Heart Disease And Cancer
Research suggests that vitamin C may help prevent heart disease and cancer.
Antioxidants like vitamin C do seem to reduce the oxidative stress associated with these diseases. This can happen when there are too many free radicals in your body.
A 2013 review found that vitamin C may help prevent stroke. This was mostly true for people who had low intake of vitamin C before treatment or were at high risk for stroke.
The review only found this benefit for vitamin C from food sources, not from supplements.
A 2013 review noted that high intake of vitamin C does seem to be associated with a lower risk of certain cancers. It also noted that intravenous vitamin C has been shown to improve outcomes for cancer patients.
Many experimental cancer therapies include using vitamin C along with other treatments, however. This makes it hard to know how much of an impact vitamin C has on its own.
How Should I Take Ascorbic Acid
Use exactly as directed on the label, or as prescribed by your doctor. Do not use in larger or smaller amounts or for longer than recommended.
The recommended dietary allowance of vitamin C increases with age. Follow your healthcare provider’s instructions. You may also consult the Office of Dietary Supplements of the National Institutes of Health, or the U.S. Department of Agriculture Nutrient Database listings for more information.
Drink plenty of liquids while you are taking ascorbic acid.
The chewable tablet must be chewed before you swallow it.
Ascorbic acid gum may be chewed as long as desired and then thrown away.
Do not crush, chew, or break an extended-release tablet. Swallow it whole.
Measure liquid medicine with a special dose-measuring spoon or medicine cup. If you do not have a dose-measuring device, ask your pharmacist for one.
Keep the orally disintegrating tablet in the package until you are ready to take it. Use dry hands to remove the tablet and place it in your mouth. Do not swallow the tablet whole. Allow it to dissolve in your mouth without chewing. Swallow several times as the tablet dissolves.
Store ascorbic acid at room temperature away from moisture and heat.
What Happens When You Take Vitamin C Daily
Studies show that consuming more vitamin C can increase your blood antioxidant levels by up to 30%. This helps the bodys natural defenses fight inflammation . Vitamin C is a strong antioxidant that can boost your blood antioxidant levels. This may help reduce the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease.
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Stay Healthy With A Good Health Insurance Plan
Part of staying healthy is not taking too much Vitamin C or other supplements that can have adverse effects on your body and health. Another part of staying healthy is seeing your doctor regularly.
Having good health insurance ensures that you can keep your health in check all year round. And that starts by picking a good medical network.
Is Your Multivitamin To Blame For Hypercalcemia
Do you usually pop an antacid when you have an upset stomach? If you said “yes,” you’re not alone, but keep in mind those antacids contain calcium carbonate, and they along with calcium supplements and many multivitamins can up your calcium levels . In fact, overdoing it on the dietary supplements or over-the-counter medications are a leading cause of potentially dangerously high levels of calcium in the body, or what is known as hypercalcemia.
As Healthline explained, the symptoms of hypercalcemia can be as mild as fatigue or headaches to as severe as abnormal heart rhythms and even coma. Excessive thirst and urination, kidney stones, nausea, vomiting, constipation, decreased appetite, pain in the abdomen, bone pain, muscle cramps and twitching, osteoporosis, and bone fractures can all be the results of too much calcium. Neurological symptoms of hypercalcemia can also be serious and include depression, irritability, confusion, and memory loss.
While contacting your health care professional about any of these symptoms is important, Healthline advised reaching out for help right away if you also have cancer. Besides supplements and antacids, cancer alone can raise calcium levels, which is considered a medical emergency.
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What Does The Department Of Health And Social Care Advise
You should be able to get all the vitamin C you need by eating a varied and balanced diet.
If you take vitamin C supplements, do not take too much as this could be harmful.
Taking less than 1,000mg of vitamin C supplements a day is unlikely to cause any harm.
