Ascorbic acid (vitamin C)

[D69]

OK everyone , small update and a pitfall I just stubled across :)
My mistake was simple , i assumed that daily dose , let`s say 4000 mg should be taken as a one portion.
WRONG !
For three days , an hour after i took all 4000 mg of pure ascorbic acid , i had diarrhea for 2-3 hours.
I mean , its good if you take it after you ate junk food because it literally flushes you but as we know its not good for your general health.
From now on , I am going to try to take 1000 mg max in one portion up to 5000 per day.
Ill report back with my new experience :)

PS. after that i am planning to eat much more veggies along with ascorbic acid , juts to see how i will fell :)

 

[chachazoom]

Check out the vitamin c foundation...lots of info on bowel tolerance.

 

[adam7117]

Just wanted to share my adventures with ascorbic acid (Vit C) supplements. Initially, I started on Ultra Potent-C by BIOCeuticals. It's very potent indeed and has a fairly interesting list of ingredients. However, I soon found that my stomach does not tolerate such high doses of acid and my condition worsened. It turns out that people with ulcers and other problems along the digestive tract should be very careful. (For this reason, I also had to go easy on alpha lipoic acid which I only take occasionally now.)

I asked my local pharmacist and she recommended a non-acidic Vitamin C instead. In Oz, there is a brand called Wagner and their Ester-C solution is pretty good as far as my body is concerned. It's a Calcium Ascorbate - Threonate complex with pH7 (same level as freshly distilled water). I reckon it's great and it stays in the body for ages. I've been brave enough to take up to 3x625mg=1875mg a day and it's all good.

Perhaps those with bowel/stomach intolerance can look into it. Other comments are welcome, too - in case I'm missing something about this substance.

 

[Adaryn]

OK everyone , small update and a pitfall I just stubled across :)
My mistake was simple , i assumed that daily dose , let`s say 4000 mg should be taken as a one portion.

It depends on the person really. You should go step by step and increase your dose progressively till you reach your optimum dose which is different for everyone.
I for my part take 4000 mg in the morning and another 4000 mg in the evening with no sign of diarrhea. I'm even wondering now if I've reached my optimum and if I shouldn't try to increase.

 

[Jacques]

I for my part take 4000 mg in the morning and another 4000 mg in the evening with no sign of diarrhea. I'm even wondering now if I've reached my optimum and if I shouldn't try to increase.

Well, i went gradually up to 15000mg a day (5000 mg in the morning, 5000mg in the afternoon and 5000mg before sleeping). When i reached that level, my body told me that it was too much. So i reduced by 1000mg each day up to the moment that i found the right dosage for me which is 6000mg a day.

So i think you could increase your dosage and see what your body is going to tell you.

 

[Adaryn]

Well, i went gradually up to 15000mg a day (5000 mg in the morning, 5000mg in the afternoon and 5000mg before sleeping). When i reached that level, my body told me that it was too much. So i reduced by 1000mg each day up to the moment that i found the right dosage for me which is 6000mg a day.

So i think you could increase your dosage and see what your body is going to tell you.

Thanks, I will add 1/4 teaspoonful in the morning and in the evening -- which will give 10 000 mg/day -- and see how it goes. I didn't know my body could tolerate that much! 8000 mg is already pretty high dosage.

I give my kids fizzy tablets when they have a cold with no problem, they never had any diarrhea.

 

[Jacques]

Well, i went gradually up to 15000mg a day (5000 mg in the morning, 5000mg in the afternoon and 5000mg before sleeping). When i reached that level, my body told me that it was too much. So i reduced by 1000mg each day up to the moment that i found the right dosage for me which is 6000mg a day.

So i think you could increase your dosage and see what your body is going to tell you.

Thanks, I will add 1/4 teaspoonful in the morning and in the evening -- which will give 10 000 mg/day -- and see how it goes. I didn't know my body could tolerate that much! 8000 mg is already pretty high dosage.

Yeah it is amazing to see how our body was missing that essential vitamin. I do not know if i can compare with magnesium but it is like our body has to compensate for the lack of it for so many years. And when the optimum level is reached for us at that moment our body tell us to reduce it.

 

[manitoban]

I have found the right dosage for me is 5000 mg per day, divided doses. But on a couple of occasions when I felt like I was started to get some kind of cold/flu, I increased the dosage and ended up taking about 25,000 mg with no problem and all symptoms were gone in 24 hours.

I give my kids fizzy tablets when they have a cold with no problem, they never had any diarrhea.

Same here and my son has no problems with diarrhea either.

 

[Gawan]

I have found the right dosage for me is 5000 mg per day, divided doses. But on a couple of occasions when I felt like I was started to get some kind of cold/flu, I increased the dosage and ended up taking about 25,000 mg with no problem and all symptoms were gone in 24 hours.

Well,
I have a question, I'm still in the testing mode with ascorbic acid. I'm taking appr. 10,000 mg in a 900ml bottle with me and I drink it during the day, additionally in the evening I'm taking another 4,000 mg. So far no problems with diarrhea at all and is diarrhea the sign that is too much for the body? Or is it also a sign that I don't like to drink any more of it, because of it's pretty sour?

But how have you, manitoban, taken the 25,000 mg, or even more as Perceval described that someone took about 50,000 mg a day?

