8 Vitamin C Benefits (and Some Common Side Effects)

I make my own lyposomal Vit C with an inexpensive ultrasonic jewelry cleaner.

• Mix together in a blender: 1 cup distilled or RO water, and 3 Tbls. sunflower lecithin (I avoid soy but it can also be used).
• Blend until dissolved.
• Mix together: 1/2 Cup water with 1 Tbls. powdered pure vitamin C and add to blender.
• Blend again.
• Pour into the sonic cleaner for 6 to 10, 3 minute rounds, (total of 18-30 minutes until no more or just a little foam remains on top) stirring with a straw or plastic spoon slowly to move the mixture around.
• The longer it is in the sonic cleaner, the more encapsulation will occur.
• Store in the refrigerator.
• (Some instructions include baking soda for a more alkaline solution. )

WARNING!

For months, my family and I have been drinking without problems--tea infused with our local white pine needles as we understood that the needles provided Vitamin C. Two days ago, I inadvertently left a pot of tea water with needles on the stove until all water steamed out, burning the needles, sending smoke into my kitchen. Since it's cold outside, all my kitchen windows were closed. I immediately turned on the kitchen vent and despite the cold, opened the door to fan the smoke outside. Less than one hour later, I developed a headache, which, became severe. I therefore went to bed early.

The next morning I awoke to a severely spinning room. I felt like I was riding a fast merry-go-round. I was seriously off-balance, needed assistance walking. I realized that yesterday's incident meant I breathed in toxic fumes. I immediately put myself on a juice/water fast (so my body could direct all resources to healing), drinking constantly throughout the day. Over an 8-hour period, I also took 1 Tbsp of Bentonite Clay (a detoxing agent) every two hours. I drank 8 drops or 50mg of Lugol's Iodine, again, in a full glass of water on an empty stomach—another detoxing agent. The profound dizziness led to dry retching. It must be true—what is written—about expelling toxins—that toxins stored in tissues are also stored with emotions attached. After the first four hours of utter misery, I suddenly became overwhelmed with feelings of dread, despair, fear, panic—a huge wave of feelings that just took me over, I simply couldn't stop them. My body started shaking. I deeply wailed and cried. After 5 minutes of dealing with these emotions, I got control of myself and calmed down. However, this emotional experience proved to be a turning point. From then on, I felt the worst was over. The worst dizziness stopped. I was no longer nauseous. If I did not bend over or turn suddenly, I was OK.

This morning, I've awakened to a low-grade tension headache over my entire head and worse behind my eyes and forehead. I am stronger, walking OK, but, don't feel sure of myself. I believe after another day of partial fasting, taking 1 dose of Bentonite Clay and my usual 50mg of Lugol's Iodine, I should be on the mend. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

I'm writing this to alert everyone that recent studies confirm that burning pine needles are toxic. Studies continue. My own experience using these pine needles in an enclosed kitchen is proof of their toxicity. Hence, regardless of what is written about Vitamin C in pine needles, I doubt that I'll be using them again for tea. I certainly won't be burning them in any outdoor fires.

By the way, this pine tree toxicity is another concern for forestry. As the burning of woods was considered a necessary recycling of life in nature (suggesting planned burnings by forestry officials to avoid uncontrolled forest fires), it's now understood that burning also sends toxic fumes into the air. Hence, be warned, if you are in an area when any burning takes place, I strongly suggest that you leave the area and not come back until smoldering stops and fumes are gone.

People prone to having kidney stones should beware taking high Vit C daily doses. I had 2 kidney crisis in my life and in both cases I was taking 2 grams daily. Since I stopped this, never had another crisis. Searching the internet you can find many researches correlating that.

A great way to take your Vitamin C and to break that soda/ diet soda habit. Pick up some Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in powder form (available from any of the major on-line vitamin retailers). In a 10 to 12 once glass of water, add 3 (three) 1/4 teaspoons of Vitamin C (each 1/4 teaspoon of C is equal to 1 gram (1000 mg). To this, add 3 (three) 1/8 teaspoons of baking soda. The baking soda will do two things; it will reduce the pH of the Vitamin C to around 6, which is much more palatable to the stomach, and secondly, it will carbonate the drink (for those who are adicted to carbonated beverages). Add stevia sweetner to taste. This tastes similar to a lemon/ lime soda. I have replaced my diet soda habit with this stuff. You can also add a drop of spearmint oil or the oil of your choice, for a different taste.

In response to Jay from Toronto, Ont Canada. Dr Weil also wrote books on many things including high dosage of vitamine C and it was very helpfuil for me... Look up 8 weeks to Optimal Health there's also an audio book that he reads himself which I enjoyed because I could listen while I walked.

Also, I'm not sure what caused your heart attack but you may be interested in research done by a man named Dr Max Gerson and his daughter Charlette. They have both been curing cancer, and many other ailments for over 70 yrs, by nurishing the body with what the body needs in order to regenerate. It might be worth looking into.

Wishing you all the best of luck. ~T~

Yeah I bought my "pure" ascorbic acid online and took just 1/4 tsp (1 tsp = 5g) and my stomach felt upset, no runs though. I will try taking it with food next time. Also I tried sodium ascorbate but I'm sodium sensitive and makes my heart kind of do a flutter thing when I lay down to sleep. Sodium bicarbonate has a similar effect.

Hi Carly--So glad you are such a quick-healing miracle! --T.

Thanks for the heads up Wayseeker. I have read Linus Paulings books in the past, and found them very informative. I "googled" The Healing Factor and read the book you suggested by Irwin Stone.

