8 Vitamin C Benefits (and Some Common Side Effects)

I recently had the same thing happen to me as Barbara from Portland, Oregon below.

Ten years ago I tore the meniscus in my right knee. If I was careful, I could manage the pain, but could no longer do the hiit exercises that I enjoyed. No jumping or squatting, or I would be up all night from the pain. I tried all the supplements that Barbara wrote about, plus all the types of collagen. Every time that I thought I sensed improvement, I would get more adventurous with my exercising only to find out quickly that I had been wrong.

Two months ago, I started taking 6 grams of vitamin-c to see if it would help me to avoid covid. One day, I realized that my knee felt better, so once again I tried adding the exercises that had caused painful flareups over the last ten years. Nothing happened. I gradually became more aggressive, but the knee held up. I am now back to doing routines that I had to stay away from for so long, including some of Cathe Friedrich's advanced step workouts, which had been totally off-limits. There are times that I feel a little bit of soreness, but it is always short-lived.

I don't know why it has worked, but I am grateful.

I've written quite a bit about Vitamin C on EC, and just thought that I would put down some other thoughts, which will, hopefully, be helpful.

First, Vitamin C is not just a simple supplement. Most people regard Vitamin C as just a vitamin supplement called Ascorbic Acid. This is also not strictly true. Vitamin C actually consists of a group of natural chemicals -- usually found together in varying amounts in fruits/veg -- that work together in a synergistic way with Ascorbic acid/ascorbates to benefit our bodies. Some of the other substances involved in Vitamin C's effectiveness are:

Biovflavenoids
Ascorbinogens
rutin
P-factor
K-factor
J-Factor

And as far as I can understand, these additional compounds or co-factors are all required in quite small amounts(probably used as catalysts, enzymes, coenzymes etc.), along with the ascorbic acid and this is what really constitutes Vitamin C. Also, since Vitamin C itself is so poorly researched, there are probably alot of these co-factors that haven't even been researched or discovered yet.

From the above, and logically, it would therefore make great sense to both eat fruit and vegetables high in these Vit C co-factors whilst also supplementing with ascorbates or ascorbic acid since these co-factors are bound to enhance and improve the overall effect of taking Vitamin C supplements as well.

Here are some other facts about Vitamin C, some of which equally apply to the supplementing of any other vitamin or mineral:

* Always take Vitamin C as sodium ascorbate (more alkaline form) and not as ascorbic acid. If you take the ascorbic acid form, then you must always take it at mealtimes, so that it can be converted by the bicarbonates produced in the duodenum during digestion to ascorbate and then it will be absorbed. So why not convert the Ascorbic Acid to ascorbate first, then there would be no need for conversion from acid to salt form during digestion and you could also take even more ascorbates outside mealtimes?

* If you take Vitamin C during mealtimes, then a third of this vitamin will be excreted and lost after digestion by the intestines. So, if you are taking, say, 900 mgms of Vitamin C then 300 mgms will be excreted and lost. By the way, this is not all bad, because taking Vitamin C also provokes a healthy intestine.

* Linus Pauling, during his own Vit C research wanted to know how much vitamin c was excreted in a 24 hr period, so he took 10 grams of vitamin C and collected and checked all his own urine during a 24 hr period. He found that 15% of the Vit C taken was lost through his kidneys over this 24 hour period.

* It is always best practice, as Ted from Bangkok has said on this site numerous times, to take all water soluble vitamins, minerals and amino acid supplements in their powdered or capsule forms and not as tablets. I was forced to use the tablet form of Ascorbic Acid(I couldn't find the powder form here in the Philippines where I live) and convert this to ascorbates using Baking Soda, but the resulting solution always looked cloudy, dirty and tasted funny because of all the adhesive fillers such as Calcium Triphosphate, Magnesium Sterate, Stearic Acid, Microcellulose, Starch etc. But, on my recent trip to Bangkok, I managed to purchase pure chemical grade Ascorbic Acid powder fairly cheaply and after I convert my powder dose to ascorbates using BS, the solution is now always crystal clear with no more unnecessary impurities and has a far nicer taste.

I've also stated that I believe that there is no such thing as a rigid RDA concerning vitamins, minerals and amino acid supplementation. As evidence and proof of this, here is an extract from a significant essay by Dr Frederick Klenner on Vitamin C which lists all the reasons why dosing is so difficult:

1. The age of the individual;
2. Habits -- such as smoking, the use of alcohol, playing habits;
3. Sleep, especially when induced artificially;
4. Trauma.-- trauma caused by a pathogen, the trauma of work, the traumaof surgery, the trauma to the body produced accidentally or intentionally;
5. Kidney threshold;
6. Environment;
7. Physiological stress;
8. Season of the year;
9. Loss in the stool;
10. Variations in individual absorption;
11. Variations in "binders" in commercial tablets;
12. Body chemistry;
13. Drugs;
14. Pesticides;
15. Body weight;
16. Inadequate storage.

