How Can Vitamin C Prevent Pregnancy
Vitamin C contains ascorbic acid. This acid represses the release of progesterone hormones. This hormone is essential for preparing your uterus for conception. If your body does not release sufficient progesterone hormone, the uterus will not be prepared for conception. Progesterone nourishes a bed for the fertilized egg. Lack of this hormone will prevent the implantation of the egg in the uterus. The acidity of Vitamin C prevents your chance of conception in this way.
Read more: 11 Benefits of Taking Prenatal Vitamins
Which Foods Contain Vitamin C
Foods rich in vitamin C include broccoli, cauliflower, kale, kiwi fruit, citrus fruits, red, green or yellow pepper, sweet potatoes, strawberries and tomatoes.
Peppers contain over twice as much vitamin C as oranges. Peppers contain around 126mg per 100g whereas oranges only contain 52mg of vitamin C per 100g5.
The graph below shows the amount of vitamin C you get from different foods6:
| Food |
| 30 |
Steam And Grill To Boost Your Vitamin C Intake
As with other water-soluble vitamins, the way you prepare and cook foods can affect the vitamin C content5.
Boiling can destroy some of the vitamin C within the foods youre preparing. To retain as much nutrient quality as possible, its best to steam or grill your vegetables5. Or better still, eat them raw in salads.
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The Best Vitamins For Female Fertility
As well as a healthy balanced diet and an active and healthy lifestyle, there are a number of vitamins that have been identified as really aiding female fertility. Whilst they are certainly not essential for conception, if taken at the appropriate dose, they can increase your chances.
Folic Acid
Folic acid is an important vitamin, not only for women trying to conceive, but during the first three months of pregnancy. Folic acid can help increase your chances of becoming pregnant and is an important nutrient in helping the babys spine develop the way it should. It is recommended that women trying to conceive take at least 400 micrograms of folic acid daily and continue taking this supplement for the first three months of the pregnancy.
Studies have shown that folic acid also has fertility benefits for men, increasing the quality and quantity of sperm.
Coenzyme Q10
Coenzyme Q10 is a natural antioxidant, which is found in many foods and available as a supplement. Our bodies make CoQ10 and our cells use it to produce the energy the body needs for cell growth and maintenance. Studies have found that CoQ10 supplements in older women trying to conceive can improve their chances of pregnancy success.
Omega 3 Fatty Acid
By regulating the hormones, promoting ovulation and increasing cervical mucus, as well as the flow of blood to the reproductive organs Omega 3 Fatty Acid has been scientifically proven to help fertility.
Iron
Calcium
Vitamin D
Vitamin B6
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Selenium
A Guide To Female Fertility Vitamins
Not all couples trying for a baby are will fall pregnant straight away. In fact between 10-20% of women who would like to become pregnant wont get pregnant within the first year of trying. Whilst this can be due to underlying problems, it can often simply be a combination of not knowing the best time to try paired with an unbalanced lifestyle. Nutrition and physical health play a significant role in female fertility and, as such, there are a number of vitamins that can give your chances a significant boost.
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How Much Vitamin C Is Recommended
The Recommended Daily Intake amount for Vitamin C was raised a while back, almost across the board for all men, women, and children. What used to be 60mgs per day for men, now stands at 90 for non-smokers and 120 for smokers. If this seems quite low to you, bear in mind that this is the amount needed just to prevent certain illnesses like scurvy, not necessarily the amount for keeping the body in perfect running order.
Many of the fertility studies showing the benefits of vitamin C were done using supplements of 1000mgs, 3000mgs, and sometimes even more per day.
Youll normally figure out when youve reached your bodys limit for vitamin C in one easily noticed reaction loose stools. You see, vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, meaning that what the body doesnt use, it eliminates. So you should be able to increase the amount you take until you notice this reaction youll then know how much your body needs. I prefer to find out what amount will cause loose stools and then reduce it by half to make sure I dont overload my system every day. and work with a practitioner.
If youre dealing with male infertility it may be wise to supplement the husbands diet with a good quality vitamin C supplement, especially if hes not getting it through food. . Some practitioners also recommend only increasing the vitamin C supplementation right before and during ovulation to help the mobility of the sperm.
How To Use Ascorbic Acid To Kill Uti Bacteria
As we discussed above, it has already been established that vitamin C doesnt exert a protective effect by acidifying the urine . Simply put, its urine acidification properties have not been reliably demonstrated. The bacteriostatic effect of acidified nitrite is likely related to the release of NO and other toxic reactive nitrogen intermediates.
Lets now review the findings of the study, keeping in mind that the process was demonstrated in a lab and hasnt been replicated in humans:
For this approach to work, you have to have alkaline urine and you cannot have taken ascorbic acid as a preventive measure. If these conditions are met, theoretically you can attempt the following:
Step one: Increase the number of nitrates by ingesting sodium nitrate or consuming approx. 300 gr of spinach.