Page last reviewed: 03 August 2020 Next review due: 03 August 2023
Possibility Of Cardiovascular Disease
Vitamin C is well known for its antioxidant properties that protect the body from diseases. But can one have too much of a good thing? Possibly, under some conditions. One study showed that high doses of vitamin C supplements can trigger cardiovascular disease in individuals who already have other underlying health conditions consuming over 300 mg per day of vitamin C supplements was associated with cardiovascular disease among postmenopausal women with diabetes. However, this was observed only in a single study and is not established firmly yet.10
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The Best Vitamin A Sources
As previously mentioned, most people get an adequate amount of vitamin A from the foods they eat. If you have concerns about getting too much vitamin A, NIH recommends you limit your intake of liver and cod liver oil, which have high concentrations of preformed vitamin A.
For perspective, a 3.5-ounce portion of braised beef liver has 9,363 microgram RAEs, which is more than three times the UL. Eggs are also a source of preformed vitamin A, but one large egg has only 90 microgram RAEs of vitamin A.
Though liver contains high amounts of vitamin A, you don’t need to completely cut it from your diet, unless advised to do so by your doctor. However, you should limit the amount of liver you eat every month to reduce risk of toxicity.
To meet your daily needs, you can include these healthy vitamin A sources in your diet:
- Sweet potatoes
Why Do We Need Vitamin C At All
Ascorbic acid is a water-soluble vitamin found in a variety of fruits and vegetables. Often, we think of citrus fruit as the best vitamin C delivery system, but you can also get it from peppers, tomatoes, and cauliflower.
Once its in your system, the C helps your immune system function at its best and protect against damage from free radicals. Plus, ascorbic acid is needed to make collagen, that wondrous protein that helps heal wounds and keep our skin looking young and lovely .
Our bodies cant make vitamin C on their own, so its important that we get enough ascorbic acid from food or other outside sources.
Vitamin C deficiency is fairly rare in Western countries, but it can happen. If you take a long break from fresh produce , its possible to get scurvy which causes inflamed gums, skin spots, depression, and eventually death.
Its not common or likely if you have access to healthy food and produce, but its good to be mindful of your vitamin C intake all the same.
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Can You Be Allergic To Vitamin C
Technically, no. The isolated vitamin of ascorbic acid is an essential nutrient for human health and you would die without it. However you can have an allergic reaction to vitamin C tablets, face cream, serum, and drinks containing it. Since ascorbic acid is often made using corn, those with an allergy to that plant are at risk.
Allergy to vitamin C causes are unlikely to be from corn since that is a very rare allergy. Plus, the potential amount of allergens remaining residual protein matter from the plant would likely be in a concentration of only parts per million . If you are experiencing ascorbic acid intolerance its likely you are allergic to another ingredient in that supplement, fortified food, or skin cream.
On a related note, theres a strong likelihood the corn used is genetically modified. If you want non-GMO ascorbic acid, then make sure the packaging is labeled as such. Organic food-derived sources will always be non-GMO.
Vitamin C Megadoses Can Cause Gas And Diarrhea
This is completely true and we should be glad that this is the case.
When your body is saturated with as much vitamin C as you can handle, it dumps the excess in your colon for elimination. This results in diarrhea. Gas usually comes first to let us know that we are almost at that saturating point.
These vitamin C side effects make it easy to determine how much our bodies need and is the whole point behind the vitamin C flush.
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Can Too Much Vitamin C Hurt You
The Side Effects of Too Much Vitamin C Common side effects include nausea, vomiting, heartburn, and esophagitis. You may also notice stomach cramps, diarrhea or intestinal obstruction. However, you can also experience symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, feeling sleepy or insomnia. Flushed skin is also a symptom.
Does Vitamin C 1000 Mg Side Effects
4.1/5Vitamin C Side Effectsread here
Very high doses of vitamin C are known to cause gastric discomfort and diarrhea, and this is the basis for the current upper tolerable daily intake limit of 2,000 mg for adults. More limited, but concerning, evidence suggests problems with daily doses of just 500 to 1,000 mg of vitamin C.
