I learned something new the other day that really shocked me. Ascorbic acid is actually a synthetic form of vitamin C! Did you know this? I’ve known for a number of years that ascorbic acid was not a whole foods version of vitamin C, but didn’t realize that it was actually synthetic!
This is a rather sobering realization as almost all vitamin C supplements on the market use ascorbic acid. Even more disturbing – ascorbic acid is frequently marketed as natural vitamin C. Truly natural forms of vitamin C and synthetic ascorbic acid seem to be used interchangeably. How confusing for the consumer! Nearly all juices and fruit products are loaded up with ascorbic acid, even many organic, healthfood store versions. It seems that if a product is labeled “high in Vitamin C”, consumers buy more of it.
A lot of folks are being fooled by these misleading semantics and there is a growing body of evidence that those consuming high doses of ascorbic acid should have reason to worry. The Winter 2009 edition of Wise Traditions cites 3 studies which give pause about large doses of vitamin C. The first study (from the Jun 15, 2001 issue of Science) showed that “synthetic vitamin C may contribute to the formation of genotoxins that can lead to cancer”.
A second study presented to the American Heart Association showed a link between consumption of only 500mg of vitamin C per day and a greater propensity toward thickening of the arteries (Los Angeles Times, March 3, 2000). Even more recently, athletes taking 1000mg of vitamin C per day showed reduced endurance capacity from interference with antioxidant enzymes (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Jan 2008).
This information should give pause to anyone who is actively taking synthetic vitamin C supplements such as those Emergen-C packets that are available everywhere, from pharmacies to healthfood stores. Supplements like these are NOT boosting immunity and are NOT good for you! Synthetic vitamins such as ascorbic acid act more like drugs in the body rather than whole food nutrients with all the available cofactors. Taking any synthetic vitamin can cause imbalances in the body and should be avoided.
Another worrisome and popular trend is the recommendation of some alternative health professionals to do a “vitamin C flush” during illness. This therapy (if you can call it that) calls for large doses of vitamin C until the onset of diarrhea. This approach to regaining wellness has never made any sense to me and now, with more studies indicating the danger of high doses of vitamin C, my caution seems well founded.
The best way to get vitamin C is from a whole foods source, which naturally provides this nutrient at a low dosage. For example, the vitamin C we use in our home is a chewable, ascerola cherry vitamin C. Each tablet only contains 30mg of vitamin C! When you get the whole foods version of vitamin C, you don’t need much at all. A truly natural vitamin C supplement is naturally low-dose.
Don’t forget about raw milk – a great source of vitamin C. The vitamin C in raw milk is mostly destroyed by pasteurization, by the way (along with many other nutrients). Fresh and lacto-fermented fruits and vegetables (like traditionally made saurkraut) are other excellent sources of the whole vitamin C complex.
Perhaps folks feel the need to take large doses of synthetic vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid because all the processed foods they are eating are so devoid of the nutrient in its whole form? Switching to whole foods and dumping those vitamin C supplements in the trash would be a much better approach to boosting immunity!
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
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Here are some sources for whole foods based vitamin C: http://www.radiantlifecatalog.com, springreen acerola tablets, and Nutrilite's chewable acerola C tablets
Unfortunately, they don’t sell either of those on their site anymore. They do have other options, but they do not have chewables. I’ve tried finding chewables around the internet and it’s virtually impossible. Haven’t found any that are sold in the US. Would you know of anywhere else to look?
