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Dosage Guidelines for Herbs and Nutritional Supplements
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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).
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Therapeutic Dosages of Nutritional Supplements for Children
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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 | � |
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. |
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JANET ZAND, O.M.D., L.Ac. is a nationally respected author, lecturer, practitioner and herbal products formulator whose work has helped thousands of people achieve better 