Extract from Dr Klenner on Vitamin C -- This is also well worth a read !!

In my own protocol of vitamins and minerals, I now just take mega-doses of Vitamin C as ascorbate (about 5 grams/day in split doses) outside mealtimes as well as dessicated liver and kelp tablets at mealtimes every day. I also take Ted's alkalizing remedies regularly and now supplement magnesium chloride and iodine(both in larger amounts than recommended by the FDA or WHO) either transdermally or orally on a weekly basis. I also have a body friendly diet as Ted recommends. On a monthly basis, I regularly detox heavy metals using sodium thiosulfate as well as taking my own tri-herbal anti-stone or anti-calcium protocol consisting of a decoction of chanca piedra, heart vine, tumeric and neem leaves. I also take Ted's anti-fungal borax remedy once or twice a month as a preventative. That is essentially my protocol, but I have extra backup in the form of lysine, aspirin, methylene blue, zinc gluconate, betaine HCL, protease enzymes, cayenne, clove oil etc. that are all taken on an "as needed" basis if any illness does occur.

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.

HI U YOUNG KAREN , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I say young because Dr. Pauling was age 93 when he went out with prostate cancer. All men will get prostate cancer if they live long enough.

I seriously doubt that you will live to be age 93 let alone make the contributions this man has made to society. I will not tell you what I think of your post but suggest that you read more and post less.

=======ORH=============

I started taking high doses of Vitamin C to help ward off a cold virus. For the past several weeks I took 5-10 grams of Vitamin C. Then I noticed my knee pain disappeared.

I am a runner/cross country skier who has virtually stopped these activities due to pain in my right knee.

For 7 years I have tried glucosamine, calcium, MSM, and NSAIDs. I don't like taking NSAIDS. However, the other remedies did not relieve the pain and inflammation. Therefore, I have been tolerating the pain and have discontinued using NSAIDS.

I was very surprised to find that the Vitamin C use correlated with complete pain relief and reduction of inflammation. So I stopped the C for a week and the pain returned. I have resumed the C and the pain is gone again.

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.

Re Vitamin C: I saw Linus Pauling on the Les Brown (Toronto) tv show back in the 1980's He said just get the cheapest stuff - pure ascorbic acid powder. He would take about 18 grams a day. I have only taken up to 18 grams when I have been sick (flu, exhausted, colds). Hey he lived to be 94!

His recipe was put one teaspoon ascorbic acid powder in glass of water, and add one quarter teaspoon baking soda - that's it - makes it fizz - the baking soda buffers the tummy coz straight vitamin C is just way too acidic. On the show he said it was great for cancer patients going through clinical trials, (helps with immune system). (helps build white blood cells, with wound healing, building collagen - you don't get wrinkles! ).

I drink my drink through a straw and then have more water afterward.. Slight sour fizzy taste. Really nice actually. Since that show I have used the ascorbic acid powder - making my C fizzies as I call them - first of all to help with hay fever allergies (the ones where I sneeze 17 times and want to rip my itchy eyes out, and put cold washcloths over my face to sleep) - I got to the point where I only took the vitamin C and also eye drops for itchy eyes - got off all the over the counter drugstore medications (in my early teens used to get needles for hayfever, man I hate needles - that used to knock me out- didn't help much then either)Also very good for allergic reactions like hives (like when I've had shrimp and have broken out in welts, arargh)... A C fizzy or two takes it all down, calms everything back to normal. If I think I need a lot, I will space out the drinks about half hour or so. You can tell when you reach your tolerance limit, when your bowels start to get loose (the gut just can't process anymore).

In last few years I discovered that Pauling figured that heart disease is a subclinical form of scurvy - ie not enough Vitamin C!!! Check out paulingtherapy, and I think there is a youtube of him saying that as well. After I found that out I started buying it by the kilo from nutrabio because I would go through my little bottles from the health food store so fast. I plan to live to be 90 as well!

Another new discovery is ______ vitamin c where they have encapsulated the vitamin c with nano technology (think a grain of sand on a football field - very small) - with this the C bypasses the digestive system and goes straight to where it is needed. I have just started taking these last month. I will have my C fizzy drink before breakfast to start the day, and sometimes one in afternoon, and a pkt of the lypo-c in juice in between times (you won't feel the difference when you take the lypo-c coz it goes straight to your cells - also see tomlevyMd. Apparently this is the closest one can get to having Vitamin C intravenously. Check levy's video of gentleman in new zealand who was pretty much on death's door, and his family rallied around refusing to let the docs take him off life support - with much ado, they got him on IV vitamin c - and he recovered!

Also just listening to Dr Hal Huggins radio interview, he said if you take 4-5 pkts of the Lypospheric C, it is like getting a shot of IV C. I am so trying this..

