Symptoms Of Taking Too Much Vitamin C
Taking too much vitamin C through supplements can, however, cause side effects. In adults, the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of vitamin C is 90 milligrams (mg) for males and 75 mg for females. Adults who take more than 2,000 mg of vitamin C per day may experience side effects.
Common mild side effects of too much vitamin C include: diarrhea
nausea
stomach cramping
bloating
general abdominal discomfort The body does not absorb all of the vitamin C that it gets from supplements.
What Is Vitamin C?
It’s essential for maintaining a healthy immune system, enhancing iron absorption, and producing collagen, the most abundant protein in the human body Vitamin C is unique to many other nutrients because it also functions as an antioxidant.
Antioxidants help protect cells from free radical damage Free radicals are highly volatile, cell-damaging chemicals that are a byproduct of normal human metabolism. Vitamin C is considered an essential nutrient, which means your baby’s body can’t produce it by itself.
This nutrient can be found in breastmilk, infant formula, and many types of fruits and vegetables. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that babies receive the following amount of vitamin C each day If you’re breastfeeding, aim to consume 120 mg of vitamin C per day.
Infant formulas also contain vitamin C. Thus, if your baby is formula fed, they’ll be able to meet their vitamin C needs. It also functions as an antioxidant.
Why Vitamin C Is Important
It helps your child’s gums stay healthy and strengthens your child’s blood vessels, minimizing bruising from falls and scrapes.
In addition, vitamin C helps cuts and wounds heal, boosts the immune system, and keeps infections at bay.
How Much Vitamin C Does My Child Need?
Can My Child Get Too Much Vitamin C?
However, megadoses can still cause nausea, diarrhea, kidney stones, and gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining). Children ages 1 to 3 should not get more than 400 mg of vitamin C a day. Children ages 4 to 8 should not get more than 650 mg a day.
Those are the maximum amounts considered safe by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine. So be careful before giving a child chewable supplements meant for adults because each tablet can contain up to 500 mg.
Find out more: Ten important nutrients for children.