COVID-19: Can vitamin C help boost your immune system?
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It happened in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and spread globally, resulting in an ongoing pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization.
Thus, it continued to spread and a vaccine is urgent for immunization and a cure. Meanwhile, waiting for the production of vaccine done, taking precautions action is considered the best approach.
This disease is asymptomatic and the severity of covid-19 may lead to severe respiratory tract infections and become deadly.
Furthermore, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), these factors related to immunity such as age and underlying conditions determine the risk of infection.
Therefore, individuals who are at higher risk of having covid-19 complications is a person that having a pre-existing illness like type 2 diabetes, liver disease, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory issues.
It also increases with age as the general immunity reduces when you getting older.
Besides, immune factors play a major role to protect our bodies, with this variety factor which indicates the influence the severity of the disease.
Does Vitamin C help boost your immunity and keep you from COVID-19-free?
Not exactly! It strengthens your immune system, but there is no concrete evidence that it can treat or prevent the disease caused by a SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, our body still needs vitamins to boost the immune system.
Similarly, no evidence said that vitamin C supplements can help to prevent COVID-19, “Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee, told New York Times Parenting”.
“If there’s going to be an advantage, it’s going to be very modest,” Schaffner said.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin that has immune-boosting micronutrients and it is relatively easy to get such as can be found in a variety of fruits and vegetables.
Hence, low vitamin C levels are also resulting in many health problems such as poor immunity, bleeding gums, and tooth loss.
Since your body cannot produce vitamin C, it’s important to include essential nutrients in your daily diet.
Humans cannot produce vitamin C on their own, because they don’t have the specific enzyme needed. Hence, we need to get it from an exogenous source which is food that includes essential nutrients in daily diet.
In addition, vitamin C plays a role in maintaining the immune system comprehensively through its antioxidant ability to protects against damage induced by oxidative stress, collagen synthesis, or directly strengthens immune cells in the fight against infection.
It also helps prevent the common cold.
However, you can purchase the vitamin C supplement at the pharmaceutical wholesaler if you want in a bulk quantity such as mayflax.
How much your body need Vitamin C per day?
The recommended daily dosage of vitamin C follow by age and gender. As per the National Institutes of Health, the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for vitamin C are as follows:
| Age | Male | Female | Pregnancy | Lactation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–6 months | 40 mg | 40 mg | ||
| 7–12 months | 50 mg | 50 mg | ||
| 1–3 years | 15 mg | 15 mg | ||
| 4–8 years | 25 mg | 25 mg | ||
| 9–13 years | 45 mg | 45 mg | ||
| 14–18 years | 75 mg | 65 mg | 80 mg | 115 mg |
| 19+ years | 90 mg | 75 mg | 85 mg | 120 mg |
Note: Individuals who smoke need more doses than non-smokers needed, which is add 35 mg per day.
Here, have five clinical stages of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) :
Figure 1: Covid-19 treatment stratification in a Malaysian public hospital setting.
Can we consume vitamin C too much ?
Vitamin C is water-soluble, meaning it absorbs and passes through your body faster. Besides that, vitamin C is eliminated when you urinate.
Taking more than 2000 milligrams per day of vitamin C can lead to unpleasant side effects such as:-
- Stomach pain
- Nausea
- Diarrhoea
- Vomiting
- Heartburn
- Headache
- Insomnia
Other food sources that are high in Vitamin C
Foods rich in vitamin C include :-
- Oranges and orange juice
- Grapefruits
- Strawberries
- Kiwis
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Spinach
- Kale
- Red and green peppers
- Potatoes
Immune booster to maintain body health
There are 6 immune boosters to help you to maintain a healthy body other than vitamin C :-
Vitamin A (Beta Carotene): This vitamin helps the health of your intestines and respiratory system. Foods rich in vitamin A include carrots, sweet potato, spinach, broccoli, and red bell peppers, egg yolk, butter, milk, cheese, etc.
Vitamin E: Vitamin E can be a cancer prevention agent preventing cells from oxidative harm from free radicals. These nutrients also can neutralization of free radicals by working as an antioxidant such as vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, and avocado.
Zinc: There are many zinc-dependent enzymes in our body and their deficiency is associated with immune dysfunction. Zinc-rich foods such as beans, seeds, nuts, meat, poultry, some shellfish, legumes, whole grains, and fortified cereals.
Selenium: Selenium is another body’s antioxidant system, that ensures the body against oxidative pressure. It a mineral that helps certain immune cells function at their best. For examples, seafood, meat, whole grains, dairy, fruits and vegetables.
Probiotics: The function of probiotics to helps the gut to become a healthy gut because it is made up of good bacteria that help keep your body healthy and working well. Moreover, not only that, probiotics can contribute to immune function.
These nutrients are proven to help your body’s immune system function most efficiently and effectively, but if you eat too much, it can be harmful. Thus, eat these nutrients in moderation and do not overeat.
Can taking vitamin C help to prevent COVID-19?
Frankly, without a vaccine, it is important to find ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Again, there are many things about this virus that we still do not know because viruses keep changes through mutation, and new variants of a virus are expected to occur over time. Sometimes new variants emerge and disappear.
Right now, vitamin C is one of the few vitamins that your body needs to do its best. Getting enough vitamins and nutrients in your diet can help in strengthening your immune system, which also can possibly help you prevent this virus.
There is nothing wrong with taking vitamin C as part of your COVID-19 prevention plan, but no evidence it is true! There is a lot of ongoing research with positive results on the use of vitamin C as a treatment.
However, there is not enough information and evidence to know for sure whether it is effective against COVID-19.
Ways to prevent COVID-19
Furthermore, have other ways can help to prevent the covid-19 spread. Now, you can follow easy tips to add to your “new normal” as a daily routine :-
- Wash your hands for 20 seconds.
- Apply hand sanitizer
- Wear a mask
- Social Distance
- Stay at home
- Disinfect or sanitize all the things
- Try not to touch your face or mouth.
References:
- https://www.timesnownews.com/health/article/can-vitamin-c-really-help-boost-your-immune-system-against-covid-19-here-s-how-much-you-need-per-day/638071
- https://www.urologyofva.net/articles/category/healthy-living/4362465/8-micronutrients-that-can-boost-the-immune-system-against-covid-19
- https://health.ucdavis.edu/good-food/blog/nutrients-to-help-prevent-illness.html
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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Raihan Ridzuan
Raihan Ridzuan , Bachelor of Science (Hons) Pharmacology, is Customer Relationship Executive of Mayflax , one of the nation’s leading healthcare and marketing company.
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