The timing for me to read about Vitamin C again couldn't have been any better. The day before your post I had had a fever of 102 and was feeling like total DEATH. I NEVER get fevers, not ever, so this was total trauma for me... Body aches, shivers, joint pain... even my skin hurt! It was awful.

I started drinking "Emergen-C" in bottled water at the rate of one an hour (maybe a bit more) and over that day I had 10 packets. Each packet has 1, 000mg of vitamin C. I was going to take it until I got diarrhea, but that never happened. What DID happen was that I GOT OUT OF BED THE NEXT DAY! It was truly amazing. I thought I was going to die, and the next day I am out of bed? I credit it all to the high dose of vitamin C that I ingested over those critical 10 hours. Apparently I never even reached my saturation point, as I never had diarrhea.... Theory says I could have taken even more of it!

I have always believed in Vitamin C.... But had "only" been taking about one pack of the Emergen-c a day lately. What I took away from reading the book you suggested by Irwin Stone is that if humans were still able to produce their own vitamin C as almost every other mammal does (with exception of the apes and guinea pigs of course) that we would be producing between 3-5 grams a day! I now intend to take at least three grams of C (in divided doses) a day to keep my body saturated!

So much information on all of the benefits of C in his book.... Just a fascinating read. It was very nice of his family to allow it to be put online for free.

Much gratitude to them, and to you for suggesting it!

I finally jumped in with both feet into doing high dose spherically encoated lyposomal "Vit. C". Doing my due dilligence to be an informed consumer, I stumbled across some amazing facts.

Linus Pauling, of Vit. C fame, wrote a forward to a 1982 book, The Healing Factor, by Irwin Stone. Older books often hold outstanding information. I found this book free, online, in its entirety.

What we call Vit. C is actually more of a neccesary nutrient / elemental co-factor / enzyme process. It has its own precursor to the formation of Vit. C, which actually then takes place within the body.

This originating substance is what they are calling the healing factor. This vital enzyme is called L-gulonolactone oxidase, and it converts glucose into Vit. C within the body.

We lack the gene, or it has mutated, that allows us to simply produce Vit. C all by itself, as most animals do. So, we need the outside food sources to set this process in motion. And it is not merely something with a minumum daily requirement... Enough to keep us from the edge of death by scurvy... But a great deal more is required in order to actually restore us to health. Virtually the whole world is on the bare edge of scurvy!

I was shocked to read the symptoms of scurvy, and compare them with my own presenting probems. By my reading I have determined, based on all my symptoms, that I have been suffering wih a chronic, medium-grade, scurvy.

The deep bone ache and numbness in my legs, the bloodshot dry eyes, blood in stools, broken blood vessels causing red hands and neck, poor circulation, and the list went on and on.

I had been to top level neurologists at Kaiser, only to find that their initial diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy was proven wrong. That was all they could say.

I simply could not believe how much better I feel already, just 24 hours into a four-day high-dose run, to redress my longstanding, and deep, Vit. C deficiency. Smashing success! Healing miracles!

A word to the wise is sufficient. Blessings. --T.

I just happened to research this a little yesterday as I had a large portion of unpeeled potatoes night fore last and became major drowsy, totally lost libido, and slept way ahead of my usual bed-time. The cumulative affect of regular consumption of the nightshades causes calcium to become gated from normal ionic cell membrane channels causing weak bones, arthritis, etc. As for acute toxicity from the nightshade's Solanine, it looks like I did exactly what was necessary for poisoning. The skin of the potato, when exposed to light and warm temps, causes a rapid increase in Solanine content as a natural protector. This is noticed in the "greening" of the skin. The sprouts are also toxic. It is recommended to peel these "greened" potatoes and cook in veg oil NOT water (not sure about baking).

Keep in mind tomatoes are part of the nightshade plant family and are actually TOXIC to humans. You woud have to eat a large amount to experience dramatic effects but it is shown to cause inflammation in the body in small doses... Generally you want to avoid tomatoes and other nightshade plants (eggplant, potatoes, etc)

I have several bad teeth. Broken and bare. Two years ago my old filling started two break up and my was mouth full of pain and inflammation. After $300. Dollar dental bills and no end in sight, I increased my ascorbic acid intake to 8 to 15 grams a day to counter the inflammation and pain. Two years later I now have 5 broken and bare teeth with no pain. I cannot afford dental work for another four years when my house is paid off. Also my health has never been better. I take all the basic vitamins and minerals with added supplements which I have done for 50 years. Only thing I have ever seen a doctor for is injuries.

My doctor is F R Klenner. He died in 1984 and his vitamin therapy is used today around the world. You will find his papers on the internet. He has been given the AMA's highest recommendation, by blackballing his name and work for over 60 years. If you do not take at least 5 grams of ascorbic acid a day, you are in trouble or will be. Even a 140lb goat makes 5 grams a day in its liver and up to 60 grams a day when sick or injured. Goats also do no not ingest processed foods, sugars, oils and junk food and neither do I.

Hi, I looked at the AlacerCorp website FAQ about Emergen-C, and it claims this:

Is aspartic acid the same as aspartame?

• No, aspartame is a chemically formed sugar substitute that bonds L-phenylalanine to aspartic acid. On the other hand, the aspartic acid which we use in Emergen-C, is an amino acid readily found in foods such as fish, legumes, dairy, whole grains, eggs, meats, nuts, and seeds. We use this pure L-Aspartic Acid which has the same structure as that found in foods.

  I just wanted to throw this out for discussion. The claim above makes it sound like there is nothing to fear from the form of L-Aspartic acid they use, but I'd be interested in hearing more perspectives on this, as I do take Emergen-C. Thanks!

