By Felix Dela Klutse
The trauma of the coronavirus pandemic is causing a nationwide spike in Vitamin C abuse. COVID-19 is a deadly virus that attacks the lungs and causes respiratory symptoms such as running nose and difficulty in breathing, according to health experts.
The world has so far lost over 52,000 people to this disease. Currently, there are no effective targeted antiviral medications for COVID-19. The main treatment consists of supportive therapy to manage symptoms.
In a mad dash to discover effective treatment for the novel coronavirus, doctors and scientists are testing existing antivirals, antimalarial, monoclonal antibodies, and other medications against COVID-19. Now Chinese are adding Vitamin C to the list of potential therapies.
Upon hearing the news, many citizens in Ghana have stockpiled Vitamin C and the surge in demand has already seen the price of the drug escalating. One may have noticed the Vitamin C section of the supplement aisle of many pharmaceutical stores looking bare these days or seen the claims on social media that Vitamin C can help with COVID-19. Health experts fear the stockpiling might lead many people to take more drugs than usual.
While physicians and researchers are studying the effects of high dose intravenous of Vitamin C on coronavirus, no supplement, including vitamin C, can prevent or treat COVID-19, according to health officials.
“It is important to understand that no supplement, diet, or other lifestyle modification other than social distancing and proper hygiene practices can protect you from COVID-19,” Ms. Adda Bjarnadottir a registered nutritionist in Iceland has disclosed in an interview with Business Day Ghana Media.
This article reviews what Vitamin C is, how it affects immunity, how it’s being tried for COVID-19 treatment in a hospital setting, and whether taking an oral supplement is beneficial.
What is Vitamin C?
Vitamin C is an essential nutrient with several roles in your body. It’s a potent antioxidant, meaning it can neutralize unstable compounds in your body called free radicals and help prevent or reverse cellular damage caused by these compounds. It’s also involved in a number of biochemical processes, many of which are related to immune health
According to Ms. Bjarnadottir, the Daily Value for vitamin C is 90 milligram (gm) per day, but breastfeeding women need an extra 30 mg and people who smoke need an extra 35 mg per day.
It’s pretty easy to meet your vitamin C needs through your diet as long as you eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. For example, a single medium orange provides 77% of the Daily Value, and 1 cup (160 grams) of cooked broccoli provides 112% of the Daily Value, Ms. Bjarnadottir, added.
How does it affect immunity?
Vitamin C affects your immune health in several ways. Its antioxidant activity can decrease inflammation, which may help improve your immune function. Ms. Bjarnadottir told Business Day Vitamin C keeps a person’s skin healthy and also serves as a functional barrier to keep harmful compounds from entering your body.
“Vitamin C in the skin can promote wound healing and also boosts the activity of phagocytes, immune cells that can swallow harmful bacteria and other particles,” she added.
In studies of its effectiveness against viruses that cause the common cold, Vitamin C, according to the registered nutritionist, doesn’t appear to make a person any less likely to get a cold — but it may help him or her gets over a cold faster and make the symptoms less severe.
“There’s also some evidence from animal research and case studies in humans that high dose of Vitamin C via intravenous can reduce lung inflammation in severe respiratory illnesses caused by H1N1 (“swine flu”) or other viruses,” she explained.
However, these doses, she mentioned, were far above the Daily Value, and there’s not enough research to support the use of high dose vitamin C for lung inflammation at this time.
Ms. Bjarnadottir warned: “You shouldn’t take high doses of vitamin C supplements — even orally — because they can cause side effects like diarrhea.”
Vitamin C and COVID-19
In an article published in the Chinese Journal of Infection Diseases, the Shanghai Medical Association endorsed the use of high dose vitamin C as a treatment for hospitalized people with COVID-19.
In a series of YouTube videos released within the last two weeks, Richard Cheng MD, PhD, Chinese Edition Editor of the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service states there are at least three clinical trials in China studying the effects of high-dose intravenous Vitamin C for the treatment of COVID-19.
Doses that are magnitudes higher than the Daily Value are recommended to be given through intravenous to improve lung function, which may help keep a patient off of mechanical ventilation or life support.
