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

FAQs

How much vitamin C should I take to fight off a cold? ›

The likelihood of success may vary from person to person. Some people improve, while others do not. Taking 1000 to 2000 mg per day can be safely tried by most people. Taking too much can cause stomach upset.

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). Just one plum (about 15 g) packs 436 mg of vitamin C, which is 484% of the DV.

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 ...

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.

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.

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].

Of the 17 samples analyzed, the one with the highest vitamin C content was an apple juice (840 mg/l), more than the orange juices (352-739 mg/l). The results for the pineapple and grape juices were 702 mg/l and between 30.2 and 261 mg/l for the soft drinks (orange, lemon and apple).

If you take it when a cold is starting, zinc may help you recover faster. A 2017 review of studies suggested zinc acetate and zinc gluconate lozenges made colds 33% shorter, on average. 1 Lozenges and other forms of oral Zicam target viruses in the mouth and throat. They should be taken as soon as cold symptoms start.

What vitamin are you lacking when you have a cold? ›

A new study has found that vitamin D may play a role in helping the immune system ward off respiratory diseases like the common cold. Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium, which keeps your bones strong.

This action will open a modal dialog. Zicam is completely different^® from most other cold remedies because it actually shortens colds versus just temporarily relieving symptoms. These quick-dissolve tablets, made with zinc, shorten colds when taken at the first sign.

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.

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.

Vitamin C might help to treat your cold, but it's probably not enough to notice. Research shows that regularly taking 1,000 mg to 2,000 mg of vitamin C may reduce how long cold symptoms last and how severe they are. But this decrease in time is less than 10%. And most people probably won't notice the difference.

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.

In herpes labialis, oral ascorbate-bioflavonoid complex (1000 mg water-soluble bioflavonoids and 1000 mg vitamin C in equal increments five times daily at first onset and continued 3 days) reduces outbreak of vesiculation and prevents disruption of vesicular membranes.

The upper limit for all adults is 2,000 mg a day. Although too much dietary vitamin C is unlikely to be harmful, large doses of vitamin C supplements might cause: Diarrhea. Nausea.

Although vitamin C can be well tolerated at doses well above what government organizations recommend, adverse effects can occur at doses above 3 grams per day. The common "threshold" side effect of megadoses is diarrhea.