Subsequently, question is, is it OK to take vitamin C pills everyday? For most people, taking vitamin C supplements in the recommended amounts is also safe. The recommended daily allowance is 90 mg for men and 75 mg for women. High doses of vitamin C may cause kidney stones, nausea, and diarrhea.
Beside above, is 1000mg Vitamin C Safe?
Vitamin C is water-soluble, so any excess is usually excreted in the urine rather than stored in the body. It’s safe in almost any amount from foods, and supplements in recommended amounts are also regarded as safe for most people. Try reducing your vitamin C intake by 500 mg each week until you reach 1,000 mg a day.
Can too much vitamin C hurt you?
For adults, the recommended daily amount for vitamin C is 65 to 90 milligrams a day, and the upper limit is 2,000 mg a day. Although too much dietary vitamin C is unlikely to be harmful, megadoses of vitamin C supplements might cause: Diarrhea. Nausea.
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What Are The Side Effects Of Ascorbic Acid
Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives difficult breathing swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Stop using ascorbic acid and call your doctor at once if you have:
- joint pain, weakness or tired feeling, weight loss, stomach pain
- chills, fever, increased urge to urinate, painful or difficult urination or
- severe pain in your side or lower back, blood in your urine.
Common side effects may include:
- heartburn, upset stomach or
- nausea, diarrhea, stomach cramps.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
That Pesky Skin Rash May Be Caused By Excess Vitamin B3
At first glance, vitamin B3 looks like a safe choice because it’s water-soluble . After all, how could something that dissolves in water build up in the body? Wouldn’t urinating take care of excess amounts of it? Although that’s true, the body still has to process it, and while it’s making its way from your stomach to your kidneys, vitamin B3 can cause some side effects. This is why it’s important to avoid exceeding 35 milligrams of the vitamin per day .
According to the Medline Plus, high intakes of B3 can cause skin rashes, elevated amounts of blood sugar, liver damage, and peptic ulcers, which can occur either in the stomach or the intestines. Even when it is used to treat high cholesterol, B3 can cause discomfort to the face, neck, arms, or upper chest. Specifically, you may experience tingling, itchiness, redness, or a warm sensation referred to as “flushing.”
If you’re looking for non-supplement ways to get vitamin B3, though, fish, poultry, lean meats, eggs, and milk are all great sources. Outside of animal-based products, B3 is also found in peanuts, legumes, and rice, according to Medline Plus.
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The Hidden Dangers Of Vitamin C
by Dr Sam Ooi | Apr 21, 2020 | Vitamin C
Vitamin C can also help to slow down skin aging and lower cholesterol levels it can enhance our iron absorption and reduce the risk of gout while a deficiency can cause gingivitis and easy bruising.
Making sure of our levels of Vitamin C is something we need to monitor, to help us maintain good health, especially with our fast approaching flu season and the current global COVID-19 pandemic.
Vitamin C can be found in an abundant number of fruits and vegetables, including citrus fruit, broccoli, kiwi fruit, tomato, strawberry, and pineapple, just to name a few. Many of us also take vitamin supplements, sometimes in the form of chewable Vitamin C tablets.
We all agree that Vitamin C is essential for good health, but we also need to be aware of some possible side effects that it may cause. We need to monitor how much Vitamin C we have every day and how we get it.
The recommended daily amount for adults is 65 to 90 milligrams with a maximum of 2000 mg per day. Vitamin C is also known as ascorbic acid.
When we think of this essential vitamin as being an acid, it puts an entirely different spin on how we think about it. Imagine the damage that acid can cause our body! Therefore, we need to be careful.
Fruits And Vegetables With High Levels Of Vitamin C
There are many fruits and vegetables that have high levels of Vitamin C. If youre worried about taking supplements and the side effects, eating fruit ensures you get your daily dose of Vitamin C without the problems.
Guava has 377 milligrams of Vitamin C. Kiwis have 167 mg.
