The Three C’s – Christmas, Covid, and Vitamin C!
A recent article in the Telegraph reported some very interesting information about vitamin C. Namely, that it could help to prevent severe Covid and speed up recovery from the virus.
Now this, of course, spiked our interest. We know that vitamin C is essential for keeping the immune system healthy, and many people use vitamin C supplements when they’re feeling under the weather. But Covid? We hadn’t heard that before!
At Wellness Factory, we love using natural supplements, vitamins, and minerals to boost our health and wellness. So, we like to think of ourselves as mythbusters when it comes to claims like this! In this blog post, we’ll be evaluating the research on vitamin C for covid to find out whether it can really help to protect you this winter.
The Research on Vitamin C and Coronavirus
There has been a lot of research on how vitamin C can impact infections and viruses. However, there is a lack of research on vitamin C and Coronavirus specifically. (Since it’s such a new illness, this is hardly surprising.)
Here are some of the main research findings on vitamin C and illnesses:
- Around 100 animal studies have demonstrated how vitamin C can help to prevent and reduce many kinds of bacterial and viral infections.
- Research has found that many patients suffering from vitamin C deficiency would develop pneumonia, suggesting that vitamin C plays a role in preventing such respiratory illnesses.
- In multiple human trials, research has shown that vitamin C can shorten the length of infections caused by respiratory viruses.
- It’s commonly found that critically ill patients have low levels of vitamin C in the body. Often, these patients will be given doses of vitamin C to help bring these levels back to normal.
- An analysis of multiple trials, involving over 1,700 patients, concluded that vitamin C reduced the length of intensive care by 8%.
So, despite the fact there is a lack of direct research on the relationship between vitamin C and coronavirus, the research above does suggest some interesting ideas.
This wide variety of research has involved a very diverse range of viruses and infections. This suggests that the powerful effects of vitamin C are not limited to just one or two illnesses. Instead, it’s likely that vitamin C could have an impact on many, if not all viruses and infections – especially respiratory related ones.
How Can Vitamin C Help With Coronavirus?
It’s thought that vitamin C could improve the immune system’s ability to fight viral infections. It could do this by stimulating the functioning of certain immune cells.
Vitamin C helps to boost the production of white blood cells that help fight against infection. These are called lymphocytes and phagocytes.
It’s also been found that vitamin C can help to protect these cells against free radical damage. In other words, it works as an excellent antioxidant.
It’s been suggested that, even if vitamin C can’t prevent you from catching an illness such as Covid, it could help to reduce the severity of the illness and speed up recovery.
The Best Vitamin C Supplement for Adults
An excellent way to get your daily vitamin C is by eating a well-balanced diet and using a supplement on top of that.
We would recommend the Balance Maca Root drops.
These drops are an excellent source of multiple vitamins and minerals, not just vitamin C. This means you’re getting way more bang for your buck!
The Maca Root drops are an excellent source of:
- Vitamin C
- Copper
- Zinc
- Calcium
- Iron
This incredible blend of goodness could help to improve your immune system functioning to help you fight off illnesses, along with a whole host of other benefits.
For example, Maca Root may help to improve your mental wellbeing and mood, boost your energy, and even improve libido and fertility!
The Best Vitamin C Supplement for Kids
Vitamin C is a powerful immune booster for children, too. In fact, whilst vitamin C is thought to reduce illness duration by 8% in adults, it’s thought to reduce it by 18% in children!
Kids do need a slightly different supplement, though, since the daily dosages are different.
We recommend the Little Pharma Vitamin C spray. This supplement is ideal for children aged 3 months to 5 years.
It contains a child-specific daily dosage of vitamin C which can help to support the immune system, nervous system, metabolism, psychological function and more. Vitamin C can also help to keep the bones, teeth, skin, and blood healthy.
This spray has a delicious orange flavour that kids love, but contains absolutely no added sugar or artificial additives.
You can spray it directly into your child's mouth, or add it to water or juice for minimal fuss.