Dosage Guidelines for Herbs and Nutritional Supplements

For many of the treatments that are recommended in this section, dosage instructions may be found on the products themselves, whether as part of the product label or your doctor’s prescription. This is particularly true of the conventional medicines and homeopathic remedies. There are two categories of treatments where label information may not be sufficient, however: herbal treatment preparations and nutritional supplements.

Herbal Dosages

When treating your child with herbs, it is important to base the dosage on your child’s age, weight, and condition. Unless otherwise specified elsewhere in this book, use the following age-specific dosage equivalents when administering herbal remedies:

Newborn to two years. One dosage equals 3 drops of tincture diluted in ¹/4 cup of water, formula, or breast milk, or 2 to 3 teaspoons of tea. A nursing mother may also take an adult dose of the appropriate herbal treatment. The herbs will be transmitted to her baby through her breast milk, filtered and diluted to the appropriate strength.

Two to six years. One dose equals 6 to 10 drops of tincture diluted in ¹/4 cup of water, or ¹/4 cup of tea.

Six to twelve years.One dosage equals 10 to 20 drops of tincture, ¹/2 cup of tea, or 2 tablets or capsules.

Twelve years to adultOne dose equals 20 to 40 drops of tincture, 1 cup of tea, or 2 tablets or capsules.

Nutritional Supplement Dosages

For nutritional supplements, unless other dosage levels are specified in the individual entries, consult the table below for the appropriate therapeutic dosages of the various supplements recommended in the Part Two entries.

Note that all the amounts in this table are therapeutic doses. That is, they do not necessarily represent the amounts of these nutrients that your child needs on a daily basis, but rather increased amounts that may be helpful for certain conditions when taken for limited periods of time. Also, some dosages are given in international units (IU); others in milligrams (mg); and still others in micrograms (mcg, the equivalent of ¹/1000 of a milligram).

**Therapeutic Dosages of Nutritional Supplements for Children**
Supplement	Birth-6 Months	6-12 Months	13 Months- 2 Years	3-4 Years	5-6 Years	7-11 Years	12-15 Years	16-18 Years
VITAMINS	ï¿½
Vitamin A/ Beta-Carotene	2,000 IU	2,000 IU	2,500 IU	2,500 IU	3,000 IU	4,000 IU	5,000 IU	5,000 IU
Vitamin B₁ (Thiamine)	400 mcg	600 mcg	800 mcg	800 mcg	1,000 mcg (1 mg)	1,500 mcg (1.5 mg)	1,500 mcg (1.5 mg)	1,500 mcg (1.5 mg)
Vitamin B₂ (Riboflavin)	500 mcg	700 mcg	900 mcg	1,000 mcg (1 mg)	1,200 mcg (1.2 mg)	1,600 mcg (1.6 mg)	2,000 mcg (2 mg)	2,000 mcg (2 mg)
Vitamin B₅ (Pantothenic acid)	3 mg	3 mg	4 mg	4 mg	4 mg	15-25 mg	50 mg	50 mg
Vitamin B₆ (Pyridoxine)	400 mcg	600 mcg	1,000 mcg (1 mg)	1,000 mcg (1 mg)	1,500 mcg (1.5 mg)	2,000 mcg (2 mg)	2,500 mcg (2.5 mg)	2,500 mcg (2.5 mg)
Vitamin B₁₂ (Cobalamin)	1 mcg	2 mcg	2.5 mcg	3 mcg	4 mcg	5 mcg	5 mcg	5 mcg
Biotin	50 mcg	50 mcg	50 mcg	75 mcg	100 mcg	150 mcg	200 mcg	200 mcg
Folic acid	40 mcg	60 mcg	100 mcg	150 mcg	250 mcg	350 mcg	400 mcg	400 mcg
Vitamin C	40 mg	60 mg	100 mg	150 mg	150 mg	200-500 mg	300-500 mg	300-500 mg
Bioflavinoids*	40 mg	60 mg	100 mg	100 mg	150 mg	200-500 mg	300-500 mg	300-500 mg
Vitamin D	100 IU	100 IU	100 IU	100 IU	100 IU	100 IU	100 IU	100 IU
Vitamin E	5 IU	6 IU	8 IU	15 IU	20 IU	25 IU	50 IU	75-100 IU
MINERALS
Calcium	400 mg	600 mg	800 mg	800 mg	800 mg	850 mg	1,200 mg	1,200 mg
Chromium	50 mcg	60 mcg	80 mcg	80 mcg	120 mcg	200 mcg	200 mcg	200 mcg
Iron	10 mg	15 mg	15 mg	15 mg	12 mg	12 mg	18 mg	18 mg
Magnesium	70 mg	90 mg	150 mg	200 mg	250 mg	300 mg	350 mg	400 mg
Selenium	40 mcg	60 mcg	80 mcg	100 mcg	150 mg	200 mcg	200 mcg	200 mcg
Zinc	4 mg	6 mg	10 mg	10 mg	10 mg	10 mg	15 mg	15 mg
_{*Bioflavinoids are not technically vitamins, however, they are often considered together with vitamins because they work synergistically with Vitamin C, and many supplements that supply bioflavinoids combine them with that vitamin.}

From Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child by Janet Zand, N.D., L.Ac., Robert Rountree, MD, Rachel Walton, RN, ï¿½1994. Published by Avery Publishing, New York. For personal use only; neither the digital nor printed copy may be copied or sold. Reproduced by permission.