Additionally, further research by Scientists has revealed that both oral and intravenous high dose Vitamin C treatment may aid people admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) for critical illnesses by reducing ICU stay length by eight per cent and shortening the duration of mechanical ventilation by 18.2 per cent.
Chinese researchers have also registered a clinical trial to further study the effectiveness of intravenous Vitamin C in hospitalized people with COVID-19. However, Ms. Bjarnadottir noted that, Vitamin C is not yet a standard part of the treatment plan for COVID-19 because evidence is still lacking.
“Though high dose intravenous Vitamin C is currently being tested to see if it can improve lung function in people with COVID-19, no evidence suggests that high doses of oral vitamin C supplements can help with the disease. In fact, they can cause complications like diarrhea and kidney problem,” she stated.
Do you need to supplement?
Currently, no evidence supports the use of oral Vitamin C supplements to prevent COVID-19.Vitamin C may help shorten the duration and severity of colds caused by other viruses, but this is no guarantee that it will have the same effect on the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
Additionally, Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin. It dissolves in water, meaning that excess amounts aren’t stored in your body but instead eliminated through your urine. Taking more Vitamin C does not mean that your body is absorbing more, health experts have warned.
Contributing, Ms. Ashley Sobel, a registered dietitian based in New York City, USA, said although high dose vitamin C appears promising for COVID-19 treatment, these doses were exceptionally high and given via IV — not taken orally.
“Your best bet is to eat a diet that’s full of a variety of fruits and vegetables, which naturally provide all the Vitamin C a healthy person needs — along with many other nutrients and antioxidants,” she advised.
Choosing a supplement
While supplements are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in many countries including Ghana, they aren’t held to the same safety standards as pharmaceuticals. Thus, it’s important to purchase supplements from reputable companies, health experts advised.
Some third-party organizations such as ConsumerLab and United States Pharmacopeia (USP), test supplements for purity and label accuracy. You may want to choose a Vitamin C supplement that has been tested by one of these companies.
Additionally, the Upper Limit (UL) for supplemental Vitamin C — the amount most people can consume daily without negative effects — is 2,000 milligrams, Ms. Ariane Lang, Co-owner of Workplace Balance, a corporate nutrition service provider in Costa Rica has said.
Additionally, the Upper Limit (UL) for supplemental Vitamin C — the amount most people can consume daily without negative effects — is 2,000 milligrams, Ms. Ariane Lang, Co-owner of Workplace Balance, a corporate nutrition service provider in Costa Rica has said.
Most Vitamin C, she noted, will provide a daily dose of anywhere from 250–1,000 milligrams, so it can be easy to exceed the Upper Limit if one is not careful.
Most Vitamin C, she noted, will provide a daily dose of anywhere from 250–1,000 milligrams, so it can be easy to exceed the Upper Limit if one is not careful.
“Be sure to read the packaging and take only the recommended dose to avoid complications,” she advised the public.
Ms. Lang however said, when used in clinical settings treating critically ill patients, very high dose Vitamin C treatments are safe and not associated with significant side effects.
The bottom line
Vitamin C is an important nutrient that keeps your immune system functioning properly. According to a report published by the Shanghai Medical Association, high dose intravenous of Vitamin C may improve lung function in hospitalized people with COVID-19. However, there’s no proof that oral vitamin C supplements will help treat or prevent COVID-19.
To get plenty of immune-strengthening Vitamin C in your diet, make sure you’re eating a variety of fruits and vegetables. Though there’s currently no cure for COVID-19, preventive measures like social distancing and proper hygiene can help protect you from developing the disease.
Researchers are looking at what benefit, if any, Vitamin C might have on COVID-19 patients. Scientists at Zhongnan Hospital in Wuhan, China, have begun a clinical trial to determine just that, but no results have yet been published.
The completion date is scheduled for the end of September, 2020, when they hope to have shown that vitamin C reduces the inflammatory effects of the disease in the lung. If successful, this action would be, in part, due to the antioxidant effect of Vitamin C.
MedicineNet Author, Betty Kovacs Harbolic, adds that vitamin C is generally safe but, “large doses of vitamin C may cause stomach upset and diarrhea in adults and have been reported to cause kidney stones.”