Yes, the only acerola they carry is cut with ascorbic acid, the stuff sold in the infant formula package. Too bad it doesn’t say at what ratio either. Also, mega dose vitamin C has become a new thing, not that “you don’t need that much if it’s natural”. They’re not downing that much vitamin C to maintain health, they’re downing that much vitamin C in an attempt to fix problems. I think this is also used as part of cancer treatment now. My parents got real big into it, and my brother also tried it, but they all have to take breaks off of the supplements because they develop kidney problems. I’m still trying to convince them to stop. http://www.naturalnews.com/030599_vitamin_C_mega_dose.html http://www.how-to-boost-your-immune-system.com/vitamin-c-megadose.html
Hi! My name is Amy. I am a new reader of your blog and have loved everything that I have been reading and watching. I just recently bought myself Nourishing Traditions and am excited about reading through it. I have borrowed it from the library a few times to read some. I have a suggestion for you: I listen to Jack Stockwell. He is a holistic physician / chiropractor. He airs a health show Wednesday morning 7-9 in Utah on http://www.k-talk.com. He talks about nutrition and about a product brand called Standard Process. They are whole food vitamins. I take that for Vit. C. Anyway, I would love to call you my friend. It is nice to find someone who believes as I do and has knows even more than I do and can teach me. I am going to try soaking my 10 grain mix flour that I make for my baking. If you want to see me: http://amyleeskids.blogspot.com
Thanks!
Welcome Amy! So glad to have you along on this adventure with me!
Sarah,
I am new to you blog, and am very interested in your July GAPS postings. Our son was recently started on Vitamin C 1000mg 2x a day, after reading this post I am definitely questioning the advisability of this dose, especially since Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride in Gut and Psychology Syndrome also recommends keeping supplements to minimum. Do you have a good recommendation for a whole food vitamin supplement? Thanks and I look forward to your future posts.
1000 mg of vitamin C twice a day is not a good idea for anyone, least of all a child, in my opinion. It is obviously a synthetic version of vitamin C also if the dosage is that high. We use Nutrilite Acerola C chewables which are 30mg per tablet and a whole food source of C.
New here as well;0)
Thank you for an interesting piece.
I am trying to get my paws on a natural vitamin C but even though they call themselves “natural”, “natures only” etc. there is nothing *natural* in sight!! The amounts of misinformation (lies) we are meet by daily are simply shocking!
Kathrine, Denmark
Hi Sarah, Thanks always for your blog. I thought I might add that many “natural” food companies add ascorbic acid to their products. (I think as a sort of preservative and to help maintain color). We discovered it in baby food several years ago such as peaches and bananas. (which I know now is not the best food anyhow…we have been making adjustments accordingly) My son would have severe regurgitation after consuming anything with ascorbic acid in it. He has a graphic tongue (as do I) and it would make it flare up. We just ended up switching to fresh fruits or those that I cooked myself. We have a new little girl in the family and I hope to avoid those problems by using traditional foods methods!
Kim
Where do you purchase the Nutrilite Acerola? I can’t seem to find them.
What’s this world coming to? … Perpetrators should be held accountable! How can raw milk be illegal and stuff like this isn’t? I don’t get it!
I looked for the Nutrilite Acerola C chewables and they are only in Phillipines? So where do you get them or have you switched to another since you’ve posted that?
Thanks so much! I’m really upset I spent a lot on Vit C thinking it was the non synthetic kind and just looked and it was ascorbic acid
What is the general consensus of lycospheric Vit C? Is it worth the money? I’m kicking myself after reading this – we’ve spent a small fortune in Emergen-C over the years…
Ya…we did the same with Emergen-C…until my husband got a Kidney stone, and I put it together it was from all the packets of Emergen-C that we were downing all in the name of being healthy! ha! Now we use acerola powder.
Great post!
Hi Sarah. Thanks for another great article. How do you feel about Camu Camu? I have a source of powder for it and it is supposed to be one of the highest plant forms of vit c available. We take it in capsules or powder and feel great. Wondering your thoughts. Thanks!
Caldwell’s starter culture has ascorbic acid. Is this something i SHOULD’NT use/consume?
Sara,
Where are you currently getting your Vitamin C ? I have been searching everywhere for pure acerola with no ascorbic acid and I can’t find any. The Nutilite you mentioned a few years ago no longer has acerola.
Google Amla C Plus by Pure Planet
yes, it would be better if they were turning on their own glutathione….. 1 million times more powerful than Vit. C…and Vit C can’t do it’s job without it!!!
how about sodium ascorbate?
