# Are you taking more vitamin-C? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 25, 2020, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255 "2020-03-25T15:33:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LynnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@LynnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LynnM)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255/1 "2020-03-25T15:33:20Z")
I’ve read that vitamin-C might help with prevention and/or treatment of this current virus. Years ago, it seemed “mega-doses” of vitamin-C was a fad, with some skeptics. Probably can’t hurt. Might take a 500-mg tab every few hrs. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255/2 "2020-03-25T15:49:13Z")
No, I’ve seen no evidence that vitamin C is needed above the recommended amounts. What are you reading and where? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255/3 "2020-03-25T15:55:08Z")
A good recipe for expensive urine. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255/4 "2020-03-25T16:00:52Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > No, I’ve seen no evidence that vitamin C is needed above the recommended amounts. What are you reading and where? I haven’t hear _anything_ about it either. FWIW, I take a vitamin D, and a fish oil capsule, in the evenings. Have been for years. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255/5 "2020-03-25T16:18:06Z")
I think you will find most doctors and pharmacists would say all supplements are un-necessary, unless prescribed specifically for a condition. A normal diet, even during these times that may include increased canned and processed food and less fresh food, will provide everything you need. I believe there is some literature out there claiming increased doses of any OTC supplement may even be harmful, so the “can’t hurt” assumption may not be true. Unless a reliable study confirms increased vit C intake has some effectiveness, against anything, it is un-needed. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255/6 "2020-03-25T16:20:07Z")
Anything that can boost your natural immunity is a good thing. But don’t for a moment think you can stop a foreign virus with an extra tablet of vitamin C - that simply will not happen. Your body’s immune system will open the front door and be greeted by a nemesis it has never seen before. The adult immune system is far better equipped to fight off even the worst flu strains than it is COVID-19. The way to defeat this virus is to do our homework and study up on how to avoid getting it in the first place. And even better, prepare your body as much as possible for fighting it off once it tries to hijack your body’s immune system. You’re better off controlling your risk factors. That means controlling your weight and your blood pressure. Eat well and exercise regularly. Avoid blood sugar spikes, avoid eating excessive carbs and foods with saturated fats. Pay attention to your A1C readings if you’re diabetic. Protect your kidneys and liver (i.e. limit or even eliminate drinking). ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255/7 "2020-03-25T16:22:49Z")
All I could find is this. There are some preliminary usage in NY and China, but results from a Chinese study won’t be out until fall. > **[New York hospitals treating coronavirus patients with vitamin C](https://nypost.com/2020/03/24/new-york-hospitals-treating-coronavirus-patients-with-vitamin-c/)** > > Seriously sick coronavirus patients in New York state’s largest hospital system are being given massive doses of vitamin C — based on promising reports that it’s helped people in hard-h… > [@](#): > > A clinical trial on the effectiveness of intravenous vitamin C on coronavirus patients began Feb. 14 at Zhongnan Hospital in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the pandemic. > > The randomized, triple-blind study will involve an estimated 140 participants and is expected to be complete by Sept. 30, according to information posted on the US National Library of Medicine’s website. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255/8 "2020-03-25T16:26:32Z")
Some centers are using high dose IV vitamin C for critically ill coronavirus patients. The role of vitamin C in ICU patients with sepsis is a long standing question, with little good evidence to support it. That said, I don’t think there’s any evidence at all to support its use for COVID19 prevention in a healthy person with a good diet. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255/9 "2020-03-25T16:31:43Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Anything that can boost your natural immunity is a good thing. I’m not sure this is true. Some of the harmful effects of some illnesses are thought to be the result of the body’s reaction rather than the infection itself. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255/10 "2020-03-25T16:33:11Z")
> [@LynnM](#): > > Probably can’t hurt. Might take a 500-mg tab every few hrs. Excesses of some vitamins _can_ hurt. Vitamin C isn’t particularly dangerous, but still: > [@](#): > > For adults, the recommended daily amount for vitamin C is 65 to 90 milligrams (mg) a day, and the upper limit is 2,000 mg a day. Although too much dietary vitamin C is unlikely to be harmful, megadoses of vitamin C supplements might cause: > > Diarrhea > Nausea > Vomiting > Heartburn > Abdominal cramps > Headache > Insomnia > **[How much vitamin C is too much?](https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/vitamin-c/faq-20058030)** > > Vitamin C is an essential nutrient, but too much carries its own risks. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255/11 "2020-03-25T16:35:23Z")
And here’s this: [Why vitamin C won’t ‘boost’ your immune system against the coronavirus](https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-vitamin-c-myth.html) ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255/12 "2020-03-25T16:50:53Z")
