Vitamin C strengthens your core
We all know that our body urgently needs vitamin C for its health. A strong immune system helps you to stay fit and healthy. Many experts advocate the intake of this vitamin in high doses that cannot be achieved by food. But how do you find your way through the jungle of dietary supplements? Get some vital information!
Why does the body need it?
Looking for the best supplement to boost your health? Vitamin C is one of the nutrients that human beings need to get from food. Incidentally, this is a rarity on this planet: most animals, plants, and even yeast fungi can synthesize this vitamin for their needs (1).
Every cell in our body needs vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid or ascorbate, in some way. It helps to form messenger substances, hormones and enzymes (2). It is also involved in how our body uses genetic material (3). A key word here is epigenetics: this process determines how cells express genes and assemble new cells — and vitamin C plays an important role in this.
Vitamin C as an electron donor
In addition, this vitamin functions as an antioxidant. It can donate electrons to free radicals and still remain intact (4). Free radicals are atoms and molecules that are missing an electron in their outer shell. They grab this electron wherever they can. Usually, this heist turns the victim into a free radical. If this vicious cycle is not stopped it can cause massive tissue damage.
Free radicals are formed during normal metabolic processes. However, pollutants in the environment also float the body with free radicals (5). If too many free radicals are active in the body, it is called oxidative stress — a major risc factor for chronic diseases (6).
Various functions for the immune system
Vitamin C is particularly important for the immune system and fulfills several functions. It supports the skin’s natural protective barrier by stabilizing the structural protein collagen through its activity in certain enzymes (7). In addition, the vitamin takes part in the synthesis of carnitine. This amino acid carries fatty acids into the mitochondria of cells, which convert them into energy for metabolism (8).
Ascorbic acid also helps the body produce hormones such as norepinephrine or the peptide hormone vasopressin. These messengers support the cardiovascular system in severe inflammation (9). Interestingly, vitamin C is also able to rebuild important antioxidants like glutathione and vitamin E (10).
White blood cells (leukocytes) contain 50 to 100 times more vitamin C than blood plasma (11). In order for leukocytes to be able to accumulate ascorbate, you must consume the recommended amount of around 100 mg daily. Smokers need a little more vitamin C to neutralize the free radicals in the smoke.
Are high doses advisable?
An American study has shown that high doses of vitamin C really saturate the blood plasma — perfect for strengthening the immune system (12). You can take 500 or 1000 mg a day to compensate for any deficits and to provide your body with sufficient vitamin C in times of stress (13). So far, no negative effects have been found with these high doses of vitamin C (14).
However, at dosages over 2000 mg, digestive disorders such as diarrhea are common (15). Nevertheless, scientists also consider high doses to be relatively safe. They mention 2000 mg per day as the tolerable upper limit (16). The body excretes excess this substance in the urine (17).
Tip: I take 1000–2000 mg daily and have not experienced any negative side effects.
Extremely high doses of vitamin C, administered intravenously, have been researched for the fight against cancer for several years (18). Some people are so convinced of high-dose vitamin C that they undergo an intravenous vitamin C regimen for general disease prevention. A Chinese study has been running since February 14, 2020, studying vitamin C injections in pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 (19).
What is the best vitamin C?
Dietary supplements with vitamin C and vitamin C preparations are a dime a dozen. You can also find a test on numerous websites. But which preparation is the best vitamin C? High dose, medium dose, artificial, natural or mixed? Capsules, lozenges or powder?
Before purchasing any product, we recommend that you look at customer reviews. Due to the large number of vitamin C products available, it is difficult to make specific recommendations for a preparation.
What is high dose vitamin C?
A vitamin C supplement is considered high-dose if it contains the usual daily dose of 100 mg.
Before making a decision, it’s a good idea to understand the key differences in vitamin C supplements.
The basic decision before buying and using is:
Key question: natural or synthetic?
Synthetic vitamin C is ascorbic acid. In terms of chemical structure, synthetic and natural forms of this vitamin are identical. However, this view is somewhat simplistic. Natural vitamin C from plants is not a simple substance, but comes as a package with numerous other substances such as bioflavonoids or rutin.
These phytochemicals can increase the bioavailability of the vitamin (20). For example, vitamin C from kiwifruit and acerola cherries appears to have a higher bioavailability than synthetic ascorbic acid alone (21–22). However, when it comes to the type of ascorbic acid, white blood cells seem to be rather easygoing. They absorb synthetic as well as natural vitamin C (23).
Other criteria for comparison
The ingredients present in a product are further criteria when comparing. For example, capsules are made of gelatin. Vegans and vegetarians should make sure that the shell of the capsule is made from plant-based materials.
Another criterion is magnesium stearate. This ingredient is found in many capsules and powders as a so-called anti-caking agent because it simplifies industrial processing. However, magnesium stearate can cause allergic reactions (24).
Why natural vitamin C?
Just a few years ago, it was almost impossible to get vitamin C supplements containing natural vitamins at an affordable price. Luckily, the acerola cherry has changed that. Acerola cherries from Brazil are considered one of the best sources of natural vitamin C (25).
When comparing different products, you should also pay attention to the amount of active ingredient. Some inexpensive vitamin C supplements contain far less vitamin C than higher priced alternatives.
Vitamin C, never without it
For years, I have taken a vitamin C supplement daily. On most days, I take 1000 mg. If I feel a cold coming, I add hot lemon water with ginger and honey to my supplements. Furthermore, I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables with a lot of vitamin C.
This article was originally publishes on my website Spiritual Nutrition from the Happymaker.
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Sources:
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