Hmmmm not loving this article.
an offshoot of misinformation, i believe. high doses of Vit. C can cause urine precipitation and sedimentation that can lead to renal problems.
The real vitamins from fruits and veggies are always better.
3x the amount of vitamin C in broccoli than oranges, add rice and cheese?
Something I didn’t know!! I buy vitamins for my children that are made from only whole food sources, yet, I discovered after reading this link that they’re vitamins actually use ascorbic acid! Thanks for the post and keep up the great work!
I take powdered vit c, 1tsp and powdered glutamine, 1tsp in water every morning to heal my gut…natural good source cof course…any comments? Rebecca what do you mean turning on their own? With foods? What about therapeutic situations of sickness?
High dose vitamin C can cause cartilage damage. Wish I had known that all those years ago. Combined with pseudoephedrine as was common in the 90′s for sinus conditions…really bad for joints!
Sarah, Do you trust Amway products? This Nutrilite chewable acerola only place I can find it is on Amway, but I’m not quite sure about reputation of this company. Any suggestions?
http://www.amway.com/Shop/Product/Product.aspx/NUTRILITE-Kids-Natural-C-Chewables-180-Count?itemno=A5353
this sucks. more money down the drain. Oh well!
Actually, mega-dosing vitamin C *does* boost immunity, but that doesn’t make it a good idea as a habit. Since we learned about it, we have ended tons of tooth, breast, & UT infections in our house and among friends, although our primary strategy, of course, is to prevent these through superb nutrition. There is no doubt the mega-C doses work.
BUT – I have never thought anyone should take synthetic C daily, and I am always looking for information about how much *real* C it takes to megadose. I know you wouldn’t need 20,000mg of C if you used acerola, but how much would you need? I don’t know, b/c I only ever try C when there’s an acute infection, and at those times, I don’t want to play around waiting to get well; I want the infection gone. I keep meaning to do a systematic experiment where I find out exactly how much camu-camu or acerola it takes to do the same thing, or at least to reach bowel tolerance, but I haven’t had the chance to yet.
I’d love to find out if there is anyone out there who has. Never will I give up C and go back to antibiotics instead, but I would far rather use natural C. Would it take just 100mg natural C for every 1000mg synthetic? I just don’t know.
I knew an article on ascorbic acid would eventually come out. Thank you.
((
the Emergen C drink helps me get rid of colds and sickness quickly and feel better. Is that synthetic? Whatever it is feels good and works well and I haven’t seen bad side effects yet. Interested to learn more though.
I’ve tried and tried to convince even my most naturally-minded friends that synthetic vitamin C is harmful to health. I encourage rose hips (capsules and tea) and eating high vitamin C organic foods, such as bell peppers, dark leafy greens, kiwis, oranges and strawberries. Thanks so much for bringing this to people’s attention!
I’ve started taking Camu Camu. Natural HUGE doses of Vit C. Makes you feel great!!! IT offers advantages other than just Vit C as well.
a good healthy diet promoting a natural high is the best!
I’m fairly new to your blog but am delighted and overwhelmed by the sheer volume of useful knowledge here on nutrition and wellness. I’m disappointed to find out about the vitamin C packets. I have used them as a substitute for when I crave a soda or when I need a boost but so glad to know they aren’t all they are cracked up to be.
I like to add rosehips to any herbal preparations if we are sick. Otherwise we just eat the real food.
So, is this article written by a 4 year old or is it just very smart advertising for whole foods?
I wonder if this is ok…? http://www.iherb.com/Madre-Labs-Madre-C-Vitamin-C-6-35-oz-180-g/17628
super allergic/sensitive to synthetic C, always have been… interesting that I’ve been craving raw milk since I was sick, our bodies are smart! Wish more N.P
sorry, N.P’s would get this information!!!
Sigh. Nothing like a good little wake-up call to remind me that despite all of my efforts – I can’t get lazy. How it never occurred to me that Emergen-C was artificial is beyond me. What the heck was I thinking! Granted, I haven’t used it in ages because I haven’t been sick in ages, but the second I feel a cold coming on, I typically down a glass of water with that mixed in. BAH! Into the trash it goes. Thanks Sarah!
