Table of contents:
- How much is the average daily vitamin C requirement?
- Then does the need for vitamin C when sick increases?
- Why can vitamin C help the body recover faster when sick?
- Is it safe to increase your daily vitamin C intake?
Nutritional intake needs per day still need to be maintained. The immune system requires nutrients to keep working actively to protect the body from various diseases. One of the nutrients that are known to increase the immune system is vitamin C. However, does the need for vitamin C in the body increase when sick? Check out the following explanation.
How much is the average daily vitamin C requirement?
The body cannot produce vitamin C so you need to eat food sources that contain this nutrient. The functions of vitamin C in the body include:
- Maintain immune system function
- Absorption of iron
- Skin health
Based on RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance), the total daily requirement of vitamin C in the body is 90 milligrams for men and 75 milligrams for women.
Then does the need for vitamin C when sick increases?
From a journal published in 2017, a number of studies conducted on various animal species have found that vitamin C can help prevent and reduce infections caused by bacteria or viruses.
Because not only one animal species is the object of research, it is likely that the benefits of vitamin C can also affect the risk and severity of an infection in humans.
In this journal, Dr. Harri Hemila analyzed two studies looking at the relationship between vitamin C dose and duration of illness or more specifically the time of a cold.
Both studies suggest there is an important relationship between vitamin C dose and the duration when a person is sick. Increasing the intake of vitamin C as much as 6-8 grams per day can actually speed up the recovery process.
Therefore, it is not impossible that consuming higher amounts of daily vitamin C will help speed up healing when you have a cold.
Why can vitamin C help the body recover faster when sick?
Keep in mind, vitamin C can help recovery when sick but cannot prevent a disease.
Increasing your intake of vitamin C can provide benefits such as reducing the symptoms you feel when you are sick and shortening recovery by up to 8% in adults and 14% in children on average. But you need to get vitamin C intake, for example from supplements, regularly and not only when you are sick.
When an infection occurs in the body, the level of vitamin C in the immune system rapidly decreases. Logically, the need for vitamin C in the body increases.
On the other hand, vitamin C deficiency can also weaken the immune system and increase the risk of infection.
For this reason, increasing your intake of vitamin C when you are sick because of an infection is the right step.
Is it safe to increase your daily vitamin C intake?
In general, vitamin C from foods such as fruits and vegetables is definitely safe for the body. For most people, taking extra vitamin C from a supplement in the dosage recommended by a medical professional or doctor is also safe.
If you take the initiative to increase your daily vitamin C intake by taking supplements, the highest dose limit for adults is 2000 milligrams. If you exceed this limit, the risk of health problems will increase, for example, such as kidney stones, nausea, and diarrhea.
You need to meet the needs of vitamin C in the body every day. This is because when you are sick, vitamin C can help relieve symptoms and speed up recovery as long as you regularly increase your intake of vitamin C.
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