Hey, I don't usually post on things like this, however, I just looked at the ester-c bottle (again, because of the article), there is no aspartic acid in it. In fact, there is nothing harmful in it, which is why we purchased it. I do agree with not taking the emergen-c though. It is also beneficial to note that they don't use the healthiest form of B-12 either. It should be Methelcobalamin and not cyanocobalamin. I have researched my like crazy to figure out the B-12 deficiency cure. It's B-12 paste in the nose a couple times a week. Back to vitamin C, it is EXTREMELY beneficial to take at least 10,000mg a day if you have allergies. They will be gone in weeks. My wife's allergy doctor said she was allergic to herself. Ha ha. She became allergic to probably every fruit or vegetable that had any birch pollen on it.

We found a site called doctoryourself. Com, and followed his advice about taking vitamin C, and she is cured after only about 3 weeks. Thank you for the opportunity to comment. Be blessed in your efforts to aid in healthy remedies.

Side effects from taking large dosages of vitamin C can be ameliorated by combining equal parts liposomes with vitamin C in 1 cup of water and then put in a blender on high for 2 or so minutes. Drink the resulting beverage and it will rapidly assimilate into your body with no diarrhea.

The reason for the diarrhea is from poor absorbtion. Excess vitamin C creates an osmotic gradient that pulls water into the intestines resulting in diarrhea and the associated cramps.

Vitamin C is very safe, the LD50 for it roughly translates to 850 grams (just under 1 kilogram or roughly 1 pound) for an average person.

All animals (except for guinea pigs, bats, and primates) produce their own vitamin C. Humans and primates utilize uric acid for a reducing agent/antioxidant in lieu of it. So perhaps less is needed, but looking at the amount of vitamin C produced naturally by animals it would translate to 1400mg per day for an average person. This is recognized for guinea pigs whose commercially prepared food contains that amount (scaled down for size of course). Yet for us humans the recommended daily allowance is only 75-90mg, 15 times less than what other animals naturally produce. The recommended dosage will prevent scurvy, but you're unlikely to thrive on that small amount.

Have suffered for years with IBS, in my case diarrhoea.

I tried to discover what I was taking that could be making this worse. It suddenly came to me that something I take, every day (because it is good for me, so I thought) is 1000mg of Vitamin C. I know too much can give you diarrhoea, but it never occured to me this could be too much.

Anyway I have stopped taking it and all those gripey pains have gone. This of course won't apply to everyone but if you are taking it as a supplement it could be the answer.

Hi Fabricio, Sorry for not replying earlier. I have located pure Ascorbic Acid - from Holland & Barrett, would you believe!!! a 170g bottle for 6. Needs only 1/4 teaspoonful to give a tad over 1000mg. I disolve the crystals in tepid water to ensure complete disolution, adding cold water, then the Methylene Blue.

Thanks for your interest.

Regards, Alan

Hi Alan, I buy my vitamin C in bulk in the form of ascorbic acid powder. There are no fillers whatsoever and it's certified so. In fact I get 1.5 kilo at once and it lasts me a LONG time (more than a year).

Not sure if EC will allow to post this portion but I get mine from purebulk.com and it is delivered to my house in Brazil. They ship right away and do an excellent job shipping it quickly. Good luck.

WARNING!

I have tried to follow Ted's advice for Parkinson's sufferers by taking Methylene Blue and Soluble Vitamin C.

I was only able to obtain Effervescent vit C, and my palette told me that it contained saccharin. Eventually, I got around to reading - with the aid of a magnifying glass - the ingrediants list, and was horrified to find that under the subheading of 'Sweetener' was listed, Saccharin, Sorbitol, and ASPARTAME - an acknowleged nuro-toxine, and dangerous to PD sufferes, among others.

The supplier, I trusted, and was Holland & Barett. However, they are not alone in selling this product - several other outlets also sell the 'contaminated' effervescent Vit C - listing the same 3 sweeteners, but in different orders (highest content is first, etc.)

Now starts the epic search of the net for another product - I have already been offered "Sugar Free" (Aspartame loaded) products from reputable suppliers.

Wish me luck, and Thanks, Ted

Alan.

Sue, are you sodium sensitive? I experienced weight gain as well when I was adding baking soda to the ACV. I would gain several pounds overnight. I determined it was from the baking soda - it was water weight from the sodium portion of the baking soda.

My mother's side of the family had always reacted this way to sodium and I am the same. My only choice has been to reduce the baking soda, and use it with the ACV just some of the time. I probably only add it 2 or 3 times a week now. The rest of the time I take the ACV with just water.

I've noticed that although Ted suggests adding baking soda to ACV, EarthClinic does not recommend it as many report issues from the baking soda. Hope this helps you.

Linda :-)

Hi, I am really confused... What type of vitamin C should I be taking? I have been taking Ascorbic Acid form of vitamin C, 3000 mg a day for hairloss as well as juicing 3 lemons with baking soda a day. I have noticed that I have gained weight and did not understand why. Could the vitamin C as well as the Lemons be causing this? I have been trying to treat my hairloss with this regimine. How do I tell when purchasing vitamin C if it is acidic or alkaline? Thanks Sue

Bill, I loved your advice - only one thing, you failed to mention that Genetically Modified Organisms are used to make ascorbate acid. It is made during a fermentation process using corn or a derivative and ascorbate acid is also made synthetically. 85% of corn is GMO. And the only way to find out the beginning sources of ingredients is to call and ask the companies. Most will say they TRY to buy non-GMO corn derived ascorbate acid and only say that their suppliers certify that it is non-GMO. For this reason I prefer dried sour cherry powder or rose hips powder, that I can add to water and consume. The dried citrus peel sounds good too. Only buy ascorbate acid from companies that at least get a certificate from the supplier that says it comes from a non-GMO source more likely from China. Although, China does not have a good tract record for honesty and integrity when it comes to what they are actually selling you.

