Criteria For Derivation Of The Reference Values For Vitamin C Intake
The maintenance of the body pools and of plasma and cellular vitamin C concentrations are considered a criterion for establishing the requirement for vitamin C, assuming that proximate saturation of body pools and plasma concentrations is associated with fulfilling the coenzymatic and antioxidant functions of vitamin C .
Biomarkers of the functions of vitamin C, like markers of collagen metabolism, carnitine concentrations in blood or urine, markers of oxidative damage such as lipid peroxidation as well as markers of the function of the immune system are not considered to be suitable criteria for deriving the requirement for vitamin C . Present data on the effect of genotype on plasma ascorbate concentration are insufficient to determine the requirements for vitamin C according to genotype variants . Data from studies on the association between vitamin C intake or plasma ascorbate concentrations, respectively, and endpoints as the concentration of blood lipids, blood pressure, risk, severity and duration of common colds and the occurrence of chronic diseases are also no suitable criteria for deriving the requirement for vitamin C .
In Conclusion Is 1000 Mg Of Vitamin C Safe
In general, the daily consumption of 1,000 mg of vitamin C is pretty safe. There are no side effects for most people. Certainly, people on medication should consult their health care provider, before taking any supplement.
Its a good idea to boost vitamin C intake, especially in the winter, as vitamin C seems to be beneficial against the flu and common cold. It may boost the immune system.
Moreover, we should take at least 1,000 mg of vitamin C during the summer, as well. Vitamin C naturally boosts collagen production, protecting us from skin aging and reliving us from sunburns! Also, it helps us burn body fat and lose weight!
Certainly, eating foods high in vitamin C is the best way to boost your daily intake. Furthermore, taking a 1,000 mg tablet wont do any harm. Moreover, vitamin C supplements are pretty cheap. You can compare prices on Amazon.
Is Taking A Huge Dose Of Vitamin C Bad For Me
Vitamin C is an important nutrient, but as the old saying goes too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.
After taking too much vitamin C, you may experience symptoms such as:
- Diarrhea
So how much vitamin C is too much?
For adults, the daily upper limit of vitamin C is 2,000 mg. For teens, it’s 1,800 mg. For children, the upper limit depends on age, and it ranges from 400 to 1,200 mg per day.
In addition, vitamin C is water-soluble, making it hard for your body to store it with excess being secreted in your urine. So even if you’re adult and can handle the 1,000 mg in each vitamin C packet or pill, just know that your body can’t absorb more than about 400 mg. This means that most of the vitamin C in that supplement you’re taking just goes down your toilet .
All this to say, however, that getting the recommended amount of vitamin C is still a critical step in staying healthy, as this vitamin plays many important roles in your body. But, you don’t need to take a supplement to make that happen.
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Can A Vitamin C Supplement Really Keep You From Getting Sick
Despite it’s popularity as a remedy for the common cold, there’s actually no evidence to suggest that a large dose of vitamin C can actually prevent one or any other type of illness, for that matter.
And while you may have heard that a large dose of vitamin C can slightly reduce the duration of a cold, this only applies if you take that large dose every singleday of the year even when you’re not sick. This means that if you rip that vitamin C packet open after your symptoms begin, there’s no evidence to suggest it’ll actually shorten the length of your cold.
As it turns out, boosting your immune system is more complicated than just downing a packet or a pill. And while vitamin C does play an important role in supporting your immune system, it doesn’t take megadoses like the ones found in supplements which often contain 1667% more vitamin C than you actually need every day.
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Is Oxidative Damage To Biological Macromolecules Relevant To Human Chronic Diseases
Oxidative damage to biomolecules, such as lipids, DNA, and proteins, has been implicated in many chronic diseases, in particular, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and cataract, respectively .
LDL oxidation and cardiovascular disease
It is still uncertain which factors are responsible for the oxidation of LDL in vivo. LDL can be oxidized into a potentially atherogenic form in vitro through metal-ion-dependent oxidation of its lipid component with subsequent modification of apolipoprotein B-100 by reactive aldehyde products of lipid peroxidation, particularly malondialdehyde and 4-hydroxynonenal . Whether catalytic metal ions are available in the early lesion in vivo remains a matter of debate . Several metal-ion-independent mechanisms that are primarily enzymatic in nature have been proposed these include mechanisms involving 15-lipoxygenase and myeloperoxidase . The problems of comparing LDL oxidation in vitro with LDL oxidation in vivo were discussed in 2 recent reviews .
DNA oxidation and mutagenesis and carcinogenesis
Protein oxidation and cataract
Can You Take Too Much Vitamin C
The tolerable upper intake for adults is 2 grams of Vitamin C consuming more than that can result in diarrhea and other unpleasant GI disturbances, says Greaves. She admits that severe side effects from too much ascorbic acid are very rare, but you may experience some discomfort if you take too much. Its pretty much impossible to have a vitamin C overdose, but lets not test that out.
