Emergen-C

[myhoneyswife]

Oh, wow, I love this stuff! This is better than caffeine! LOL! I just bought it as recommended here, and it's great.

Just checking... megadoses of vitamin C, I know, can be used to cause abortions, but it's fine in later pregnancy as far as everyone knows, right? I did a quick search and didn't find much on it...

Thanks!
Cara

[dvons]

I've been drinking it in the mornings and evenings because my midwife wanted me to drink gatorade to keep my electrolites up in our 100+ degree weather. I just didn't want the sugar that is in gatorade. I LOVE it. I haven't found anything that says it would be a problem. My daily fluid intake is about 1/3 emergen-C, 1/3 water and 1/3 RRL & Nettle iced tea.

Deb

[dvons]

BTW my favorite flavors so far are Cranberry and Tropical Punch. Not a big fan of the orange flavor in general.

Deb

[mojumi]

Originally Posted by myhoneyswife

Just checking... megadoses of vitamin C, I know, can be used to cause abortions, but it's fine in later pregnancy as far as everyone knows, right?

You would start to feel really sick before you reached 'unsafe' levels afaik. Let's see, signs of vit C overdose are diarrhea, extreme thirst, nausea/headache, cramps. Since ascorbic acid is water soluble it is hard to really take too too much, but if you start feeling sick you can stop right away, drink plenty of water, and be fine again quickly. I think you need to be careful if you have a history (personal or family) of kidney stones.

If you look up 'ascorbic acid toxicity' or something like that you'll find more info.

[maciascl]

Originally Posted by mojumi

Since ascorbic acid is water soluble it is hard to really take too too much, but if you start feeling sick you can stop right away, drink plenty of water, and be fine again quickly.

That is exactly what I was going to say!!

[myhoneyswife]

Gotcha, thanks! I knew that it was water soluble, but I'm just a paranoid pregnant woman, ya know? Wow, I LOVE this stuff! I'm SUCH a dork!

Cara

[SaveTheWild]

I have heard that too much Vit C during pregnancy can make the baby rely on that constant high level and then, after delivery, to have some scurvy-like problems because the Vit C level drops a bunch. I will try to see if I can find a link about this.

I personally only use it when I have or am fighting a cold, and plan to use it during labor, but I don't use it daily, nor do I take Vit C daily (other than what is in my prenatal).

I am having a hard time finding a good link for the risks. Here, however, is something saying that the concern is overstated:

http://www.mothernature.com/Library/...cfm/Id/2929001

[myhoneyswife]

Thanks. I generally try not to take anything more than I could reasonably get from food, and it looks like this may fall into that category. Bummer! Though I'm guessing it's better than the coke-a-day that I've been drinking lately... : Maybe I'll just limit it to 1 a day... I think I've had 3 packets today, maybe a bit over the top!

[unitytree]

Yeah, I think the key here is moderation! I have some on hand, mostly for labor to help boost energy if I labor long or through the night. I also keep it on hand for those really hot days when I feel like my body is just not holding enough water. Also makeing sure to not take vit C from any other source except the food I eat. I originally bought a few flavors just so i could try them before labor but they came in handy during that hot spell. As long as you are listening to your body and stop if you feel you need to you should be fine.

[MovingMomma]

Don't forget Emergen-C has other vitamins and minerals too, so you could overdose on those as well. Not trying to be an alarmist, but I limit my intake to one a day on rare occassions.