Remember to buy non-GMO foods and especially supplements, you will be very surprised that there are a great deal of GMOs in nutritional supplements. The suppliers have no shame, it is up to you to call and put pressure on these companies. If it means you won't buy from them because of GMOs then they will quickly get the message. I call all my supplement and food companies and let them know and guess what, they are listening to little old me. Why because it means dollars, we having buying power.

Support the Right To Know labeling going on in California and soon in other states too.

You can use this in recipes to add a bit of tang. It is the other ingredient used with mms. I would not use it as a supplement. It is great for adding high notes to soups or meat dishes where tomatoes are used or in sauces.

Is food grade Citric Acid powder a viable type of vitamin C supplement? I bought this thinking it was a healthy alternative to tablets, capsules and then realized that maybe ascobic acid was really what I wanted. Is there any benefits from citric acid or a way to take it for supplementation?

Vitamin C side effects

I have been taking 1/2 teaspoon Vit C Ascorbic Acid with 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda with a few oz of pineapple juice 2 times per day. After a few days I woke up with really sharp pain in my bladder area, and then following day pain in my leftside kidney. Can Vitamin C cause kidney stones? Is this too much Vit C?

Regarding the story about the sewage treatment plant. While I agree about taking vitamin powder (I use vit C powder exclusively)- that story stinks of pharma-propaganda. I know there are dissolve-rate tests that are done on various supplements and some are much better than others.

However!!! 'multi-colored pills'??? I suggest that he was seeing pharmaceuticals. Those are the most 'colored' pills. Most of my vitamins are white or tannish. People often flush pills (Rx meds) down the toilet!

Just my thoughts. Great thread!!

I tried this, too, and it cleared up the odor and discharge by the next morning. Been struggling with BV for several months now. Feels like a miracle.

And to any women reading this... I tried hydrogen peroxide, acidophilus, folic acid etc to no avail.

Truly, I stuck half a 1000mg vitamin c tablet in my vagina and by the next day the classic bv odor and sticky discharge was gone. (rinsed the vitamin in hot water first to get off any lubricating coating).

If you've tried everything else, try this.

Good luck!

Hi Broken Hearted... In answer to your questions:

My main reason of writing this, is what I read on the negative effects of high doses of vit. c on the following minerals:

CALCIUM, NICKEL, COPPER, ZINC, MANGANESE.

It is true that Vitamin C is a chelator of metals so the best way to counter this effect is to take Fulvic/Humic acid drops seperately every day with the vitamin C. This contains about 60 essential body macro- and micro- minerals and makes these minerals highly bioavailable. I haven't got enough room to describe the many further huge benefits of Fulvic/Humic acid, so here is a link that covers it all:

Properties of Fulvic Acid

Also I wish to know if I can take the following: Silymarin, Methylsulfonylmethane, Selenium, Magnesium, Calcium Citrate, Potessium Iodide during treatment with BHT, and what can be regarded as the needed daily dosage, considering the daily usage of 8grams of vit.c..."

I have taken Silymarin, MSM, Selenium and Magnesium Citrate all at the same time, usually at meals, without any side-effects or problems. I don't take potassium iodide -- I take lugols iodine or aqueous iodine because I think it is more beneficial overall than KI(which is also useful). The various glands and organs of the body absorb Iodine in different ways. Potassium Iodide and Iodine are different substances with different properties. It is absorbed, for instance, as only iodide by the thyroid. But the breasts and prostate can only absorb the iodine form. And in other areas of the body, both the iodide and iodine forms are happily absorbed. So, in my opinion, to get the full benefit to the body, lugol's (which contains both potassium iodide and iodine) is the best form to take because it covers all the necessary ground. I also understand that some people are quite sensitive to lugols iodine, so instead, Nascent Iodine or Atomidine (as Edgar Cayce recommended) is perhaps more useful and kinder to the body, but is also more expensive.

Regarding Calcium Citrate, I agree with Ted -- the western diet is over-fortified with calcium now, so no need to take any calcium at all -- more important to take magnesium to get rid of the excess calcium in your body. This is a bit tricky though -- and will depend on how much calcium you actually ingest, how old you are and how much processed food you are eating.

I usually take between 1 - 3 grams of vitamin c per day plus I eat fruits. Linus Pauling, a Nobel Prize winning chemist, took 10 -- 20 GRAMS of Vit C a day usually in ascorbate form and he lived till 93 y o. He also researched Vit C and discovered that most mammals like cows, goats, dogs, cats etc self-manufacture their own Vit C in fairly large amounts but that humans, bats and guinea pigs have to get their vitamin c from an external food source because they cannot self-manufacture vit c. In his own research, he also mentions that a small goat produces 12 GRAMS of vitamn c a day from their liver. And in times of stress, the little goat is capable of producing up to 18 grams of vit c. A goat is also way smaller than a human being. So how does this large daily dose for a small goat stack up against the recommended RDA dose of 75 MILLIgrams a day ? This means that the goat's daily Vit C intake is exactly 160 times higher than the human RDA for vitamin c.