 

[Jacques]

Well,
I have a question, I'm still in the testing mode with ascorbic acid. I'm taking appr. 10,000 mg in a 900ml bottle with me and I drink it during the day, additionally in the evening I'm taking another 4,000 mg. So far no problems with diarrhea at all and is diarrhea the sign that is too much for the body? Or is it also a sign that I don't like to drink any more of it, because of it's pretty sour?

But how have you, manitoban, taken the 25,000 mg, or even more as Perceval described that someone took about 50,000 mg a day?

I read somewhere (can not remember where) that as soon as you have finished taking your dose of ascorbic acid, it is a good idea to rinse your teeth because it can attack the enamel of your teeth. So, i am not sure it is a good idea to take it in a bottle for a long period of time unless you rinse your month after each time.

Yes, i think that the diarrhea is the red light that you are taking too much.

 

[mada85]

Just wanted to share my adventures with ascorbic acid (Vit C) supplements. Initially, I started on Ultra Potent-C by BIOCeuticals. It's very potent indeed and has a fairly interesting list of ingredients. However, I soon found that my stomach does not tolerate such high doses of acid and my condition worsened. It turns out that people with ulcers and other problems along the digestive tract should be very careful.

Ascorbic acid is VERY acidic. I could not tolerate it, and so I take sodium ascorbate, which is also recommended for intravenous use. Sodium ascorbate is not at all acidic, in fact it tastes slightly salty (ordinary salt is mostly composed of sodium chloride), and is a good alternative if you have trouble with the acidity of ascorbic acid.

I found a supplier of sodium ascorbate on eBay (_www.returnallhealth.co.uk). The information sheet that comes with the sodium ascorbate states:

Sodium ascorbate is the salt of ascorbic acid (900mg of sodium ascorbate is produced from 1000mg of ascorbic acid) and is the preferred product of the two, since the body can absorb more sodium ascorbate before bowel tolerance is reached, thus maximising the benefit to your body.

I’ve slowly increased my dose and I’m currently taking 7-9 grams daily in three doses, with no bowel effects. I’m not accurate with the dose size as 1 gram sodium ascorbate = ¼ teaspoon, and the size of a teaspoon can be somewhat flexible.

Diarrhoea is the sign that you have reached your bowel tolerance level. You should then reduce the dose (it’s usually suggested to reduce it by 1 gram, as long as you’ve been increasing your dose slowly) so that the diarrhoea stops. Then you will have found your body’s maintenance dose. In times of illness, the body requires much larger amounts, sometimes seemingly enormous amounts, and it appears that in those situations the bowel tolerance level is reached at much higher doses. When the illness is resolved, the bowel tolerance level returns to normal. Many people say that their body tells them when they need to take larger doses.

 

[manitoban]

But how have you, manitoban, taken the 25,000 mg, or even more as Perceval described that someone took about 50,000 mg a day?

I use the vitamin C powder which you can just put in water or juice. Then I just drank 1/2 teaspoon every hour I think, right up until I went to bed. My body just used it all up to fight the virus I guess. This was certainly way more than I can normally tolerate, but when you're sick the body can use many many more times the amount than when you are well.

 

[Gertrudes]

I read somewhere (can not remember where) that as soon as you have finished taking your dose of ascorbic acid, it is a good idea to rinse your teeth because it can attack the enamel of your teeth. So, i am not sure it is a good idea to take it in a bottle for a long period of time unless you rinse your month after each time.

Now that is good to know! When drinking my cup of water with ascorbic acid I always have to either eat or drink something after, because it just feels very nasty on my teeth. Now I know why. So I would agree with you Bohort that it is not a good idea to drink it, specially for a long period of time, without at least rinsing your teeth.

 

[Hildegarda]

I read somewhere (can not remember where) that as soon as you have finished taking your dose of ascorbic acid, it is a good idea to rinse your teeth because it can attack the enamel of your teeth. So, i am not sure it is a good idea to take it in a bottle for a long period of time unless you rinse your month after each time.

oh yes! My dental health took a nosedive after my second pregnancy. My diet was good, same as during the first one in which nothing like that happened. I figured out eventually that it was due to having sucked on vit C lozenges to fight sore throats. That helped to keep colds at bay, but made my teeth more sensitive and gave me cavities. Brushing teeth and rinsing after taking vit C -- preferably with baking soda, as it is alkaline and will neutralize the acid -- is a great idea.

 

[D69]

It depends on the person really. You should go step by step and increase your dose progressively till you reach your optimum dose which is different for everyone.
I for my part take 4000 mg in the morning and another 4000 mg in the evening with no sign of diarrhea. I'm even wondering now if I've reached my optimum and if I shouldn't try to increase.

Question is , is it really ascorbic acid that you are taking.
Thats why I did my research about standard Vir C supplements. Almost all of them are covered with lipids or wax , therefore it is not dissolving in water that easly , therefore you will not get a diarrhea.
Thats why i switched to PURE (chemically pure) ascorbic acid , which you can get from animal shops or straight from a vet.
Try taking 4000-5000 mg of that pure ascorbic acid. 2 friends of mine already found similar symptoms. It just flushes through you. Its a matter of 2 hours max.

Thats the main difference between Vit C supplements and PURE ascorbic acid - without magnesium stearate and other fillers or bonders.