Humans are one of the only mammals that cannot produce vitamin C on their own. When mammals are under stress—any stress—they increase production of ascorbic acid, exponentially. The sicker we are, the more ascorbic acid we need. Ascorbic acid protects the body, the brain, and all the body’s cells from the ravages of stress.
Vitamin C is not a nutrient that we were made to source from food; it was, and is, a vital molecule that our bodies were supposed to manufacture on demand. Somewhere back in time, humans lost the ability to produce vitamin C within our bodies, and we have been dependent on consuming enough from food ever since. However, given our modern, fast paced, toxic, stressful world, we are chronically deficient.
What does vitamin C do?
Who needs Vitamin C?
Researchers have only studied rats for optimal levels of vitamin C. From this data, we can extrapolate an average intake of 2000-4000 mg of vitamin C for the average 150 lb person. This "optimal" dose, however, would assume a life-long intake that is adequate, which is not the case.
Humans can only absorb about 500 mg of vitamin C at any one time, depending on our needs. However, we may be able to absorb this amount of vitamin C every 15 minutes. Any unused vitamin C is simply excreted through the bowel. There is a limit to this; at a certain level of intake, the excess vitamin C in the bowel will attract too much water and cause loosened stools. We call this Bowel Tolerance.
Many people can tolerate up to 10-20 grams of Vitamin C per day. (Yes, that’s grams, not milligrams.) Your needs for Vitamin C will change over time. As you become healthier, your tolerance for supplemental vitamin C will likely decrease; this means that a dose you previously tolerated will cause loose stools, and you will be forced to decrease your daily dose. Remember, there are no true “stores” of vitamin C, however; it still must be regularly consumed.
There are a few persons who do not tolerate any level of ascorbic acid in the bowel, who experience bowel tolerance immediately. In these persons, we need to use different forms of delivery for vitamin C. Optimal vitamin C can then be obtained with the various liposomal vitamin C products or even through intravenous vitamin C.
Dr. Andrew Neville
Vitamin C ...2,600mg
(as L-ascorbic acid USP, potassium ascorbate, calcium ascorbate, and magnesium ascorbate)
Calcium ...175mg
(as calcium carbonate and calcium ascorbate)
Magnesium ...120mg
(as magnesium carbonate and magnesium ascorbate)
Zinc (as zinc citrate) ...15mg
Manganese ...2.5mg
(as manganese glycinate)
Copper ...1.0mg
(as copper glycinate)
Potassium ...40mg
(as potassium ascorbate)
Quercetin ...130mg
Reduced L-glutathione ...26mg