I have read much research on BHT. Dr Denham Harman, the discoverer of the anti-oxidant nature of vitamins, regarded BHT as a super-anti-oxidant because, in his famous experiment in 1962, he found that BHT added to mice diets, when measured against a placebo control group, worked to extend the average lifespan of the mice taking BHT by 45%. See the research here:

http://www.ajcn.org/content/25/8/839.full.pdf

Other options for you and daily dosages for most of the above, are given in a recent reply post of mine here:

https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/remedy-combinations.html#BHOOO

Just to finally add that that Hep C will not become resistant to these remedies because:

* Both aspirin/lysine as well as BHT act to dissolve the lipid outer viral envelope of the Hep C virus which allows the immune system to attack and destroy the now de-cloaked virus. Thus there is no time for the virus to adjust to this protocol.

* The Berkson Triple Anti-Oxidant Protocol works to attack the Hep C virus by anti-oxidant action while at the same time helping to repair liver damage and is a successful therapy involving regular oral intake of Alpha Lipoic Acid, Selenium and Milk Thistle.

* Chanca Piedra(1000 mgs taken at mealtimes) acts to both protect liver hepatocytes(worker liver cells) and to inhibit the Reverse Transcriptase enzyme in the Hep B & Hep C virus, thus completely preventing the virus from replicating, mutating and becoming resistant to the action of Chanca Piedra.

This post is for PHYSICIST GARY WADE and Bill Thompson from San Fernando, Luzon, Philippines or anyone who has the answer.

Hello, physicist Gary Wade, I read your recommendation on the treatment of lipid coated viruses with BHT.. , and I was interested, because I wish to use it to treat a highly resistant and difficult to treat hcv. As a result, I am reading other articles. One article said that vit. C should be taken with some sodium bicarbonate to reduce its acidity; some other article opposes this view, saying that sodium bicarbonate reduces the absorption of vit. C, but in your recommendation, you were silent in this. As a result, I am not taking the issue of NaHCO3 seriously.

My main reason of writing this, is what I read on the negative effects of high doses of vit. c on the following minerals:

CALCIUM, NICKEL, COPPER, ZINC, MANGANESE.

This article said that high doses of vit. C reduces these minerals in the body. In case of calcium, this mineral becomes removed from the bones, causing them to be brittle and easy to break.

Please, I request Physicist Gary Wade and Bill Thompson to address this issue, which is troubling. Please, any other person who has the answer can also address the issue. I will delay my treatment with BHT until I read people's opinions on the issue I have raised, because vit. c is a major component of Physicist Gary Wade's course of treatment with BHT.

Also, I wish to know if I can take the following: Silymarin, Methylsulfonylmethane, Selenium, Magnesium, Calcium Citrate, Potessium Iodide during treatment with BHT, and what can be regarded as the needed daily dosage, considering the daily usage of 8grams of vit.c.

Also, in a difficult case as the hcv that I have, can I add Oil of Oregano to my treatment? Will there be drug interaction that will be harmful to me or that will reduce the effect of the BHT?

I thank you all that will contribute your knowledge to give informed answers to these concerns.

May GOD bless you all.

WARNING!

Be very careful eating the skin of any citrus most especially lemons. Lemons have five very potent/powerful/extremely dangerous pesticides sprayed on them when shipped. Look at the shipping carton for the list. They are so toxic a person should wash their hands after handling them because the poisons are absorable through the human skin.

It is virtually imposible to remove the shipping poisons from citrus which is naturally oily and disolves the hydrocarbon based poisons deep into the peel.

How about the new "grease' sprayed on apples-instant prolonged headaches. Be careful, watch everything you eat.

I found that taking 4000mg of buffered VitC powder robbed my body of magnesium. Maybe because of the calcium in the buffered form. High dosage of VitC has also been reported to cause cystitus, contribute to kidney stones & to kill off intestinal flora (acidophillus). I have tried taking ascorbic acid with some added bicarb but still find it irritates my system over 1000mg a day. I am now switching to fulvic acid, a strong anitoxidant, recommended by Ted, I'll keep you posted.

WARNING!

The below article was originally published in our June, 2011 e-newsletter.

-----------------------------------

by Daniel P. Kray, Senior Editor
Published June 22, 2011

We like Vitamin C for a lot of things, from prevention to post-infection treatment. That's why we're concerned about the popularity of certain hyped Vitamin C products. A natural cold and flu remedy would be great, but what sort of extra baggage is hitching a ride on these packs of Vitamin C supplements? Turns out, a pair of unnecessary ingredients, aspartic acid (or asparagine) and sucralose, are often tagging along. You may have to look into the fine print of the ingredients list, but you'll be surprised at how often they show up.

L-aspartic acid is one of our non-essential amino acids. The body makes it, so we don't need to get it from our diets. We definitely need it for energy creation, nerve function, and a host of other bodily activities. But like most good things, too much can be bad. In excess, aspartic acid becomes an excitotoxin, revving the neurons and nervous system up so high that nerve damage can be a result. In effect, excitotoxins cause our neurons to die from excitement!

In fact, if the facts behind Aspartame make you uncomfortable, aspartic acid is a large part (40%) of the reason. In our bodies, this artificial sweetener breaks down into phenylalanine, methanol, and aspartic acid. Methanol is just plain toxic, but the overdose of amino acids can likewise do great harm. Sucralose (Splenda) is of course much the same thing as Aspartame-an artificial sweetener. This one mostly passes out of the body without being metabolized, but some 15-20% does not pass out of the body immediately. Since sucralose is an organochloride (an organic chlorine compound), many of us are justifiably concerned about the possibility of introducing free chlorine molecules into our bloodstream and tissues. Makes you nostalgic for good old belly-expanding glucose!

