Vitamin D, vitamin C, zinc, and Echinacea to fight the common cold

[Jussik]

Self-Care for Common Colds: The Pivotal Role of Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Zinc, and Echinacea in Three Main Immune Interactive Clusters (Physical Barriers, Innate and Adaptive Immunity) Involved during an Episode of Common Colds—Practical Advice on Dosag

Maintaining a normal healthy immune defense system lowers the incidence and/or the severity of symptoms and/or the duration of common cold (CC). Physical barriers and innate and adaptive immunity have been involved during a CC episode. Vitamins C ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Regarding vitamin C, regular supplementation (1 to 2 g/day) has shown that vitamin C may reduce the duration (in adults by 8%, in children by 14%) and the severity of CC (common cold).

Considering zinc, supplementation may shorten the duration of colds by approximately 33%. CC patients may be instructed to try zinc within 24 hours of onset of symptoms.

Regarding vitamin D, the supplementation protected against CC overall. Baseline levels and age need to be considered. Patients who were deficient in vitamin D and those not receiving bolus doses experienced the most benefit.

As for Echinacea, the use of this plant represents a complementary treatment of respiratory tract infections. Prophylactic treatment with Echinacea extracts (2400 mg/day for prevention and 4000 mg/day during acute stages of colds) over 4 months appeared to be beneficial for preventing/treating CC.

As for me, personally, I take 1g of vitamin C, 5000iu of vitamin D, 86mg of a zinc carnosine and 10g of l-glutamine daily to keep viruses away. It's been working quite well. Zinc carnosine also seems to help with digestion. Hope this helps someone with everyone getting sick these days.

 

[Chidoman]

Loading up on vitamin D3 (7,000-10,000 iu's/day) along with zinc and vitamin C during flu season has helped me boost up my immune system and diminish the severity of whatever is lingering in the air. Been doing it for 10 plus years and cruised it even when got Covid twice in 2021. Got the worst cold in my life last month which lasted four weeks, and really believe this protocol helped me stay functional while dealing with it. BTW I'm 58.

 

[animal-inside]

I Take C/D and zinc everyday regardless.

It's been a few years since I had a cold last anything longer than a couple days.. But when I used to get a nasty cold, I would go buy 4L of orange juice and drink it over a couple days. I think the extra liquid and Vita C helped me.. I could be wrong, but I think vita C in food form is better than the absorbic acid version

 

[BanditNOLIMIT]

Vitamin C improves iron absorption which is something PED users should be mindful of. Many struggle with high hemoglobin levels while on cycle. Obviously we shouldn’t be avoiding Vit C entirely, however supplementing doses like 2g/day may further increase our risk of that. It’s probably best practice to limit the supplementation to flu season, not year round.

Not speaking in absolutes here, just some information I’ve gathered through research..

 

[Goldenrod]

Thanks for posting @Jussik - If I get a cold it loves to settle in my chest and will not leave without antibiotics. It has been an ongoing issue and unless really bad I am not eager to take antibiotics on a regular basis and mess up my natural good/bad bacteria. I'm not eager to run through too many and my body adapts either.
All of the aforementioned - take 50,000 mg of vitamin c when healthy and you will spend a lot of time in the bathroom. It is known as a 'cleanser' used by naturopathic medicine called an ascorbic acid flush. it has to be done by the 1/2 hour and there are instructions - used for decades. If you are sick, try it - I am willing to bet 50,000 mg won't make your bowels empty and you may hit 100,000 before anything happens. I often wonder why/how the body is using so much more vitamin C and it really doesn't do much to get you better quicker - maybe a short time but not by much.
This isn't my opinion (doses of vit. C I am referring to) - it is known, and easily found on multiple websites.
Due to the decades of trial and error with chest infections caused by a cold, the best supplements / herbs I have found and have science behind them. Most are prescribed by Naturopathic medicine if you have issues with upper respiratory issues, asthma, etc. 1) Licorice root - real licorice twice a day (wise woman is the brand I prefer). Keep in mind multiple studies have shown large doses of licorice over a short duration will decrease your testosterone if your natural. If you injecting it, it won't. It is also very good for liver health - question that statement please look it up.
2) Olive Leaf Extract - good for the heart and I find it is as good in higher doses as some antibiotics.
3) Almost all naturopaths recommend NAC - I never found much of a difference but they all recommend it, I take it for liver health and general antioxidant protection / keeping my glutathione high.

Vitamin D and zinc are a given and I always increase my dosage too when feeling anything coming on.