Hold the phones people, word on the web is that the Shanghai government has officially recommended Vitamin C for COVID-19. China is openly sharing that high doses of vitamin C intravenously is helping to reduce the symptoms experienced by patients suffering from COVID-19. I’m not about to enter the vaccine vs alternative medicine debate, but I do think it’s important to be informed of all available options for prevention and keeping yourself healthy. Whatever the future holds, supporting our immune systems will be key for what new strain may come next.

Most people know when a cold hits to load up on the screwdrivers (sans vodka, of course), but have probably never considered why that may be helpful.

Vitamin C is necessary for the healthy growth and repair of all cells and the promotion of healthy aging. Vitamin C is a strong antioxidant that is easily depleted in times of stress, diets high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, cigarette smoking and exposure to environmental chemicals like pollutions and car exhaust.

Vitamin C is not synthesized in the body so we have to eat it, or we don’t have it. Since, it’s water soluble (vs fat soluble like vitamin D), the body’s ability to retain it is very low. Once the cells have their fill, the excess isn’t stored for a rainy day, it’s simply eliminated in the urine. The good news is that, because of this, high doses don’t pose much danger to our health (with the exception of those with severe digestive issues – always talk to your health care provider).

Beyond healthy cellular function, vitamin C also plays a key role in optimizing immune function against the common cold and viral infections, particularly in the upper respiratory tract.

Unfortunately, most conventional health experts cast this information aside, and discredit it claiming that vitamin C studies show no benefit or only very marginally so.

But, the majority of studies are using dosages that are far too low to actually be effective. And, as one of the top 5 nutrient deficiencies in the US, if vitamin C deficiency is widely believed to weaken your immune system, how could dosing vitamin C not also be helpful in strengthening it?

The daily recommended allowance of vitamin C is somewhere around 100mg, which is the base level to optimize cell function. When we’re looking at a cold or flu case, the needs are increased. Imagine the effort required to keep your house clean while it’s just you in self-isolation, to when it’s being overrun by a big crowd for a holiday dinner, suddenly you need a lot more help to stay on top of things! So while studies dosing 1,000mg may seem like a lot, when you are stressed, sick or chronically exposed to environmental pollutants mentioned above (so basically everyone) your daily intake needs actually increase into multi-gram dosages.

I’m not making specific recommendations to anyone, so please talk to your doctor first, but what I find works for me, is taking 3,000mg of vitamin C but spread out over the course of the day (morning, midday and night) for active short term prevention. Everyone’s needs are different, and if you experience loose stools with supplementation that means you have consumed more than you can absorb at that given time, so your max dose will be a bit less. But again, if you’re sick, your bowel tolerance changes allowing your body to absorb more to meet its increased needs. Preliminary studies in China are seeing success with dosing based on body weight, in the range between 6,000mg – 24,000mg depending on the severity – though these are administered intravenously which means a 100% absorption rate, and avoiding the bowel tolerance issues altogether.

With respect to COVID-19, it is estimated in China that over 80% of those infected were either asymptomatic or presenting with a mild case of pneumonia, and the unfortunate deaths we have seen are not technically a result of the virus itself, but the distress it causes to the delicate tissue of the lungs.

Previous studies of vitamin C in viral upper respiratory lung infections have revealed that vitamin C not only helps to bring immune cells (neutrophils) to the site of infection, but also ensures a more efficient “cell death” (neutrophil apoptosis) that limits the destructive capacity of the cell products to surrounding tissue. It also helps other immune cells (macrophages) “absorb the bad stuff” so we can clear it out more quickly.

Basically, having enough vitamin C means we can get the key cells to the infection site to do their work and get out without causing too much damage along the way.

So yes, stay inside to protect the vulnerable populations, and eat your kiwis, apples, bell peppers, and citrus fruits, maybe talk to your trusted health care professional about a vitamin c supplement, and get your rest! This too shall pass, but until then, remember the skies in Wuhan are turning blue again as pollution subsides, and the dolphins and wildlife are returning to the Grand Canal in Venice. Be well!