Since the liver can produce aspartic acid whenever bodily levels are low, we never experience true aspartic acid deficiencies, so there is no need to get it through supplements. Easy then, we won't take aspartic acid supplements. That is, unless we don't know it's there in our other supplements! Now, weight lifting supplements often contain aspartic acid along with a medley of the other amino acids, so there is an issue there. However, for the Earth Clinic community we're more concerned about products like Ester-C (the brand) and Emergen-C, both of which add aspartic acid to their Vitamin C supplements. Just check out the Other Ingredients on the fine print on this ingredients list to see for yourself.

Products advertised as energy boosters frequently contain aspartic acid, as do whey powder products. Airborne and Super C Vitamin C products do not seem to use aspartic acid (please do not read that as a general endorsement); however, Airborne and Super C do contain sucralose as a sweetener, as do FRS Healthy Energy products.

Additionally, you're likely to find aspartic acid in these products:

• Various collagen formulas
• _____ Liquid Aminos
• Many potassium-magnesium supplements
• Many folic acid tablets
• Many lipoic acid supplements
• Many Nature's Plus products
• Some Solgar vitamin supplements
• Some Nutritech supplements

Now, plenty of foods naturally contain aspartic acid as well, and the body is happy to find it there. It is nature-made, not man-made (unlike sucralose). We don't want to alarm anyone, just let you know what you're potentially putting in your body. Toxic levels of this amino acid are definitely possible, so take a look at your supplement labels and make the best choice for your own health.

The following Earth Clinic reader contributions (and a note from Ted) should help you make the decision that is right for you.

Vitamin C and Excitotoxins

Catherine from Seattle, WA writes: "I was fighting a sinus infection last week after landing in California and went to a Whole Foods to get some Vitamin C. I decided to get Emergen-C to add to water because it had a really tempting fruity flavor. Immediately after taking my first packet (which was delicious), I felt a weird sensation in my head and then I got really edgy (as in bad mood edgy). I read the ingredients on the box and sure enough, the vitamin C used in this brand is Aspartic acid, an excitotoxin. The Emergen-C also contained "natural flavors", aka MSG. I waited 24 hours and tried again to see if I would have the same side effects. Again, within a minute of drinking the packet, I got the same sensation in my head. My question is, are you doing more good or harm to the body when you take this form of vitamin c?!!"

Ted from Bangkok, Thailand replies: "Aspartic acid is a well known excitotoxin and so is monosodium glutamate or MSG. In the long run it's going to destroy the immune system through a neurodegenerative disorder. Once the excitotoxin is destroyed the immune system is down. Now in a pharmaceutical formulation adding this results in the need to take that since you get sicker and so you might feel some relief, the long term is it's going to make a person sicker, which result in greater sales for product with excitotoxins added. Now imagine a child who is a borderline autism, ADHD, these can result in many other neurodegenerative disorders and metabolic acidosis. As for me decades ago I took accidentally soft drinks with aspartame resulting in deafness, but also a permanent partial macular degeneration of the eyes. So the systematic destruction is almost wholesale if given long term use. Luckily Emergen C is not sold in Thailand, although some friends of mine have given me this, I don't take it. I prefer to buy bulk vitamin C and mix them myself. There are other excitotoxins, but aspartic acid, aspartame, monosodium glutamate, and glutamic acid are the most well known...

Therefore most effervescent products sometimes they are not labeled so I ended up calling the factory sometimes. One easy way to measure excitotoxin poisoning is that the urinary pH suddenly become very acid, such as pH 5.5 or lower and even taking more baking soda barely raise the pH long enough to be satisfactory. Such as it can't raise the pH for the entire day. It also takes weeks for the pH to be near normal after taking b complex and baking soda for a week or two. A long term taking of this can also resulted in higher urinary sugar and damaged pancreas, besides damaging the brain. One of the worse advertisement I have seen is Michael J. Fox supporting Diet Pepsi, which contains aspartame, and he himself has Parkinson's disease, which will make such conditions much worse. The remedy is not to take aspartame for Parkinson's disease or to undergo stem cells, since it's not yet legal at the moment and stem cell research has been blocked for at least 8 years. Methylene blue taken at 2 drops at 0.1% concentration might reverse some of the effects of excitotoxins as it is one of my remedies for Parkinson's disease also.

Taking excitotoxins is a long term damage that may lead to degenerative disorders, metabolic acidosis, and lowered immune system. Therefore I would avoid them as best as I can.

Ted"

Supplements Brought on Rage

Wes from Webster, TX writes: "I'm 220 and work out almost everyday. I started taking 2000mg of vitamin C. Ester C tablets. A few days later I noticed I was very easily enraged. I did this for about 4 weeks and decided it wasn't worth it. I recently started taking and animal pack vitamin package. After taking for several days I noticed the same effect. Read the ingredient 2000 mg Vitamin C. So I stopped taking it. Is there anyway to counteract the aggressiveness. IE some other vitamin."

Christine replies: "This afternoon, I visited your site and noted a comment by a reader who said that Ester C made him enraged. It's not the Vitamin C, it's the aspartic acid in the Ester C product. I verified this with an aspartame activist. Aspartic acid is an excitotoxin, a poison that kills brain cells. Yep, it's the same stuff as in aspartame. All of the studies done on Vitamin C were done with sodium ascorbate, which is a type of chemically buffered Vitamin C. It's best to take it as a powder in water, because you can get gastritis if you take too many pills."