> [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > I’m not sure this is true. Some of the harmful effects of some illnesses are thought to be the result of the body’s reaction rather than the infection itself. See, for example, this article on the 1918 influenza pandemic, which has some eerie parallels to the current crisis, but in which young people were disproportionately affected, possibly due to their stronger immune systems: > [@](#): > > The age of the victims was also striking. Normally, elderly people account for the overwhelming number of influenza deaths; in 1918, that was reversed, with young adults killed in the highest numbers. This effect was heightened within certain subgroups. For instance, a Metropolitan Life Insurance Company study of people aged 25 to 45 found that 3.26 percent of all industrial workers and 6 percent of all coal miners died. Other studies found that for pregnant women, fatality rates ranged from 23 percent to 71 percent. > > Why did so many young adults die? As it happens, young adults have the strongest immune systems, which attacked the virus with every weapon possible—including chemicals called cytokines and other microbe-fighting toxins—and the battlefield was the lung. These “cytokine storms” further damaged the patient’s own tissue. The destruction, according to the noted influenza expert Edwin Kilbourne, resembled nothing so much as the lesions from breathing poison gas. > **[How the Horrific 1918 Flu Spread Across America](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/journal-plague-year-180965222/)** > > The toll of history’s worst epidemic surpasses all the military deaths in World War I and World War II combined. And it may have begun in the United States And then there’s this article on using immunosuppressants to treat COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammation: [https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30628-0/fulltext](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30628-0/fulltext) I’m not saying that Vitamin C will send your immune system into overdrive and thereby kill you. It’ll probably do nothing at all. But I wanted to address this persistent underlying belief that anything that revs up your immune system is always a good thing, because the latest thinking in medicine seems to be almost the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255/13 "2020-03-25T17:37:05Z")
I’m a frequent flyer at the Red Cross Blood donation center giving more than 5 units per calendar year. Based on their recommendations I take iron supplements for 120 days following each power red donation. I take around 500 milligrams of vitamin C with the iron to enhance absorption of the iron. Based on the literature I think 200 mg would be sufficient, but I buy it in pure powder form, and it works out to be 1/8 of a teaspoon, which is the smallest amount I can reliably measure out, so I just pee out the excess. I haven’t boosted the dosage for the COVID-19 outbreak. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255/14 "2020-03-25T19:49:43Z")
> [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > I’m not sure this is true. Some of the harmful effects of some illnesses are thought to be the result of the body’s reaction rather than the infection itself. A cytokine storm is the result of mutations within the T-cells, which are responsible for stimulating the immune response. If I recall correctly, anywhere from 5-15% of the population may have mutations that could trigger an immune hyper-response under the right/wrong circumstances, which can indeed be dangerous. Given a choice, though, I’d rather have a maximum strength immune system ready to suppress the virus and stimulate resistance than to be immuno-compromised. Last time I checked, the data are pretty clear that weaker immune systems are more of a danger with pulmonary infections. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255/15 "2020-03-25T19:50:35Z")
When it comes to consuming Vitamin C, doesn’t the body simply absorb what it needs, and then excrete in urine all the excess? ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255/16 "2020-03-25T19:56:35Z")
> [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > See, for example, this article on the 1918 influenza pandemic, which has some eerie parallels to the current crisis, but in which young people were disproportionately affected, possibly due to their stronger immune systems: > [How the Horrific 1918 Flu Spread Across America | History| Smithsonian Magazine](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/journal-plague-year-180965222/) > > And then there’s this article on using immunosuppressants to treat COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammation: > [https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30628-0/fulltext](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30628-0/fulltext) > > I’m not saying that Vitamin C will send your immune system into overdrive and thereby kill you. It’ll probably do nothing at all. But I wanted to address this persistent underlying belief that anything that revs up your immune system is always a good thing, because the latest thinking in medicine seems to be almost the opposite. I think the immuno-suppression article you’re referring to is in the context of someone who is already exposed and presenting with COVID-19 symptoms. Doctors would want to monitor their progress (ideally, early) to determine if they are showing signs of immune hyper-response. I still think the advice from most people in the health fields is that it’s better to maintain your immune system, not by taking an extra shot of vitamin C but through exercise, rest, fluid intake, a balanced diet, and stress management. In turn, doing these things are also (generally) likel to help your body resist the virus if you happen to contract the infection. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255/17 "2020-03-25T20:00:38Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > When it comes to consuming Vitamin C, doesn’t the body simply absorb what it needs, and then excrete in urine all the excess? Generally, yes. A megadose could lead to diarrhea and other unpleasant symptoms but we’re talking about dosage many times higher than the usual intake. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255/18 "2020-03-25T20:05:29Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > A good recipe for expensive urine. Well, then you’ll want some manganese… [/sheldon] ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255/19 "2020-03-25T20:13:41Z")
Anything that claims to “boost your immune system” is suspicious. Along with “toxins,” such phraseology is often a hint that there is little or no reliable medical advice there. It’s all hype, advertising, or wishful thinking, skirting the law just enough to get by. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255/20 "2020-03-25T23:25:05Z")
I always take a large amount of that, zinc, and other vitamins and minerals. I know that most will say it’s a waste of money and I’m not Tom Cruise when it comes to treating depression but personally I’ve found whatever supplement regimen I’ve been using the past couple years has helped reduce my depression and anxiety so I stick with the small expenditure at kroger and Amazon subscribe and save. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-taking-more-vitamin-c/850255.md?page=2)