It's winter and everywhere I turn, there are colds, flu, and babies with incessant runny noses and ear infections. The day before Christmas break, my own son came down with the flu. That is strange for us, because we regularly take Vitamin D to help prevent colds and flu. But after forgetting our D for a week, it happened. Immediately I gave him his liquid D, as well as Vitamin C throughout the day. He was sick for only three days. Lucky? No. Vitamins!
My son is 9, so you might be thinking, like most parents, that Vitamin C is not appropriate for babies. Not so. As a matter of fact, there have been studies done showing that Vitamin C has shown promise in SIDS prevention. The reality is that Vitamin C is useful for treating or preventing a number of health problems in babies, children, and adults.
My son is 9, so you might be thinking, like most parents, that Vitamin C is not appropriate for babies. Not so. As a matter of fact, there have been studies done showing that Vitamin C has shown promise in SIDS prevention. The reality is that Vitamin C is useful for treating or preventing a number of health problems in babies, children, and adults.
The question, however, is how much C should a baby take? Well, it depends, mainly on whether your baby is healthy or not. A sick baby needs more. A healthy baby needs less. And don't think you can get help from a doctor because that's probably not going to happen in this lifetime. But it's good to know that Vitamin C is not toxic. The worst that can happen is diarrhea, which is actually a good sign that you have reached the amount necessary to saturate the blood with C. Here is a guideline for typical amounts depending on the illness.
Why would you want to give a baby Vitamin C? I think the better question is, why would you want to give your baby dose after dose of antibiotics when they aren't working? Most parents don't realize how unhealthy antibiotics are, or that taking an antibiotic actually weakens your immune system. My son had one ear infection when he was a baby, and got strep throat while ON the antibiotic for the ear infection. That's crazy! But if the doctor had known about Vitamin C, my son would have been taking Vitamin C, along with the antibiotic to kick out the ear infection while boosting his immunity. (These days, I'd use higher doses of C to prevent the doctor visit in the first place!)
So babies get a lot of colds and ear infections (those not on Vitamin C that is!) First, you should give your baby Vitamin C on a regular basis. If someone is sick in the family, give more. If your baby shows signs of respiratory distress or runny nose, kick up the dose. Give Vitamin C all day long, not in one big dose. What they don't need will be elminated with urine, so it's important that it keeps going into the body. Increase the dose until your baby shows signs of intestinal distress, such as gas or loose stools. Then, keep giving the C, but at smaller doses. Do not be afraid of giving too much, as VITAMIN C IS NOT TOXIC. Many parents are afraid to put anything into their baby without the doctor telling them how much. You are just going to have to get over that. It amazes me that we don't question doctors who want to put DRUGS into our babies but when it comes to a vitamin, we get all nervous! I guess the problem is that we think if vitamins actually worked, the doctor would have already tried it. Nope! Doesn't work that way! Read about the politics of the RDA and Vitamin C.
The sooner you accept that the health of your baby is truly in YOUR hands, and that doctors don't know everything, the better off your baby will be. Just use your head!
24 comments:
All I know about vitamin C is that it prevents sickness like fever and flu. I didn't know that it can also help in treating other health problems. Thanks for the info.
Thanks for sharing your efforts this is really important for babys
Same here. Though I've found vitamin C very effective, I didn't know that it can do this. Thanks for the very interesting article!
You really should do your research before offering medical advice to the general public. Or perhaps a disclaimer would be appropriate. Too much vitamin C can be toxic, it can cause kidney stones and increased levels of uric acid along with a variety of other disorders. Do your research.
At what age is it safe to give them C?
Vitamin C is NOT toxic. Kidney stones are very rare, and are addressed as necessary by a doctor. Otherwise, Vitamin C should be used. More info here: http://www.anyvitamins.com/vitamin-c-ascorbicacid-info.htm#Toxicity%20and%20symptoms%20of%20high%20intake
LeannaH, Vitamin C can be used at any age. You can get baby Vitamin C, in liquid form.
My husband and I are taking Vitamin C and amino acid supplements for quite a long time. It's been keeping us strong and free from any illnesses.
i have a 13 month old, is it to give him vitamin c powder? does it have to be baby specific?
Vitamin C can be given at any age. You can put it in juice, mix it in apple sauce, etc.
how diluted does the vit C have to be if mixing with breastmilk? I have a 1ml measuring spoon, I fill with vit-c powder and I melt down with breastmilk. pop spoon into his mouth, then i feed him (from the breast). Is this ok ?
Vitamin C does NOT cause kidney stones!
It is not toxic but pharmaceutical medicine is - hence all the side effects!
Vitamin C cures and prevents lots of illnesses and in fact can help cure cancer (when taken in extremely high dosages)
I have done a lot of research on vitamin c and it's benefits, it is natures antibiotic and antihistamine.
As has been mentioned, if you have taken too much vitamin c in one day your body will tell you by having diarrhea so you would simply need to lessen your dosage the next day.
