I've been taking vitamin C for about 7 years in the 1 to 3 gram a day range. My recent reading has got me very excited about increasing my amount to around the 10 gram a day mark.
I know! I'm excited about vitamin C every single day of my life!!!
What would be a good way of doing this?
What type and how much of each? Time released capsules? What time of day for different types? Take on an empty stomach? Best type?
Ascorbic Acid?
Calcium Ascorbate?
Magnesium Ascorbate?
Sodium Ascorbate?
Zinc Ascorbate?
Ascorbyl Palmitate?
Fruit?
I will continue to read all I can find, its all good news!
Would be great to hear from some of you guys who have this info sorted.
Also any experiences of benefits. Are the improvements noticable quickly?
Is it best to build up your dose gradually?
Experiment with different forms?
Thanks for any info!
Ben in Australia
Wow, lots of questions. First of all, since ascorbate is very similar structurally to glucose the body utilizes the same pumps to get it into cells. So, taking it with meals may mean that more will be absorbed, although glucose and ascorbate do compete for transport. I take it both with and without food.
As far as types go, ascorbic acid was the type preferred by Linus Pauling. The side effect of high doses of ascorbic acid is loose stools, which can escalate to diarrhea if lots of ascorbic acid is taken. Thus, taking mineral ascorbates may be better, as they are non-acidic and are less apt to cause gastrointestinal upset. Powder forms are considerably cheaper than capsules, although capsules are more convenient to carry with you. I use both. I also use time-release tablets made by Natural Factors. Calcium ascorbate is a decent form to use, although according to
Tom Levy the extra calcium may be troublesome. I would recommend magnesium ascorbate as magnesium is known to be very nontoxic and beneficial.
I would recommend you read
Ascorbate: the Science of Vitamin C by Drs. Hickey and Roberts (available at
lulu.com/ascorbate). The half-life of vitamin C in high doses is reported to be arounf 30 minutes. Accordingly, I take it at least once every couple of hours.
I wish you well on your journey to better health with vitamin C!