Step two: An hour later, acidify your urine and take ascorbic acid as well. Just to remind you: ascorbic acid on its own wont acidify your urine, it can only increase the release of nitrogen oxides that, in turn, could kill the bacteria.
As you can see, its not straightforward, there are lots of caveats, and its unclear if this process, achieved in a lab, could be repeated in a patient. There also could be serious health side-effects when consuming any of the listed substances for the purposes of modulating urine pH.
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Can It Cause Miscarriage
If you are already pregnant, Vitamin C can induce miscarriage as well. Vitamin C is able to weaken the grip of the fertilized ovum on the uterus. If the egg cannot attach to the uterine wall, it can cause miscarriage. The acidity of Vitamin C interferes with the production of estrogen hormone. It creates an imbalance in the sex hormones of your body and cause miscarriage. Vitamin C is therefore a natural emergency contraceptive if it is taken before ovulation starts.
Read more: Early Signs of Miscarriage
How To Use Vitamin C Tablets To Avoid Pregnancy
How to use vitamin C tablets to avoid pregnancy, Can vitamin C destroy pregnancy? White Vitamin C oral contraceptives, Vitamin C and implantation
So I bumped into this article on facebook where the poster claimed that 10,000mg of vitamin c especially the white vitamin C is a spermicide, prevents pregnancy, can be used as contraceptive and vitamin c can prevent implantation. The poster implied that because vitamin c is acidic, vitamin c can flush out sperm after an unprotected sexual intercourse especially if the lady insert it before the act. There is also this belief that high dose of vitamin C like 1000mg 10,000mg can cause miscarriage, induce uterine contractions and be used for abortions..
Here is the culled part of the post on Facebook where white vitamin c was given huge contraceptive powers:
Vitamin C is used to prevent conception. It is a component of many herbs. It is taken as an emergency contraceptive the ascorbic acid interferes with the hormone progesterone and disrupts implantation. Progesterone is very important as it functions to prepare the uterus for pregnancy and helps to maintain it. Most women place a tablet of vitamin C inside their bodies, as that promotes an acidic environment. Sperms cannot survive in an acidic environment.
The information contained above is totally wrong. Vitamin C is a very essential supplement in pregnancy and does no harm to your unborn baby. Vitamin C cannot can miscarriage.
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The Scientific Evidence That Vitamin C Induces Miscarriages Is Not There
As of the current time, no clinical studies have been done on the use of vitamin C or ascorbic acid to induce a miscarriage. The only evidence youll find is anecdotal evidence from herbalists or from people who have successfully used vitamin C to cause an intentional miscarriage. It doesnt mean that drinking orange juice in the morning will cause you to have a miscarriage and it doesnt mean that you should count on vitamin C to cause a miscarriage should you become pregnant. There is no credibility to the claims youll find on the internet to indicate that the taking of vitamin C results in a miscarriage.
Why Are More Women Self
There are a plethora of reasons why women may seek to end a pregnancy on their own.
“In our research, people report a variety of reasons for attempting to self-manage their abortion. Many people say they did this because of barriers accessing clinic-based abortion care. Some of those barriers include the cost of care, distance to clinics, not knowing where a clinic was, and for adolescents a concern that parental consent was required,” says Dr. Grossman. “Another group of people express a preference for self-managed carebecause they see it as more natural or less invasive. Some say they use herbs or supplements to manage all their healthcare, and they see self-managed abortion as a natural extension of that.”
Another cause is decreased access to abortion clinics. In 2017, 808 clinic facilities provided abortions, a two percent increase from 2014. However, regional and state disparities in clinic availability grew more pronounced the number of clinics increased in the Northeast and the West, by 16 percent and four percent respectively, and decreased in the Midwest and the South, by six percent and nine percent, respectively.
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Is It Really True That Vitamin C Prevents Pregnancy
Despite the fact that some anecdotes are successfully passed from generation to generation, it doesn`t mean they are also true. Women mostly have to try and see for themselves. Therefore we present two false convictions in this article.
Vitamin C prevents pregnancy
Larger quantity of vitamin C after an unprotected sexual intercourse is supposed to have the same effect as the morning-after pill. So far there is no indisputable evidence that vitamin C increases the chance of abortion. Only speculations exist that vitamin C can influence the pregnancy, especially during the first few days, because it makes the mucous membrane of the uterus thinner, thus making it an inhospitable place for a fertilized egg. If this information about vitamin C would be true, it would be especially useful for women who don`t take contraceptive pills or who can`t handle them well.