The websites below show all sorts of benefits to your health through vitamins - known as orthomolecular medicine. After watching the food matters video you won't want to take prescription drugs ever again and will be dosing up on your vitamin supplements - I have anyway :-)
http://www.doctoryourself.com/
http://www.foodmatters.tv/
My daughter is 5 months. She has severe Gerd. Can she still have vitamin c, even tho she isnt suppose to have citric acids? She is on prevacid. She keeps an upper resp infection and been on antibotics 3 times a day since birth. She was born with fluid on her kidneys snd a small kidney stone. Not sure whst to do. She cant lay down cause of the acid, now not wanting to eat cause she cant breath and suck the bottle.
Antibiotics will deplete your immune system, so it's no surprise that your baby has an upper respiratory infection as well. My suspicions are that she needs some enzymes to help her digestive disorder. They actually make these for babies now; I don't think they've been around long, but I could be wrong. I would suggest finding a naturopath for a second opinion on how to handle the GERD and go from there. She definitely needs some probiotics to combat the antibiotics. I'm so sorry you are dealing with all this.
My baby is 7 months old, but is not taking solids yet (I offer, he refuses), so how or with what can I mix the VERY tart, mouth-puckering ascorbic acid? I'm using the NOW brand and all my kids find it way to sour to ingest!
To answer a couple of comments...
Dosage will vary with each child, and can even vary from day to day with the same child. Babies under 12 months need 40-50 mg per day. I would supplement that much during cold and flu season, and not depend on what is in breastmilk or formula. If they are around a lot of sick people, or showing symptoms themselves, increase dosage, even doubling as long as no bowel intolerance is demonstrated.
For babies not taking solids, mix the appropriate dosage with purified water and feed to baby with a dropper. The mix is very little, since you should split the daily dosage throughout the day. S/he may not like the taste, but follow with breast or bottle, and it will be soon forgotten.
My five month old was very sick with a cold. I gave her about 400 mgs throught the day and her cold only lasted two days and she was in great spirits. Normnally she is down and out for two weeks. This was amanzing. I may do less next time.
I whole heartedly believe in vitamin c for everyone from infant to elderly. The post stating vitamin c is toxic is really unfortunate. Our society has been brainwashed to believe that pharm meds keep us healthy while natural vitamins and minerals are the enemy. What a shame.
It seems my 7 month old has came down with a cold, runny nose, sneezing, mild coughing. I have Lypo-Spheric VitaminC 1000mg at home and i gave him that. Is that okay? My friend gives that to her kids all the time and said its fine. Also im afraid if he was exposed to whooping cough from his friend's DTAP vaccine (due to vaccine shedding) and vitaminC is the only way i know how to cure it if it is whooping cough.. So my question is, is 1000mg ok for a baby?
I know no one has commented on this post in awhile, but I just found it. Can a newborn take vitamin c? Just mix it with breatmilk maybe since they can't have water at this age?
I agree with above comments Vitamin C is important. If you're worried about the medicine aspect there is these great C-drops that you mix in with the baby's milk or any liquid in to give infants the vitamin-C support. They are called C-drops by Jolex Pharmaceuticals. This is the link to the product. http://jolexvitamins.com/product.sc?productId=6&categoryId=1
I believe in Vit C, I'm taking every day 4000-5000mg, I didn't get a cold for a long time now. But after my first baby I had problems with my gums, they where bleeding a lot, I did everything what the dentist sad, but nothing helped, until I took a dose of 15000mg, my gums in 2 days where like never before, it was cured. My baby is 5 months old, he is not vaccinated, but because everybody around us got the flu shots he got the cold, I made a solution of 1000mg vit c + 50mL distilled water, and I gave him around 1mL every 2 hours (about 6 times), and he is fine in one day, he never had fever just runny nose and sneezing.I just wanted to tell my experience.
Hello Atlast Ive found a very simple solution..what i want to ask is a table of how many dosage a day of vit c for infants and toddlers who caught a flu? thank you so much
You can learn more about amounts at this link: http://www.vitamincfoundation.org/www.orthomed.com/titrate.htm
I am a huge advocate of vitamin C, I take at least 4 grams of regular vitamin C a day and have just learned of liposomal C. Liposomal C is far more effective, 1000mg has been compared to 15 gram dose of regular vitamin C and goes straight into your cells. Anyone interested in learning more please check out Dr. Thomas levy's web site. He is a board certified cardiologist. He is appalled with Doctors that won't/ don't prescribe C instead of very toxic drugs. It is up to us, to learn for ourselves but I will say, or reaffirm, vitamin C is not toxic at all!! It promotes healthy cells. the comment that it causes kidney stones is very incorrect. Kidney stones are most often calcium built up in your system, vitamin C keeps your system working properly. https://www.peakenergy.com/index.html. All ailments are caused from oxidation in your cells, vitamin C is an anti oxidant, anti inflamitory, antibiotic and my favorite an anti viral. There is no virus that C can't cure if taken in high enough doses. I also don't know of any prescription drug that can cure a virus. There is extensive research, that vitamin C cure 60 out of 60 cases of polio. Personally, it's frustrating to see so many people that don't take the time to simply Learn but blindly trust doctors that either don't take the time to learn themselves or just stay trapped in their doctor herd mode. This should be taught in Med school! But it is not. So take time, read and learn, not one doctor will do it for you!
Post a Comment