© 2011 Earth Clinic. All Rights Reserved.

The below article was originally published in Earth Clinic's June, 2011 e-newsletter.

Vitamin C - More than Just an Anti-Oxidant

By Bill Thompson, Contributing Writer
Published: June 22, 2011

Vitamin C History

As far back in history as 1747, a Scottish physician called James Lind discovered through a simple experiment that, by taking lime or lemon juice every day, British sailors avoided contracting scurvy. He didn't know why this was, but from that point on, all the British Navy started issuing daily rations of lime juice, which is probably how the nickname "Limey" originated for Brits in the old days.

Two hundred years later, a Hungarian called Albert Szent-Gyorgyi actually discovered Vitamin C and got a Nobel Prize for his efforts in 1937. An interesting and active man, during WW 2 Szent-Gyorgyi was a key member of the Hungarian resistance. Adolf Hitler himself issued a direct order for his arrest. After the war Szent-Gyorgyi's research interests moved towards studying the effects of free-radical damage as a reason for cancer onset. Another interesting fact about Szent-Gyorgi was that he always supplemented at least 1 gram of Potassium Iodide every day - that's 1000 mgs of KI (which is about 8000 times higher than the current RDA for iodine). He lived to the age of 93. In those days, people had no fear of iodine supplementation. A well-know protg and supporter of Szent-Gyorgi's work, Ralph Moss, has since carried on his wonderful research work.

Later research by Dr Denham Harman enabled more understanding on the dangerous effects of free-radicals on the body to further enhance the work of Albert Szent-Gyorgyi. Harman's essential discovery and proof was that anti-oxidants like Vitamin A, C & D actually help to extend human life by eliminating free-radical damage. But something that was always ignored by peer reviewed writings on Dr Harman's research was the fact that he regarded BHT(Butylated Hydroxytoluene) as a super anti-oxidant. He also discovered other conclusive facts from his anti-oxidant research along the way that have been completely and conveniently ignored for years by organizations such as the FDA and WHO:

"In 1961, Harman published a study showing that the degree of polyunsaturation in fats had a dramatic effect on cancer rates in mice. The most highly polyunsaturated dietary fats [vegetable oils] were found to be the most carcinogenic.

In 1968 Harman published a dietary antioxidant study showing that the food preservative BHT fed over a lifetime to mice produced a 45% increase in life span. Harman became concerned that although many of his studies showed an increase in average lifespan by antioxidants, none showed an increase in maximum life span."

-- Source -- Wikipedia

Then came Mathias Rath's and Linus Pauling's research on the usage and correct dosages of Vitamin C which broke so much new ground - this research consequently gave birth to the well-known Orthomolecular Medicine movement, whose approach was to use natural nutritive methods at correct dosages discovered through intensive research in order to alleviate and cure disease. They both went on to discover the usefulness of high dose Vitamin C (as Ascorbate) and high dose Lysine - a simple amino acid protein pre-cursor -- as a very simple cure and preventative for heart disease, arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure etc. It was found that Vitamin C simply acted to remove the actual arterial plaque blockages while the Lysine removed the Lipoprotein(a) or Lp(a) from the blood in order to stop the plaque reforming again. In talking about arteriosclerosis, Pauling always liked to refer to this problem simply as "arterial scurvy" in order to drive his point home about the importance of correct dosages of Vitamin C in the human diet.

And, when natural epigallocatechins (green tea tannins) were added to the vitamin C and Lysine protocol, this treatment would stop cancer tumor growth, prevent angiogenesis, and also help to prevent metastasis. Few people know about the Pauling-Rath research because the drug industry has done its utmost to suppress or spoil this vital research information for years.

Ted from Bangkok has also recommended the use of larger dose Vitamin C with larger dose Lysine (sometimes combined with aspirin), which can help to cure some strains of ordinary flu as well as H1N1. He also recommends this as part of his cure protocol for cancer and as a cure for chlamydia, herpes, pneumonia and dengue fever.

The simple point I am making here is that Vitamin C is far more than just an anti-oxidant. What comes out from all the independent research is that Vitamin C is also a vital ingredient for building or repairing collagen or body tissue; Vit C supports and greatly aids and boosts the immune system; Vit C can chelate and remove dangerous heavy metals from the body; it also greatly helps in accelerating cross cell-wall nutrient transport and absorption of nutrients. This is why, for instance, Vitamin C should always be taken with iodine supplementation - Vitamin C simply accelerates the absorption of iodine, overcoming any iodine transport problems - which is not only useful for thyroid problems but is also used in every other iodine cell receptor in the human body as well.

Correct Vitamin C Dosages

The current recommended daily RDA for Vitamin C is about 75 mgs.

In his own research on Vitamin C, Pauling mentions that humans, apes, bats and guinea pigs cannot produce their own Vitamin C internally because they lack one vital liver enzyme - so they have to get their Vitamin C from an external food source. However, cows, horses, goats, dogs and cats and many other mammals all produce their Vitamin C internally simply by metabolizing glucose into Vitamin C in their livers. Pauling further goes on to say that just a small goat automatically and internally produces 12 grams of vitamin C on average per day and in times of stress can up that amount to 18 grams a day.

Cows, horses and goats rarely, if ever, get heart disease or cancer.

So now how do 12 grams of Vitamin C produced automatically and naturally everyday in a small goat stack up against the RDA Vitamin C dose of 75 mgs recommended for humans?