One more thing, people would ask me why do I take the Vitamin C fizzies - I said the only way I can explain it is that it feels like it turns on the electricity in the body. And from what I have read about the heart and brain's electrical fields, I can speak from personal experience that the vitamin C I take helps bring everything back to 'normal' for me. And yes, (oh vanity) - a lady at work guessed my age to be 14 years younger.

Taking Vitamin C in Solution

Hi Everyone...With good reason, Ted has long advised that Vit C in the form of Ascorbic Acid should be converted to its Ascorbate form because this form is more alkaline, more absorbable and uses up less bicarbonates from your body's digestive system.

This means getting out your mortar and pestal, crunching up your Ascorbic acid tablets then adding water and finally adding the baking soda(sodium bicarbonate) -- let it finish fizzing -- then drinking it down.

I take Vit C most days with lysine and discovered something useful.

Today, I just filled a glass full of water and plopped in 4 X 500 gm tablets of ascorbic acid. Then I just added 1/4 to 1/2 teasoon of baking soda to it. It fizzed away and dissolved for about three minutes and then the tablets simply disappeared into solution as Sodium Ascorbate -- a bit like Alka-Seltzer !!

Then I just scraped off the residue of bubbles off the top of the solution (which contains all the insoluble binder additives like mag stearate, calcium Trihosphate, micro-cellulose, starch etc.) and drank it down.

So, no tablet crunching necessary really.

Hi,

This is only the second time that I have posted, and I wanted to thank you for your kind words regarding my first post.

I promised that I would update everyone IF I was able to finally conquer sciatica. Well, I DID IT! I said that I was going to try Magnesium as suggested on your site. Didn't seem to help me.

What finally did the trick was "flooding" with Vitamin C per Dr. Frederick Klenner's web site, Doctor Yourself. Please check out the testimonal under Back Pain (at the bottom of that page). Unlike the testimonial, I was not completely out of pain on the fourth day; it took me six days.

I took two grams (2,000 milligrams) every hour I was awake. What I finally figured out was that the man that wrote the testimonial was taking a teaspoon every hour (that's four grams).

Just in case you are concerned at the high level of Vitamin C, it is a water soluble vitamin which the body will throw off if it can't use it. There is no known Vitamin C toxicity to humans.

The reason it worked is very simple. I had a Vitamin C deficiency severe enough to cause sciatica. Wish I had known that before!

What I also didn't realize was that the intermittent backaches that I have had in the last five years or so were also a Vitamin C deficiency and a precursor to the more severe sciatica! I have not had even a hint of a backache since I began treating the sciatica.

I am now on a maintenance dosage of Vitamin C of about 10 grams per day (still working out exact amount) which I will remain on for the rest of my life. You know when the body cannot use the level of Vitamin C that you are taking. You get diarrhea and just cut back a bit until you have the right level for you.

My primary reason for advocating natural alternatives for myself is safety. It was a blood pressure generic Lisinopril that triggered my sciatica and my descent into an unfathonable Dante's inferno. I will use SAFE alternatives in the future as often as possible.

Good health to everyone this year!

My Fountain of Youth is primarily daily multi-use of Vitamin C. I take 500 mg each time. It works best if I take 10-12 per day, no closer together than every 30 minutes. I just keep them on my desk, or in my pocket. Vitamin C makes so many things happen better in the body. Collagen is primarily made up using Vitamin C. The liver alone needs 3000 mg/day, in divided doses, to process all the toxins, etc. that are required by it--and there are MANY. This is just the beginning. But it definitely keeps me looking young--I just turned 54, and have no ailments of any kind, and use no drugs, while everyone I know go to doctors (the "gods") and faithfully take their precriptions (drugs).

I was having a very heavy menstrual period, I was miserable I could not go out any where this was my second month and the only thing the nurse from my doctor's office recommended was to rest. My doctor said I was a candidate for a D&C if my period would continue the same.

I was recommended to use vitamin C 1 to 2 1000mg pills a day. I was on my 3rd day of heavy torment and I took 2 1000mg vitamin c this made my heavy flow to ease up and I continued my regular menstrual period the next two days. I was recommended to use vitamin c 1000mg one week before my period one to two pills a day and take it all thru the last day of the menstrual period.

This really works I am back to normal and happy to share this with other women who are suffering what I did.

I used to have angina. Probably for 2-3 years. Never severe but painful nonetheless. What brought about the end of angina was megadoses of Vit C. I had been taking probably 20+ grams/day for stubborn allergies in the spring of the year. I continued to take it at night for dust mite allergies at bedtime instead of medications. I noticed one day in the fall that I hadn't had any chest pains for quite a while. It's been I think two years now since I had any. Vitamin C megadoses, according to Linus Pauling and Matthias Rath, allow the arteries to heal which reverses plaque buildup in all but completely blocked arteries. They also recommend adding L-Lysine and Proline to your regime along with the C.

