotene in my veggies. Those are great antioxidants as well.)

Good luck this season to you.

Jrnalist2RNinOR · Dec 12, 2003

Yep, Vitamin C along with a multivitamin and my orange juice and/or V8 (love the stuff)....

oh, and my folic acid...

My husband just got the flu but I didnt get it - so guess I just got lucky...better go drink some OJ...

PJMommy · Dec 12, 2003

Yep...1000 of vit C every day and I am rarely sick -- that's saying a lot with four kids bringing every bug within a 50 mile radius home to me.

I also take a multi-vitamin, a calcium/Vit D supplement, and fish oil capsules daily. People think I'm nuts but I swear the fish oil cuts down on my dry skin in the winter.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Dec 12, 2003

Yep.....I take a multivitamin w/minerals AND 1000mg Vitamin C every day. I'm almost never sick. This fall, every single member of my family (including my sister, who hasn't been ill in over ten years) has been down with the flu or bronchitis, except for me. Half my co-workers are sick, and if I've admitted one patient with flu-related pneumonia in the past two weeks, I've admitted twenty. I remain healthy as a horse, however, and I'm sure it's the vitamins (plus handwashing!) that keeps me that way.:)

road runner2003 · Dec 13, 2003

500mg - My GP who recommended it. I don't usually adhere to the recommendation - 1 tablet a day - - - except in the winter. I swear by garlic for the common cold !