The real problem with taking more vitamin C than you need is that it all goes to waste. Up to 100 mg a day of vitamin C will get almost completely absorbed, says Francesco-Maria Serino, MD, PhD. Above 100 mg a day and the fraction of vitamin C absorbed is progressively smaller. If you take more than 1 gram of vitamin C per day, less than 50% is actually absorbed and its eliminated by the kidneys.
That literally means that a 500 mg vitamin C supplement mostly gets peed down the drain.
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Are Some Vitamin C Supplements Better Than Others
Most vitamin C supplements contain synthetic vitamin C, which is made in a laboratory using a variety of different processes. This is the cheapest way of making vitamin C and there is no evidence to suggest that synthetic supplements are less effective than other forms of vitamin C at correcting a vitamin C deficiency.
More expensive vitamin C products often use whole foods however, there may be some degradation in the vitamin C content during the production process, because vitamin C is not heat stable and degrades with time. Whole food supplements have the advantage that they include other factors, naturally present in foods, such as rutin, bioflavonoids, and other factors that potentially could aid absorption and utilization of vitamin C within our bodies.
Studies have been conflicting that have investigated if there is actually any difference in absorption between different forms of vitamin C, for example, synthetic vitamin C, Ester-C®, or vitamin C with bioflavonoids. Although one study showed higher vitamin C concentrations in leukocytes with Ester C®, others did not.
Most organizations conclude that simple ascorbic acid is the preferred source of supplemental vitamin C.
How Much Vitamin C Is Enough
Most of the studies Moyad and his colleagues examined used 500 daily milligrams of vitamin C to achieve health results. That’s much higher than the RDA of 75-90 milligrams a day for adults. So unless you can eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, you may need to take a dietary supplement of vitamin C to gain all the benefits, Moyad says. He suggests taking 500 milligrams a day, in addition to eating five servings of fruits and vegetables.
“It is just not practical for most people to consume the required servings of fruits and vegetables needed on a consistent basis, whereas taking a once-daily supplement is safe, effective, and easy to do,” Moyad says. He also notes that only 10% to 20% of adults get the recommended nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
Moyad says there is no real downside to taking a 500-milligram supplement, except that some types may irritate the stomach. That’s why he recommends taking a non-acidic, buffered form of the vitamin. “The safe upper limit for vitamin C is 2,000 milligrams a day, and there is a great track record with strong evidence that taking 500 milligrams daily is safe,” he says.
Continued
Still, American Dietetic Association spokeswoman Dee Sandquist, RD, suggests doing your best to work more fruits and vegetables into your diet before taking supplements.
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Signs And Symptoms Of Too Much
Taking very large doses of vitamin C has been shown to cause an overdose in this vitamin, also referred to as vitamin C toxicity. Some symptoms of vitamin C overdose can include:
- Digestive issues like diarrhea, nausea or abdominal cramps
- Heartburn
- Atherosclerosis
- Rebound scurvy
Levels of vitamin C in the blood are controlled by the kidneys. One of the biggest concerns with vitamin C overdose is the risk for kidney stone formation, so vitamin C supplements are not usually recommended for men and others at risk for oxalate stones.
Very high doses can acidify the urine, cause digestive issues and interfere with antioxidant balance in the body. Among people who have the conditions thalassemia or hemochromatosis, too much vitamin C can cause iron overload.
What effects can taking too much vitamin C during pregnancy have?
Pregnant women need about 85 milligrams per day of vitamin C, while breastfeeding women require about 120 mg/day. Too much vitamin C during pregnancy can lead to diarrhea, nausea and possibly dehydration, which can pose a risk to the baby.
Its possible these effects can impact levels of amniotic fluid, especially if vomiting and severe dehydration occur over long periods of time.
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What Is The Evidence That Vitamin C Acts As An Antioxidant In Humans
The most conclusive evidence that vitamin C acts as an antioxidant in humans has come from supplementation studies using specific biomarkers of oxidative damage to lipids, DNA, and proteins. Because these specific oxidative biomarkers have only recently been developed and continue to be evaluated, only relatively few studies have investigated the effects on these biomarkers of supplementation with antioxidant micronutrients, including vitamin C.
Lipid oxidation
Numerous studies in humans have investigated the effects on the oxidizability of LDL of vitamin C supplementation in combination with vitamin E or -carotene or both . Studies have been carried out in smokers , nonsmokers , and persons with hypercholesterolemia or cardiovascular disease . In all cases, a significant reduction in LDL oxidizability was observed. It is, however, difficult to determine the relative contribution of vitamin C in these studies because of the presence of the cosupplements, of which vitamin E appears to be the major contributor to protection of LDL. This is because vita-min E is the most abundant lipid-soluble antioxidant associated with LDL .
