You probably already know that vitamin C is an amazing substance with various functions in the body like controling oxidative stress and supporting immune system function. But do you really know just how amazing it is?
This article presents three must-know superpowers of vitamin C, six ordinary powers of vitamin C, and then addresses questions many people have about vitamin C.
The following are three impressive results that have been obtained with the use of high-dose sodium ascorbate.
3 Must-Know Superpowers Of Vitamin C
The following superpowers of vitamin C are typically only accessed with high doses of sodium ascorbate (the sodium salt of ascorbic acid), usually in the range of dozens of grams by IV (intravenous) and by mouth in combination:
- Effective against every virus it has ever been tested against, including polio and hepatitis. Frederick R. Klenner, MD routinely cured polio with it
- Neutralizes many toxins, including snake venom
- Chelates lead but not mercury, but at least dramatically reduces mercury toxicity symptoms at sufficiently high doses
And many other benefits of high-dose vitamin C have been documented, such as aiding in the treatment of cancer.
However, vitamin C has many more "ordinary" powers in the body at lower doses. And if the body gets depleted of vitamin C due to chronic stress or illness, these other functions are diminished.
Ordinary Powers of Vitamin C
Vitamin C is involved in processes like the following:
- Immune cell activities like producing hydrogen peroxide to fight infections
- Production of collagen
- Support of blood vessel health
- Production of norepinephrine/noradrenaline and epinephrine/adrenaline in the brain and adrenal glands as a cofactor for the enzyme dopamine betahydroxylase, which converts dopamine into norepinephrine/noradrenaline and epinephrine/adrenaline
- Production of steroid hormones (e.g. cortisol and sex hormones)
- Recycling of other antioxidants like glutathione and vitamin E
Given the functions listed above, it's not surprising that concentrations of vitamin C are highest in leukocytes (white blood cells), eyes (rich in collagen and small blood vessels), adrenal glands (produce adrenaline and steroid hormones), pituitary gland, and the brain (production of norepinephrine and epinephrine).
It's worth noting that since mental alertness and physical energy are very dependent upon norepinephrine/noradrenaline and epinephrine/adrenaline, vitamin C status has an enormous influence on cognitive function, mood, and overall energy.
If you are like most people, you probably have some questions about vitamin C.
Common Questions About Vitamin C
You might be wondering ...
- Do I need to take high doses of vitamin C?
- What are the differences between IV vitamin C versus oral and liposomal vitamin C?
- Is it OK to take synthetic vitamin C (e.g. ascorbic acid or sodium ascorbate), or should I take whole food vitamin C?
- Is synthetic vitamin C made from GMOs or fermented?
- What about the potential dissociation of copper from ceruloplasmin?
- Should I be concerned about the prooxidant effects of vitamin C?
- What about the potential for high doses of vitamin C to form oxalate?
If you have any of these questions, read on.
Do I Need High Doses Of Vitamin C?
Infection, stress, and toxins (including bacterial endotoxin from a "leaky gut"), appear to cause vitamin C to leave the adrenal glands (the richest reservoir of vitamin C in the body) to go to the liver (to deal with toxins) and other parts of the body (e.g. the thymus gland to support immune function). And in a stress response of any kind, vitamin C stores get utilized more to produce more hormones involved in the stress response.
Depletion of vitamin C from the adrenal glands due to chronic psychological stress, infection, or toxicity may be a contributor to fatigue caused by reduced adrenal function. Ultimately, vitamin C must be replenished in adrenal glands depleted of vitamin C by chronic illness.
If you have had health challenges for a significant period of time, you are probably depleted of vitamin C. In your case, vitamin C in high-doses could important in your recovery. But an article like this cannot make a recommendation for how much vitamin C might be best for you.