Bell peppers have 190 milligrams per cup and only 46 calories. Berries like blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries all contain Vitamin C. Strawberries contain the highest amount at 98 mg per cup.
Surprisingly, oranges, often synonymous with high amounts of Vitamin C have only 96 mg per cup. Clementines, lemons, and grapefruits are also good sources of Vitamin C but contain fewer milligrams than oranges.
Broccoli, cabbage, and Brussel sprouts are also good sources of Vitamin C. Kale is also a good source with 53 mg per cooked cup.
With so many choices, its easy to start your day with a healthy breakfast that contains enough Vitamin C to keep you healthy.
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Yes A Vitamin C Overdose Is A Real Thing
Get more Spoon in your feed.Get Healthier Delivered
It’s that time of year. Your professor cancels class, your roommate is coughing nonstop, and the kid next to you in the library has a mound of used tissues piling up uncomfortably close to your laptop. You wash your hands and disinfect the doorknobs, but sometimes getting sick is just inevitable.
This is why when I felt that familiar feeling of the beginning of sickness, I decided that a healthy dose of vitamin C might help. Thus, my vitamin C bender day began. I started with an Emergen-C packet, followed by a glass of OJ at brunch, a green juice for a late afternoon treat, an immune booster tablet with dinner, and a smoothie for dessert. By my calculations, I had about 2,000% of my daily value of vitamin C.
However, after lying in bed for over two hours, I realized that I hadn’t yet fallen asleep. I tried deep breathing and lavender oil , but after another restless hour, I knew sleep just wasn’t in the cards. Coming from someone who can fall into REM sleep in an airport, I knew this bout of insomnia wasn’t normal.
In a 4:30 am haze, I googled “is too much vitamin C bad?” I browsed web page after web page detailing the various symptoms of consuming too much vitamin C. Sure enough, insomnia was listed as one of the many side effects.
You Could Suffer From Digestive Problems
Another likely symptom you’ll experience if you consume too much vitamin C is digestive distress. While you won’t get this issue from eating too many vitamin Cârich foods, overdosing on the supplement is likely to cause diarrhea, nausea, and sometimes acid reflux.
To avoid an upset stomach, you shouldn’t take more than 2,000 milligrams of vitamin C supplements at once, as that’s been identified as the tolerable upper limit per day.
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Before Taking This Medicine
You should not use ascorbic acid if you have ever had an allergic reaction to a vitamin C supplement.
Ask a doctor or pharmacist about using ascorbic acid if you have:
-
kidney disease or a history of kidney stones
-
hereditary iron overload disorder or
-
if you smoke .
Your dose needs may be different during pregnancy or while you are breast-feeding a baby. Do not use ascorbic acid without your doctor’s advice in either case.
Overloading On Vitamin C
Ive been taking an average of 2,000 mg of vitamin C daily. Is that too much? Ive been warned that it can cause kidney stones.
Andrew Weil, M.D. | May 23, 2018
Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin and powerful antioxidant, and helps the body form and maintain connective tissue, including bones, blood vessels, and skin. Research also indicates that it may help protect against a variety of cancers by combatting free radicals and helping neutralize the effects of nitrites .
Vitamin C is abundant in many fresh vegetables and fruits. The best food sources include citrus fruits, red peppers and sweet potatoes. When obtained from food and supplements in the recommended dosages, vitamin C is generally regarded as safe. High doses arent known to cause serious side effects but can lead to diarrhea, nausea, abdominal cramps, and other gastrointestinal symptoms as well as heartburn, headache and insomnia.
Doses greater than 2,000 mg/day may contribute to the formation of kidney stones, but evidence for this is inconclusive.
The second study came from the Linus Pauling Institute and was published in the June 1999 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It identified a similar dose, 120 to 200 mg, as the optimal amount for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, cataracts and other chronic conditions.
Andrew Weil, M.D.
Linus Pauling Institute, Vitamin C. lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/vitamins/vitamin-C#safety
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