When vitamins and minerals were discovered it seems the first thing they did was try to remove them from real food and put them in stuff. Just eat real food.
Read how iron supplements are made. Scary!
Sarah James – my husband is training for a half Iron Man and he drinks kombucha. It’s made a world of difference for him and he tries to tell everyone he can. I brew about four gallons at a time for my family – he ends up with most of it.
So glad to read this. I had read in several places how Vit C heals your heart and I wanted to get off the meds I’m on. I started taking 1-2,000 mg of Vit C like I had read. Guess I won’t do that any more! Thanks so much!
Often made in China. So who knows how pure it is either. I only trust my homemade, homegrown juice…
True Vitamin C is great, Pat, synthetic ascorbic acid- not so much. Work on getting full spectrum Vitamin C from food sources (amla berry, camu camu, etc) with associated bioflavonoids, etc.
What about the vit C therapy during whooping cough?
We used vitamin c aka ascorbic acid this past winter to treat our daughter’s whooping cough. We had tried everything from broth, lemon juice syrup w/ honey, spices, essential oils – everything except traditional medicine. She was getting worse and vomited every time she coughed. Within 24 hours of starting the AA she was markedly better and in 2 days a different child. There are some great articles on line about the benefits of vitamin c therapy for treating whooping cough.
Dr Suzanne Humphries recommends powdered sodium ascorbate, not ascorbic acid, for whooping cough. We have been using it for our wc with great results. Available from amazon.com.
I did NOT know that…ugh and thanks!
I’m disappointed with this specific blog. I think it’s not well researched and while I realize that this is a personal blog, I’m hugely disappointed that readers may not understand that this is a lay person writing it and not someone who is trained to objectively assess data, or has a deep understanding of the body and it’s biochemical functions. For every study stating the concerns of vitamins, there are 10 more that state the opposite, vitamin C included. And those “whole food” vitamins people are taking are not regulated, not standardized, and many of those companies do not have proper quality assurance measures. I agree that food is always the best (and should b the first) medicine, but we also have to consider how depleted our soil is when considering foods (and whole foods vitamins, which are not often whole food at all) as the single source, along with pesticides and other growing practices.
Didn’t Linus Pauling use ascorbic acid?
MaryK my husband and were just talking about this!!! thehealthyhomeeconomist is just another person with no training in medicine, natural or western. #annoying!
Vitamin C therapy under certain dire circumstances is fine as ascorbic acid – being synthetic is actually a drug anyway in my opinion. Using drugs under certain conditions of serious illness is fine. Now, I don’t agree with these folks who are addicted to the Vitamin C intravenous therapy just for the cosmetic benefits for example.
I was reading about synthetic vitamins yesterday and have stopped my vitamins immediately! Juice an orange
@MaryK and Stephanie sniff, sniff oh stop. You’ve hurt my feelings. NOT!
I would probably consider anyone eating SAD under dire circumstances! lol!
Hadn’t heard of IV therapy for cosmetic reasons! The dentist used it on me after doing some major work, though, and I do think it helped, but who knows?
Gosh, thehealtyhomeeconomist – I don’t think anyone is trying to hurt your feelings : however you could be hurting someone by this post. Wake up my lady and stop talking from your EGO
Thanks for the tip Amy.
Many, including the emergen-c packets contain artificial sweeteners as well. Synthetic vitamin c and aspartame? No thanks.
People have become so mean online… Just because you’re at your computer, doesn’t mean that it’s okay not to use common decency. It is a beautiful world where we can disagree on something and not insult the person. Thank you Sarah for your opinion on vitamin c. Also, I sometimes don’t agree with you:) I imagine you wouldn’t agree with everything I believe; and I’m sure would not put me down for it.
thehealthyhomeeconomist @MaryK and Stephanie sniff, sniff oh stop. You’ve hurt my feelings. NOT! : enough said I think
I’d like to research this more. I’m not fully sold on her opinion. There is a lot of information out there as well about high doses of vitamin C being fabulous for many forms of healing, including cancer. Perhaps daily use or recreational use is suspect, but I’m not fully convinced about mega-dosing for illness. (See: http://www.doctoryourself.com/ and the film Food Matters)
NOW brand uses GMO corn for their Vit C. I was furious when I found out. I refuse to buy any of their products.