I personally take 1000 - 3000 mgs of Vitamin C every day (much more if I'm ill). I also make sure that I eat plenty of fruit - mangoes, melons, apples, oranges etc - on a daily basis. Thus I get the benefit of Vitamin C as ascorbate but I also benefit from the fruit, which contains the added benefit of bio-available Vitamin C co-factors such as bio-flavonoids, ascorbinogens, rutin and tyrosinase as well as many mineral co-factors that also work as associated enzymes to further enhance Vitamin C's positive effects on the body.

Linus Pauling regularly took about 8 - 10 grams of Vitamin C (sometimes twice as much as this) per day for years and years and he died at the ripe old age of 93.

When Should I Take Vitamin C?

Lastly, you can take Vitamin C, which is a water soluble vitamin, either during mealtimes or outside mealtimes. But, as Linus Pauling proved from his own research, if you take Vitamin C at mealtimes then you will automatically lose 1/3 of your dose through normal intestinal excretion. So if you take Vitamin C - it's always best to take the ascorbate or alkaline form outside mealtimes - your body will simply absorb more of the Vitamin C dosage and you will thus get a much greater benefit.

The other oily vitamins such as Vitamins A, D, E and K should all be taken at mealtimes for proper digestion and emulsification by the pancreatic lipase enzymes and bile respectively.

What Supplement Form is the Best?

This section applies to all vitamins, minerals and amino acid supplement forms that you can buy - not just to Vitamin C. Let's go through these one by one:

Tablet Forms

I would avoid this supplement form for the following reasons:

• This form contains many caking additives (to form the tablet) such as Calcium Diphosphate, Magnesium Stearate, Stearic Acid, plant cellulose etc. Some people are even allergic to some of these caking substances.
• The waxy, hard tablet forms will not be easy to break down and digest in the body. To test this - just drop the tablet into a glass of water with a little vinegar. If it doesn't dissolve into solution in about 20 minutes. - the tablet is useless.
• Caking agents are waxy, sticky substances that help form the tablet. This wax will also tend to embed and trap the nutrient supplement in the wax, which will then not be absorbed by the intestine.
• The best way to take tablets is to first crush them up using a mortar and pestle and then to dissolve the powder in a glass of water. Note that the water will look opaque and unclear due to the heavy presence of these waxy and insoluble caking residues.

Multivitamins

In my opinion, this is the worst possible supplement form of all to take. All the disadvantages that apply to the tablet form also apply to the multivitamin form. But I would also add these disadvantages as well:

Multivitamin forms always contain lesser amounts of vitamins, minerals and amino acids than even the RDA. This is because it would be physically impossible to put all the correct RDA dosages for vitamins, minerals and amino acids into one multivitamin pill. If you did, the pill would probably be bigger than a ping pong ball!! That's why I think the multivitamin concept - all beneficial daily nutrients in one pill - is so utterly ridiculous.
Minerals such as Iron, Zinc, Magnesium, Manganese and Calcium, for example, are all combined into one multivit pill. All these minerals, when taken in the wrong form, are mutually antagonistic and will compete for absorption pathways in the intestines. No use at all.
Many multivitamin forms contain various synthetic (patented) minerals, vitamins and amino acids etc. These forms are not handled in the body as well as the natural more bio-available food forms. Such multivit forms are usually also more expensive because they contain these synthetic, patented nutrient forms.

I read an interesting article awhile ago written in an alternative health magazine. The journalist went to a sewage works to interview the sewage manager. During the interview the manager happened to mention that every day, whenever he went out to inspect the human sewage - he would see hundreds and hundreds of multi-coloured pills in the sludge - multivitamin pills - all undissolved.

Liquid Tonics, Dissolvable (fizzy) and Chewable Forms

I wouldn't trust these forms because, generally, they will include additives such as aspartame, flavourings, high fructose corn syrup or sugar and other additives to make them taste better. Also, the liquid tonic form will have a greater tendency to oxidize in the sunlight. Avoid.

Capsule Form

These should contain just the powdered herb, mineral or vitamin and nothing else - no additives or caking agents etc. This powder should be contained in an enteric-coated capsule. This form is OK - my number 2 choice.

Powdered Form

My top choice. This is the best form if you can get it - no additives or preservatives or caking agents. When I first bought my powdered Vitamin C (as ascorbic acid) and dissolved the dose in a glass of water with some baking soda powder to convert it to ascorbate - after the fizz - it was crystal clear, just like a simple glass of water.

© 2011 Earth Clinic. All Rights Reserved.

While I believe in alkalizing the body, stomach acid should not be alkalized unless one is producing too much acid. I suffered from indigestion and hours after I have eaten my food would not be digested. My allergist diagnosed me as having acid reflux which was causing asthma like symptoms. I was taking Nexium which did not help much. I took ACV which helped but after starting the green smoothie I had no more problems with indigestion or acid reflux. I still take ACV ocassionally and probiotics. I love Earth Clinic and believe this site is helping a lot of people and if alkalizing helps, let it be.

I agree this website is too skewed about turning everything alkaline. Stomach acid needs to be acidic or it won't digest food properly and minerals won't be properly absorbed.

I think that you are adding your own "science" to ascorbic acid. There is strong evidence that Vitamin C's real effects come from its property as a Hydrogen donor ie: its properties as an acid. Neutralizing the acid may remove its benefit. In fact, this entire website is way too biased toward turning everything "alkaline". Without the H dontaion from acids (H donation is literally the definition of an acid) you'd burn up with free radical oxidation. H is literally what quenches the hydroxyl free radical. Its like water on a fire. Ask any chemist, alkaline burns in the lab are much, much worse than acid burns. Acids(hydrogen donors) are what cool your body down from free readical oxidation.