How We Dose Vitamins (for times of wellness & sickness)

This is one of the top FAQ's I get. So let's chat about it.

I need to preface that I'm not a doctor, and this isn’t medical advice. Everyone’s situation is going to look different, depending on diet, area of living, any known deficiencies, etc. This is why I always recommend finding a holistic practitioner that you trust to walk through life with you and give you guided, personalized recommendations. 

The following is me sharing what I personally have done or would do for our personal family situation (it may look different for you).

DAILY ROUTINE in TIMES OF WELLNESS

BABIES

• I don’t worry about supplementing much extra except Vitamin D, especially in breast-fed babies. I like to make sure we are hitting a minimum of 400 IU.

• Does my breastfed baby need Vit D drops?

• We use this one (1 drop = 500 IU)

TODDLERS - OLDER KIDS

• Once solids are started, ideally we should be getting our minerals and vitamins from whole, organic foods. But if kids are picky (aka mine) then I add in a multi-vitamin.

  • I like Llama Natural’s for a gummy (100% whole food)

  • Garden of Life for a powder (naturally derived)

  • View my multi-vitamin guide

• I will add in extra Zinc, especially during high viral seasons, because Llama doesn’t include Zinc and Garden of Life is minimal. I follow the NIH recommendations for daily use, and then double sick.

  

  • The zinc we use: 25 drops is 50mg

    • 2 mg = 1 drop

    • 3 mg = 1.5 drops

    • 5 mg = 2.5 drops

    • 8 mg = 4 drops

    • 11 mg = 5.5 drops

ADULTS

• Similar to above, we should aim to get our minerals and vitamins from our diet. But I understand this doesn’t always happen.

  • Just Ingredient’s has a great whole-food multi (code ALEXK for $ off)

  • for a prenatal I like Needed Prenatal

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ROUTINE WHEN SICK / EXPOSED TO SICKNESS

When we are sick, in all honesty, we usually do not take our multis and just do the following in drop form because it’s easier to stomach than swallowing pills / chewing gummies.

The most important immune nutrients during times of sickness (IMO) are:

• Vitamin C

• Vitamin D

• Zinc

• Magnesium

• Vitamin A

VITAMIN C

• Adults: we do 3,000-5,000mg of Vit C or 4-6 Camu Supreme’s

  • Divide into smaller doses throughout the day if experience diarrhea 

• Babies/Kids: 500-1,000mg per day in divided doses; decrease if diarrhea

• This Vit C is super easy to dose for the whoe fam (3/4tsp = 2,000mg)

  • 500mg = just under 1/4 tsp

  • 1,000mg = 3/8 tsp (easy to break up into 1/8tsp 3/xday)

  • 3,000mg = 1tsp + 1/8tsp

  • 4,000mg = 1.5tsp

  • 5,000mg = 1¾ tsp + a pinch

  
  

VITAMIN D

• Adults: we do 5,000-10,000 IU daily

• Babies/Kids: we do the CHOP upper limits daily

• This Vit D is super budget friendly per IU can be dosed for the whole fam (1drop = 500IU)

  • 1,500 IU = 3 drops

  • 3,000 IU = 6 drops

  • 4,000 IU = 8 drops

ZINC

• Adults: we do 25-50mg daily

• Babies/Kids: typically I aim for the NIH recommendations on a daily basis, and then will double that when sick

  • The zinc we use: 25 drops is 50mg

    • 2 mg = 1 drop

    • 3 mg = 1.5 drops

    • 5 mg = 2.5 drops

    • 8 mg = 4 drops

    • 11 mg = 5.5 drops

MAGNESIUM

• I hate having yet another thing to take orally, so we do topical magnesium pretty much year round - but definitely during times of sickness. 

  • Topical

    • Trace Minerals (contains phenoxyethanol)

    • Ancient Minerals

    • Dr. Doug's

    Bath Salts

    • Ancient Minerals

    • Dr. Teal unscented

VITAMIN A

• With Vitamin A toxicity being a real thing, I am going to point to Dr. Green Mom on this. 

  • This is the Vit A we like. It's easy to dose for the whole fam.

  • But Dr. Green Mom also has a great one for mega-dosing (this link should give $ off)