Lemon juice to prevent pregnancy
Lemon juice has been used for prevention pregnancy for several centuries. In-depth study about the effect of lemon juice on abortion doesn`t exist. Women rely on the probability that lemon juice destroys the sperm. The thinking that led to such conclusion is very simple. Lemon juice contains vitamin C which is very sour and it is hard for sperm to survive in such sour environment. If you decide to use lemon juice for protection despite the shaky evidence, we should stress that lemon juice never provides full protection , because it doesn`t protect from sexually transmitted diseases.
Crucial Factors For Ascorbic Acid To Work
Still, does it mean that ascorbic acid is as effective as antibiotics? Or maybe you could ditch your prescription altogether and use vitamin C instead to treat a UTI? Unfortunately, lab experiments are often different than real life.
As the researchers point out, when attempting to treat a UTI with vitamin C, several factors are key to success: timing, type of the bacteria, and urine pH management. Here is a list of these factors in more detail:
So how would you go about using ascorbic acid for UTI treatment in a living organism, rather than in a lab? Lets see how the process discussed in the study could theoretically be implemented in a living and breathing human body.
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Overdose Of Vitamin C
Vitamin C is good for health and is often recommended to pregnant women to support a healthy pregnancy. But what happens when it is consumed in high amounts? It may prevent pregnancy, but it should not be a couples go-to option, as there is no scientific study to back that Vitamin C acts as a natural contraceptive. But can it lead to a miscarriage if consumed in excess? Read on to find out!
How Nutrients Increase Your Chances Of Getting Pregnant
Eating certain foods and avoiding others has been medically proven to improve the ovulatory function of a woman and increase her chances of becoming pregnant. Of course, its not all about diet. There are other factors that can lower your chances of getting pregnant. Being overweight or underweight can lead to menstruation disorders, which can cause a woman to stop ovulating.
Below are some things to be aware of when thinking about diet and nutritional or vitamin supplements as you try for a baby.
Read Also: How Much Vitamin C To Reduce Cortisol
Using Vitamin C To Prevent Pregnancy
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Vitamin C Boosts Your Iron Absorption
Vitamin C helps the body absorb non-haem iron, the type found in plant sources such as spinach and chickpeas. Eating good sources of vitamin C with plant sources of iron during pregnancy can increase your daily intake considerably7. To get the most out of your diet, include fruit and iron sources within the same meal, whether its adding chopped fruit to a salad or having a whole fruit for dessert7.
An adequate intake of iron is essential to support your increased blood volume and reduce the risk of iron-deficiency anaemia, and to help build up your babys iron stores to support their learning and growth for the first 6 months of life2. Read more about the importance of iron in your pregnancy diet.
Recommended Reading: Where Can I Buy Ritual Prenatal Vitamins
Can Vitamin C Prevent Pregnancy :
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How To Take It
The best way to take vitamin C supplements is 2 – 3 times per day, with meals, depending on the dosage. Some studies suggest that adults should take 250 – 500 mg twice a day for any benefit. Talk to your doctor before taking more than 1,000 mg of vitamin C on a daily basis and before giving vitamin C to a child.
Daily intake of dietary vitamin C is listed below.
Pediatric
- Men over 18 years: 90 mg
- Women over 18 years: 75 mg
- Pregnant women 14 – 18 years: 80 mg
- Pregnant women over 18 years: 85 mg
- Breastfeeding women 14 – 18 years: 115 mg
- Breastfeeding women over 18 years: 120 mg
Because smoking depletes vitamin C, people who smoke may need an additional 35 mg per day.
The dose recommended to prevent or treat many of the conditions mentioned in the Uses section is often 500 – 1,000 mg per day.
Read Also: Is It Ok To Take Vitamin C Everyday
If The Mans Sperm Countis Low
For the first few months, you should try having sexevery day that you have eggwhite cervical fluid. But if that does not work, youmight want to try having sex every other day. Men with low sperm count needmore time to produce a higher count of more fertile sperm, which can beachieved by abstinence from ejaculation until your cervical fluid becomesslippery. Some tips to follow:
- Have sex every day from the day you have wet cervical fluid,until and including the day of the first rise of temperature.
- Have sex every other day from the day you have wet cervicalfluid, until and including the day of the first rise of temperature.
- Have sex every other day from the day you have eggwhitecervical fluid, until and including the day of the first rise of temperature.
- If you only have 2 days of fertile cervical fluid, abstainthe first day and have sex on the Peak day.
What to Avoid
Can An Overdose Cause A Miscarriage
Pregnant women should be extremely careful with their intake of vitamin C. Because high doses of it can create an unfavorable environment for the fertilized egg in the uterus.
In this, the egg is not able to attach itself to the lining of the uterus, which leads to miscarriage. The acidity present in Vitamin C messes with the level of estrogen in the body, which affects the sex hormones in the body. This can lead to miscarriage.
Read also: Trying to conceive is failing, learn easy tips and tricks from an expert gynecologist himself
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