A study I read about several years ago might help you understand why the high dosage Vit. C got rid of your angina. During Paul Linus' heyday, a nursing home did a study in which they were giving nursing home patients 500 mgm. Vit. C 4 x per day, expecting it to lower their cholesterol readings. Ooops! These patients' cholesterol levels skyrocketed upward, instead of decreasing, scaring them so badly, they halted the study immediately. Logical thinking tells me that the Vit. C was flushing cholesterol from their blood vessels, unless they had also been put on a high cholesterol diet at the same time.

Generalised and mirrored body pain generalised swelling, constant buzzing throughout my body. Antinuclear antibodies showing up in tests but all other tests within normal range. 3 months with symptoms and told by doctor there was nothing she could do. Went to biomedical practitioner and given IV Vitamin C ... symptoms went away within hours!

I never write in all caps, because, well it makes you look crazy...but, YOU CANOT MAKE LIPOSPHERIC (Liposomic) VITAMIN C AT HOME! I put this in bold caps because I am so passionate about people getting the real help they really need. While I am very much for people getting out there and finding alternative healing techniques, helping one another out in forums such as these, radically questioning their doctors with their one sized fits all mediocre and dangerous allopathic "cures" etc. but if you have serious health care needs, you can't engage in that alone. Too many of you don't have holistic physicians, also called functional medicine specialists or naturopaths. In addition, a sympathetic and supportive GP or specialist is needed to order the thorough baseline blood testing required to begin to get a picture of your overall health, while the holistic doctor will order additional, boutique tests and make your comprehensive diagnosis and ultimately these two physicians must work together on your behalf. You can't achieve that level of comprehensive care in forums, okay? All right, end of stern lecture.

Back to lipospheric vitamin C. If you want to make the molecule small enough to bypass digestion, you cannot do it at home. It requires very expensive, powerful machines which smash the molecules together with enough force to break their bonds and cause changes in their ionic confluence, creating a nanitic encapsulation. this thorough and violent kind of maceratation is only achieved in a lab. What you are making at home is merely ordinary, hopefully well-buffered vitamin C. Ordinary as in it still goes through the gut to be up-taken. That is the fact. Only one company makes this form of vitamin C properly. It is about $30 and is only available on their website or on Amazon. The company is called Liv-on Labs.

My daughter at 17 tested positive for mono. She was living with her father at the time, a choice made entirely by her at an age when she thought living with him would be a lot more fun than living with her more strict and responsible mother. :) Hence, she ended up with mono and a grim prognosis that there is no treatment other than at least three weeks bed rest. It would have to "run it's course". I was living in a high-rise building at the time with huge windows and tons of sunlight. For three days she rested on a sofa in front of the windows and consumed mega doses of vitamin c, via tablets and orange juice. She also ate almost nothing but a favorite (thankfully) homemade ham and bean soup loaded with cabbage and tomatoes. The third day of her recovery, I came home from work and she excitedly exclaimed, "Mom! Guess what happened! All of the sudden today when I took a swallow of my juice, all that crud in my throat went away. It's gone! And I feel great! ". I had her cultured two days later and she tested negative for mono. Her doctor was stunned. I wasn't!

I added Baking Soda to my ACV treatment and had many of the side effects others mention on this site. Baking Soda lowers Vitamin C levels and this can lead to symptoms of scurvy. I had to do a lot of research to find this out. I woke up with a purple spot/bruise on my leg and that convinced me, as I had not bumped into anything to bruise myself. The purple bruise looking spot is a sign of scurvy. Luckily, it was recommened to me to take Vitamin C for Constipation. I was sooo sick (my asthma was out of control) last night and the night before. I did not know that Vitamin C actually helps Astmatics.

I took 6 mgs of Vitamin C last night in error. I picked up the wrong size of measuring spoon!!..luckily! I had been up the prior two nights coughing up mucus, but last night I slept through the night. I couldn't figure it out since I needed to take bendryl the other nights just to not choke on the mucus. It appears that the 6 mg of Vitamin C did it's job to replenish my Vitamin C and to help with my asthma.

I woke up with the usual morning junk to cough up and spit out. I took 1000 mg of vitamin C and it stopped this problem dead in it's tracks. People need to read about what vitamin C does, especially for people with Asthma and food allergies. Also, the baking soda should NOT be recommended on this site.

It depletes the Vitamin C. If someone is already low in Vitamin C it can cause Survy Symptoms as it did in me.

I love this site, but I think promoting Baking Soda that depletes Vitamin C is wrong. Also, I love Apple Cider Vinegar and it is promoted her as the top natural relief, but I never hear any talk of vitamin C. It works wonders for Asthma, Hay fever and a load of Respiratory illnesses and other illnesses.