Long ago, there was an advertisement that recommended orange juice to reduce the risk of catching a cold. As a great source of Vitamin C, the advertisement is actually correct about orange juice. Vitamin C supports your immune system in multiple ways. Your immune system has a basic response to injuries, such as skin breaks.
Additionally, your immune system has to flex a bit to target the new viruses that emerge each season. It turns out the Vitamin C strengthens your options to respond properly in either case. With the right amount of Vitamin C on board, you can both react more intensely to a risk and pivot to defend against a new strain of viral risk. Being very short of Vitamin C can result in the condition known as scurvy. While scurvy is not common in the developed world, it is possible to develop it if you lack the ability to absorb nutrients due to poor gut health, smoke, or eat a very limited diet.
Even if you don’t develop scurvy, having low levels of Vitamin C can make it hard to burn fat. It can also lead to gum disease and skin eruptions. As a method of charging up your immune response, it’s possible to use Vitamin C for off-label therapies. For example, using Vitamin C to fight cold and flu season is on-label. Using it instead of a vaccination or a healthy diet is off-label. If you are a caregiver for many people pairing a vaccination with a Vitamin C boost can keep you healthy and on your feet as you care for those in your charge.
Get Vitamin C From All Possible Sources
If you are concerned about running short of Vitamin C, start with your plate. Focus on color and make sure you eat plenty of green foods, including broccoli and kiwi. Orange and yellow foods can help too, including
- navel oranges
- bell peppers
- papaya
- pineapple
Finally, focus on red foods like strawberries. One of the challenges of foods high in Vitamin C is that they tend to be a bit fragile; strawberries can spoil quickly and bell peppers aren’t always available or affordable depending on where you live. If you really don’t like veggies or fruit, you can get some Vitamin C from red meat.
However, you will need to supplement to maintain a healthy level. As possible, take your Vitamin C oral supplement in the morning so you get the benefits all day long. If you find that your Vitamin C supplement causes any stomach upset, heartburn or nausea, pair it with fat or protein. For example, a nut butter or cream cheese on a bagel can help you safely break down your Vitamin C supplement without excess acid. Another option for making sure you get extra Vitamin C during flu season is to eat a daily serving of a fortified cereal that offers 100% of your recommended daily allowance. If you can’t get an injection, double up your Vitamin C dosage by having your cereal blended with strawberry yogurt of fresh berries of your choice.
If you get the flu, it’s still worth keeping up your dosage of Vitamin C. Should you be struggling with a stuffy nose and sore throat, do take care to not overload on oral supplements as an upset tummy will not help. To make it easier on your stomach, consider taking powdered drink supplements and sipping it away slowly over the day. To keep the Vitamin C coming until you can get in for an injection, try alternating between powder mix and green tea over the course of the days to keep your levels high. Your choice to get a Vitamin C injection could be a great way to protect your health.
Taking too many Vitamin C supplements can be quite hard on your gut. However, if your medical professionals recommend you need more than the recommended daily allowance and you’ve already topped out your dietary intake, an injection is a great option. You can get Vitamin C from supplements, from your diet and via injection. Flu season seems to be determined to stick around. Stay as healthy as possible to fight whatever is coming. We can help, call now 205-352-9141.