I have been reading the newsletter from Orthomolecular Journal for a few years now. The trouble with “mainstream” medical studies on vitamins is that they truly intend to prove vitamins are dangerous so we can trust pharmaceuticals instead. The two sources you cite do not indicate a true alarm just yet, in my mind. I trust the science in the WAPF journal, but not the AHA. The WAPF article said “may contribute”, so it is not established as a cause. Correlation does not equal causation.
The comments mention kidney issues from vitamin C. There is no proof in the medical literature. It is a rumor. By the way Emergen-C has 6 g of sugar in each packet. Maybe the issue isn’t the vitamin in there, it is the fructose.
There were researchers in the 1940′s and earlier which published medical papers on how to cure cancer and other diseases with vitamin C. Specific protocols were outlined. Now that I follow a more whole foods approach to health, I can see your point. The scientists that are still studying vitamins and using megadoses to cure are using them in an allopathic way. I prefer a more holistic approach. However, vitamins are infinitely safer than drugs and they are just as or more effective. Niacin megadosing has been shown to manage symptoms of schizophrenia. Perhaps that means that people who suffer this mental illness have vitamin absorption issues. (I am aware of the GAPS diet, etc…) How much safer is niacin compared with the concoction mental patients are normally prescribed?
I have done an ascorbic flush and will continue to use this approach. I have found it very effective for the onset of colds and the management of cold symptoms without side effects. The ascorbic flush can also be used as a detox protocol.
Don’t believe me. Check it out yourself orthomed.org and doctoryourself.com (on the latter one, I ignore the vegetarian advice).
When I had poison ivy, the MD with ‘training in medicine’ sold me steroids. Yup. The regular ‘person’ recommended Zanfel, the cure. Strange, I know, but the information was better from the alternative source. http://www.zanfel.com/help/
Nice article, but many many doctors used vitamin C to treat many illnesses like infections or even cancer. Linus Pauling a great scientific recommended many grams of vitamin C every day… I think you need to take this into consideration and not make your whole point of view with some studies that has been done mentioned in your article. I’m not saying those studies are not important, but there are a lot showing the goodness of high dose of vitamin C. Here is a very good article about vitamin C and its effectiveness http://www.naturalnews.com/028396_vitamin_C_nutrition.html
Interesting. I’ve been using Emergen-C for years. Never really knew the difference between ascorbic acid and natural Vitamin C. Thanks for sharing this! Here’s a helpful article on this topic. The product that’s highlighted looks very good.
http://drbenkim.com/natural-vitamin-c-benefits.htm
I think you just need to look for a trusted brand. I’ve seen over the last ten years the exponential growth of maybe thousands of supposedly vit. c supplement that come in various forms, e.g., pill, powdered, chewable, gum, etc. Feeling a bit overwhelmed, I thought it was incredulous. I once tried one of these instant powder vit. c drink in a packet. I had diarrhea for three days. It was supposed to get rid of toxins but not for three days straight. And yes, I read an article about fake ones. So be very careful as probably most of those vit. c supplements don’t really deliver what they promise.
Food for thought.Can you please post the link to the Wise Traditions article you cite? I could not find an article about Vitamin C in the Winter 2009 edition posted online. Thank you in advance.
It seems like megadose therapy and the form of Vitamin C used are mashed up here. Megadose vitamin therapy for cancers and other ailments has been used successfully utilized for a long time. Orthomolecular medicine draws in part from Linus Pauling’s work and has had an incredible life-giving impact on my own health.