DNA oxidation
Protein oxidation
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Bioavailability Of Vitamin C
The bioavailability of vitamin C is 80% or higher at intake levels from 15 to 100 mg/day . The higher the vitamin C intake, the lower the absorption rate at an intake level of 1,250 mg/day or more, it is less than 50% . The European Food Safety Authority takes a bioavailability of about 80% at an intake of 100 mg vitamin C/day as a basis for deriving the reference values for vitamin C intake .
How Much Vitamin C Should I Be Taking
Recommended intakes of vitamin C have been developed by the Food and Nutrition Board. These are much higher than the amount required to prevent deficiency:
- Infants, 0-6 months: 40mg
- Infants, 7-12 months: 50mg
- Children, 1-3 years: 15mg
- Teenagers, 14-18 years: 75mg , 65mg
- Adults: 90mg , 75mg
- Pregnant women: 80mg , 85mg
- Breastfeeding women: 115mg , 120mg .
Whenever we have an infection or inflammation, our bodies require more vitamin C so your general intake should increase to cope with the extra demand.
Many factors can impair the absorption of vitamin C or increase a persons requirement for it. The following people should include an extra 50-100mg of vitamin C per day in their diet or in the form of supplements:
- People with cancer or who have a compromised immune system
- People who drink alcohol daily or excessively
- People with diabetes
- Pregnant or breastfeeding women
- Smokers.
Rates of vitamin C deficiency vary around the world with rates as low as 7.1% in the United States to nearly 74% in India. Total vitamin C deficiency manifesting as scurvy is rare.
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Should I Take More Vitamin C When Im Sick
Many people pop vitamin C pills when they feel a cold coming on. Though vitamin C helps the immune system, it does very little for a cold.
A study from the Australian National University found that vitamin C supplements did not prevent colds at all. Supplementation, in a few cases, helped people get over the cold a little bit faster since about 8 percent of participants had one less day of sickness due to vitamin C.
If you want to play it safe and add more vitamin C when youre sick, its still best to do it through food. Add more citrus or greens. Even if the vitamin C doesnt make a difference, the healthy food will help you feel better.
What Does Vitamin C Do
Vitamin C has many roles when it comes to promoting health, such as:
- Acting as an antioxidant, helping protect against free radical damage and slowing the effects of aging.
- Counteracting the negative effects of sun damage, cigarette smoke, air pollution and other environmental stressors.
- Supporting the immune system to protect against illnesses.
- Helping form collagen and maintain connective tissue, including the skin, bones, joints and blood vessels.
- Supporting eye health/vision and potentially reducing the risk for cataracts.
- Helping reduce the risk of certain types of cancers and cardiovascular disease.
- Facilitating absorption of iron.
Certain people can benefit from getting even higher amounts of vitamin C than the general population, including those who:
- smoke or around secondhand smoke
- people who eat a poor diet lacking vegetables and fruits
- those with medical conditions, such as severe malabsorption, cancer and kidney disease
Researchers shows that vitamin C deficiency symptoms most often affects those with severe malnourishment, drug and alcohol abusers, or those living in poverty.
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Vitamin C May Not Reduce Cold Symptoms But It Helps Your Immune System
Vitamin C doesnt appear to prevent colds or do much when it comes to reducing cold symptoms. However, it still plays an important role in your health. It helps with cell protection, absorption of iron, immune system functioning, and producing collagen, which helps heal wounds.
Most people should get vitamin C from their diets, not over-the-counter supplements or products like Emergen-C and Airborne. But some groups may be at an increased risk of not getting enough, including smokers, people with limited food variety, and people with certain chronic diseases or absorption issues.
The National Institutes of Health recommends daily intake of 90 mg of vitamin C for adult males and 75 mg for adult females. Smokers require an additional 35 mg daily. Thats easily achievable through fruits and vegetables. For example, a medium orange has 70 mg of vitamin C, and a medium grapefruit has 78 mg.
Be careful not to take more than the recommended amount, though. Taking too much vitamin C can cause diarrhea, nausea, and stomach cramps.
Dr O.
Does Taking Vitamin C Help To Prevent Colds
Studies have shown that taking vitamin C does not help to prevent colds.
In a systematicreview, taking a daily dose of vitamin C was not shown to decrease the likelihood of getting sick with an upper respiratory infection . Commonly used over-the-counter vitamin C products like Emergen-C and Airborne have 1 gram of vitamin C per packet or tablet. It doesnt appear they prevent you from getting sick.
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Bone And Muscle Health
Because it plays a crucial role in the production of the structural protein collagen, vitamin C is an important nutrient for your bones.
What’s more, an August 2020 study in The Journal of Nutrition looked at data from over 13,000 older adults and found a link between low vitamin C levels and lower skeletal muscle mass as we age, suggesting that C can help preserve muscle mass.
