How good is taking mega doses of vitamin C?
Posted by admin on Oct 22, 2009
I have added a mega dose of vitamin C ( 25 grams) per day. My doctor tells me that I am waisting money because after a certain amount your body eliminates it. But yet everything I read (Dr Linus Pauling) says that mega doses will most certainly keep you healthier. Any information or experiences that I can receive will be greatly appreciated.
There isn’t much point – and you might be harming yourself….a lot of the new info out says that more than 2,000mgs of Vitamin C* could be harmful…
I take 1,000mgs of C a day in divided doses because I have a connective tissue disorder, and I’m prone to scurvy-like symptoms – but I really think that if you get 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, most people are gonna come out way ahead….and in a pill, I would say 500 is more than plenty….that does seem to be the top end of what people should take – I’ve seen the data, its pretty convincing…
*Note, I said Vitamin C – not foods that contain vitamin C….there is a big difference biochemically between the two….
Read some more recent materials. Paulings most recent work is over twenty years old….in science, thats ancient
Listen to your doctor. Vitamin C is water soluble and is filtered out by your kidneys. Everything extra that your body doesn’t need is simply filtered out and goes directly in to your urine. You are literally pissing away money.
Linus Pauling surely know this, and I can’t imagine why he would recommend a regular mega dose.
References :
Medical school
Renal textbooks
The other answer is partially right… Vitamin C is water soluble and the body will excrete what it can’t absorb.
That being said, Linus Pauling also recommended mega doses spread throughout the day, not all at once. Taking 25 grams at once is going to be able the same effect as taking 2 grams at once… except you might have a little more of a negative impact from the higher acidity. Linus recommended 1,000 mg doses and he took around 10-12 doses throughout the day. I’ve read more recent articles that suggested the body can’t absorb more than 500 mg at a time, but I’ve seen that in very limited places, so I can’t verify it yet.
Either way, Linus and I would agree with your doctor that you’re excreting most of that if you’re taking all 25 grams at once.
As I’m sure you’ve also found as I did… jumping to higher doses like that also tends to cause diarrhea if you don’t have a high enough tolerance for it. It’s best to start at lower doses and build up to higher doses to minimize that part, too.
Good luck and I hope I helped!
References :
Personal research in my role as a Product Specialist for a vitamin company (including studying Linus Pauling as part of my training)
There isn’t much point – and you might be harming yourself….a lot of the new info out says that more than 2,000mgs of Vitamin C* could be harmful…
I take 1,000mgs of C a day in divided doses because I have a connective tissue disorder, and I’m prone to scurvy-like symptoms – but I really think that if you get 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, most people are gonna come out way ahead….and in a pill, I would say 500 is more than plenty….that does seem to be the top end of what people should take – I’ve seen the data, its pretty convincing…
*Note, I said Vitamin C – not foods that contain vitamin C….there is a big difference biochemically between the two….
Read some more recent materials. Paulings most recent work is over twenty years old….in science, thats ancient
References :
mega dosing with vitamin C is definitely good IF you are struggling with a cold or flu or other viral infection or high fever as it IS a very powerfull natural antibiotic and speeds the healing process …… however, if you regularly megadose ie ~ more than 2,000mg daily for extended periods of time you will raise the uric acid levels in your blood stream thus prompting your body to respond by leaching the calcium and magnesium right out of your bones to neutralise it ….. icky, calcium deficiency will ensue then causing bone pain and arthritic gout type pain ……. and all the other symptoms of calcium deficiency ……. like insomnia, irritability and moodiness, headaches and migraines, nasty mood swings …….. magnesium deficiency will contribute to high blood pressure, nervous stress and tension, constipation, muscle spasms and twitching…… when uric acid levels are high in your blood stream, kidney stones can also ensue …… back off on the vitamin C mate and eat loads of leafy and green vegies and eat more fresh fruit too …… all very riich in vitamin C………. in perfect harmony just as nature intended.
and i found all this out the hard way ….. by doing precisely what you are doing …… except i was only taking around 4,000mg daily for about 18 months…… until i started getting dramatically painfull and aching fingers ……. once i realised my error and backed right off on the vitamin C supplementation it took a good 2 months for the horrible aching bone pain in my fingers to dissipate ……. it wasn’t entirely the vitamin C that caused my arthritic fingers ….. but that coupled with the garlic i was eating without realising i was intolerant to it caused slamming bone pain like somebody going at my fingers with a jackhammer ….. only to "spontaneously heal" when i stopped ingesting both …. don’t do it hey….. try fresh fruit (low sugar fruits like watermelon, strawberries, pears, cantalope) and green vegie juicing instead to increase your overall energy level, improve hair skin and nails, digestion and general health ……. fresh will always be best….. try it, it works……. go heavy on the greens and light on the fruit.
peace baby
?
References :
naturopath in training
Very cool website, but you must improve your template graphics.
I was reading where someone was recommending straw. The truth is we need to hold big oil accountable for clean up the mess they have created!