I started studying vitamin C about 15 years ago. It has been my experience personally, with my family, and clinically, that it is the most important nutrient to assure adequacy of during acute illness, and doing so has shown the most profound results I have seen in working with people in such situations. And you don't have to be septic to be potentially deficient in it.
On a related note, also check these studies out. They are few of many. The immune system needs vitamin C for development and function. Health authorities in these last few yrs have noted a lot about the importance of the immune system, antibodies, etc in responding to viruses. Why didn't they mention vitamin C?
Here's a quote from one of the abstracts above:
"Vitamin C contributes to immune defense by supporting various cellular functions of both the innate and adaptive immune system. Vitamin C supports epithelial barrier function against pathogens and promotes the oxidant scavenging activity of the skin, thereby potentially protecting against environmental oxidative stress. Vitamin C accumulates in phagocytic cells, such as neutrophils, and can enhance chemotaxis, phagocytosis, generation of reactive oxygen species, and ultimately microbial killing. It is also needed for apoptosis and clearance of the spent neutrophils from sites of infection by macrophages, thereby decreasing necrosis/NETosis and potential tissue damage. The role of vitamin C in lymphocytes is less clear, but it has been shown to enhance differentiation and proliferation of B- and T-cells, likely due to its gene regulating effects. Vitamin C deficiency results in impaired immunity and higher susceptibility to infections. In turn, infections significantly impact on vitamin C levels due to enhanced inflammation and metabolic requirements. Furthermore, supplementation with vitamin C appears to be able to both prevent and treat respiratory and systemic infections. Prophylactic prevention of infection requires dietary vitamin C intakes that provide at least adequate, if not saturating plasma levels (i.e., 100-200 mg/day), which optimize cell and tissue levels. In contrast, treatment of established infections requires significantly higher (gram) doses of the vitamin to compensate for the increased inflammatory response and metabolic demand."
I do not provide medical advice via Substack but I will say when I think about dosing for myself, my family, or my patients, I always remember a dosing mantra taught to me very early on:
“Take enough C to be symptom-free, whatever the dose may be.” -Andrew Saul
What brand or type do you use? Liposomal?