IV Vitamin C, Oral Vitamin C, and Liposomal Vitamin C
Although most of the useful research on high-dose vitamin C was done with simultaneous IV and oral administration of simple sodium ascorbate, it appears that taking it in an oral liposomal form may be even more effective than IV vitamin C, according Thomas E. Levy, MD, JD in his book, Curing The Incurable, which is based on his experience and exploration of research high-dose vitamin C therapies.
In an article on his website, Dr. Levy estimates that each gram of properly produced liposomal sodium ascorbate taken by mouth has an effect that is equivalent to about 5-10 grans of intravenous vitamin C (typically sodium ascorbate) for an acute viral infection (but not necessarily for other situations). And 5-10 grams of intravenous sodium ascorbate would be far more effective than 5-10 grams of sodium ascorbate taken orally because not all of any quantity of vitamin C taken orally can be absorbed through the intestines.
So although liposomal vitamin C is far more expensive, it is far more effective and easier to reach higher doses without bowel upset than non-liposomal vitamin C taken orally. It may also be better even than IV administration. Plus you are also getting the benefits of the phospholipids used in the liposomes (typically phosphatidylcholine).
Dr. Levy has also said that ultrasonic treatment of lecithin and vitamin C does not create liposomes. It creates an emulsion that will improve intestinal absorption but not liposomes that facilitate transport into cells.
Quite possibly the best source of liposomal supplements of all kinds, including vitamin C, is Quicksilver Scientific (discount code eat4earth15). They have shown that their liposomes are smaller than other brands and have far higher absorption.According to Quicksilver Scientific, only transparent liposomal products have small enough liposomal particle size to be highly effective. Cloudy liposomal products are far less effective. Another good source is LivOn Laboratories, and LivOn's liposomal vitamin C is the one with which Dr. Levy has had positive experiences.
Ascorbic Acid Versus "Whole Food" Vitamin C
Ascorbic acid that you purchase in a supplement is synthetic (manufactured), and synthetic vitamin C is the only form that can provide the highly therapeutic doses that deliver the three "must-know" powers of vitamin C listed above. Whole food vitamin C cannot be used intravenously, liposomally, or at the doses required to achieve the results achieved in research on high-dose vitamin C therapies. However, whole food sources of vitamin C provide additional nutrients, such as bioflavonoids, that are certainly valuable.
The best approach to vitamin C intake is probably to rely on whole food sources whenever higher intake is not needed and to add liposomal sodium ascorbate if you would like to reach higher intake of vitamin C than can be provided by whole food sources.
When it comes to whole food sources of vitamin C, keep in mind that some whole food sources are high in substances you might be sensitive to, such as polyphenols and the specific type of phenols called salicylates. Some people have sensitivities to salicylates, other types of phenols, or phenols in general. If this is the case, be sure to look at food lists of low-phenol or low-salicylate foods to pick your whole food source(s) of vitamin C. For example, rose hips are considered high in salicylates, but camu camu berry is considered low in saliyclates, despite the fact that most berries are high in salicylates.
GMO And Fermented Vitamin C
Because much of the ascorbic acid on the market is synthesized from GMO corn, trace residues of glyphosate or GMO proteins could present a problem for sensitive people. Fermentation processes are also often used in the manufacture of ascorbic acid, and this can cause problems in people that are highly sensitive to fungal metabolites. In such cases, you would need to use non-GMO and/or non-fermented sources, which do exist.
What About Potential Dissociation Of Copper From Ceruloplasmin When Using Ascorbic Acid?
Some studies suggest that as little as 250-500 mg of ascorbic acid can cause copper to dissociate from ceruloplasmin, the protein that chaperones copper in the body. Dissociation of copper from ceruloplasmin could potentially lead to copper deficiency and/or copper dysregulation. This could also potentially lead to iron dysregulation since iron regulation depends on copper and normal copper regulation via ceruloplasmin.
However, many other studies using very high doses, sometimes for years, have shown no evidence of problems. The researchers in the majority of studies were probably not checking for copper depletion or dysreguation, but if this had been occuring to a significant degree, researchers probably would have seen symptoms of some kind in long term studies, such as iron deficiency or dysregulation, something that is commonly tracked in routine blood tests.