Let’s get definitions straight. “Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid, or simply ascorbate (the anion of ascorbic acid), is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. Vitamin C refers to a number of vitamers that have vitamin C activity in animals, including ascorbic acid and its salts, and some oxidized forms of the molecule like dehydroascorbic acid. Ascorbate and ascorbic acid are both naturally present in the body when either of these is introduced into cells, since the forms interconvert according to pH.”
From Wikipedia: “Ascorbic acid is a naturally occurring organic compound with antioxidant properties. It is a white solid, but impure samples can appear yellowish. It dissolves well in water to give mildly acidic solutions. Ascorbic acid is one form (“vitamer”) of vitamin C. It was originally called L-hexuronic acid, but when it was found to have vitamin C activity in animals (“vitamin C” being defined as a vitamin activity, not then a specific substance), the suggestion was made to rename L-hexuronic acid. The new name for L-hexuronic acid is derived from a- (meaning “no”) and scorbutus (scurvy), the disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin C. Because it is derived from glucose, many animals are able to produce it, but humans require it as part of their nutrition.
The name vitamin C always refers to the L-enantiomer of ascorbic acid and its oxidized forms. The opposite D-enantiomer called D-ascorbate has equal antioxidant power, but is not found in nature, and has no physiological significance.”
So, vitamin C = ascorbic acid. D-ascorbate is synthesized and unnatural, so stay away from it. What we need to be aware of is that since the 90s, production of most of the world’s vitamin c uses a genetically modified microbe in the process. Prior to that, an acetone-based conversion method called the Reichstein process was utilized. The modern method is actually more of a biological process than the old one, albeit one of the microbes utilized has been genetically modified.
You’ll have to make up your mind on that one. I’m ardently anti-GMO, yet I know that not a single person in this discussion is GMO-free unless you’ve been living a sheltered life away from all human activity. That said, it makes sense to look at your products carefully. Many supplements are filled with unnecessary and potentially harmful fillers and allergens.
I have used Emergen-C for years. I just looked at the two flavors I have on hand and found zero aspartame; the aspartic acid listed is an amino acid that is found naturally in many foods, as well as used in the manufacture of aspartame. You can read more about ingredients and manufacturing here: http://www.emergenc.com/index.php/misc/faq#
Another form of vitamin C to consider is calcium ascorbate. Because of its chelating action, vitamin C can leach calcium and other minerals, not a great side effect. Taking it with calcium is recommended, as they help in each other’s absorption. This form is used for elderly, young, athletes and the ailing because it’s more readily absorbed due to its alkalinity.
Food is definitely our best medicine–the cleaner and closest to natural form being the most desirable, of course. But if you need supplementation due to chronic or acute illness, be sure to educate yourself on the source, form, ingredients, and the manufacturing process. If you have access to affordable camu camu, rosehips or any of a plethora of other nutritious superfoods, they are your best high-power supplementation. If not, probe those bottles of pills and powders carefully.
and I read in another article is a GM product….
It is a GM product, for the most part. I sometimes take ascorbic acid when I happen to catch a cold or flu … I agree that it should be treated as a medical intervention, and not as a daily supplement. Camu or Acerola is far better if you’d like to take a daily supplement. As a medical intervention it’s far, far less risky than pharmaceuticals.
Much of the ascorbic acid used in US is derived from CORN. Estimates of GM corn in US = 75%. (Personally, I’m intolerant to corn, so one more ingredient to avoid, for me, for sure!)
What about Ester C? It has calcium ascorbate. Does that metabolize as ascorbic acid?
Overall, I like this article, the information within and the discussion it has provoked, and agree that wholefood-sourced nutrients and co-factors are always best from a general every-day health perspective outside a clinical setting. But, I become uncomfortable when comparing isolated vitamin C (synthetic or otherwise) to a drug – even to say its effects are ‘drug-like’. I feel we already have a challenge on our hands to prevent Big Pharma controlling the supplement market and lobbying government for classification of such supplements as drugs to become prescription-only and thus dominated by government and industry. Please let’s be very careful how we language this.
Any thoughts on vitamin c as calcium ascorbate? Rainbow Light’s Buffered vitamin c powder contains this version.
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