Also, effects on copper status may be different when sodium ascorbate is used instead of ascorbic acid. Sodium ascorbate is the form that is used in IV vitamin C therapy. Even if there is a risk of copper depletion with the use of sodium ascorbate, in the instances of snake venom toxicity, lead poisoning, sepsis, and chronic illness characterized by vitamin C depletion, the benefits of high-dose vitamin C probably far outweigh the potential disadvantage of mild copper depletion or dysregulation, at least for short-term, high-dose vitamin C therapy to overcome infection, toxicity, and/or severe vitamin C depletion.
Liposomal sodium ascorbate might avoid the copper / ceruloplasmin issue entirely because the phospholipid liposomal envelope shepherds the ascorbate into cells, likely avoiding any contact with copper / ceruloplasmin in the blood.
What About Prooxidant Effects Of Vitamin C?
An overall prooxidant effect in the body has been observed with doses of 500 mg or less, but not with higher doses, probably because the higher quantity of vitamin C overcomes the prooxidant effect.
Vitamin C also has cell-specific and tissue-specific prooxidant effects in cells that are abnormal (such as infected or cancerous cells), and this may help to eliminate these abnormal cells. A cell-specific or tissue-specific prooxidant influence is likely to occur when there are unbound catalytic minerals like iron and copper, which can be the case in red blood cells infected with Lyme-associated pathogens that cause iron to be released from hemoglobin.
High levels of unbound iron can also exist in hemochromatosis (iron overload). In people with hemochromatosis (iron overload) that have elevated ferritin, the storage form of iron, high-dose vitamin C could be contraindicated because it could cause too much oxidative stress.
However, in end stage renal (kidney) diseaes patients, vitamin C therapy has been shown to reduce ferritin levels and improve blood markers of iron status such as hemoglobin and hematocrit. In other words, vitamin C appears to help to reverse the "anemia of chronic disease" in which iron has moved out of blood into ferritin.
In people with G6PD deficiency, there is a risk of hemolysis (red blood cell destruction) from high-dose vitamin C therapy because G6PD deficiency leads to a deficiency of NADPH, one of the body's main electron donors that recycles oxidized vitamin C back to its antioxidant form.
So it is wise to get tested for G6PD deficiency before embarking on very high-dose vitamin C therapy. However, there have been very few cases of hemolysis due to high-dose vitamin C therapy in G6PD deficient people.
What About Vitamin C Forming Oxalate?
High-doses of vitamin C can potentially cause the formation of oxalate, which can cause kidney stones, pain, mitochondrial dysfunction, impairments in detoxification, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Although vitamin C can be metabolized into oxalate, typically only a small portion of it becomes oxalate and most oxidized vitamin C is excreted before it becomes oxalate.
However, when taking high doses of vitamin C, it is important to maintain a high fluid intake and urine volume, and extra caution should be taken in the presence of kidney disease. Very few incidences of kidney stone formation have been potentially attributable to high-dose vitamin C, and when it has occurred it has usually been in the presence of already-existing kidney disease. On the other hand, there is also some evidence that vitamin C may actually reduce the formation of kidney stones.
One of the consequences of oxalate accumulation is that it can compete with sulfate for the sulfate transporter. causing oxalate to get get transported into cells instead of sulfate. This is problematic because sulfate is a key compound in so many processes, including detoxification. Sulfate gets attached to compounds called phenols to clear them from the body. This is a phase 2 detoxification process is called sulfation.
The next article will explore in more detail how to minimize the potential of forming oxalate from vitamin C. In the meantime, if you have been experiencing health challenges, and you know that you need to do more than increase your intake of vitamin C, feel free to schedule a time to chat about whether I might be able to help.
You can do that by scheduling a 15-minute conversation or by first learning more about my approach by downloading the Bio-Individual Blueprint Roadmap and watching the walkthrough video.