Vitamin Information Center

I woke up with a sore throat and a bad attitude last week.

The sore throat was the first symptom, followed soon after by a runny nose and a lot of sneezing. And the raunchy mood resulted when I realized I was coming down with my second cold in less than a month.

I do not have time to be sick!

I went months without any kind of cold, and then to have two within weeks of each other, well, it was very discouraging.

So I immediately began doubling my daily intake of Emergen-C. Normally I take a packet in the morning and a packet at night. Sometimes, after a run of more than six miles or so, I take a packet before and after the run to deal with an occasional post-run headache.

By the second day, the cold was worse, but my resolve to beat it remained. I took six packets a day, in bottles of water, and by the fourth day, the cold had gotten much better. Six days after that first sore throat, I am almost symptom-free.

As I was driving home one night this week, I heard a radio commercial for a vitamin C supplement. What I found interesting is that it cited two studies that found higher doses of vitamin C can lengthen your life, help with PMS, and are a natural anti-inflammatory. Seriously, can this be true? And was it possible to overdose on vitamin C?
So I did some research. At first, I was more confused than ever as different studies and scientists offered different opinions.

But I did find some of what I was looking for. First, if you take more vitamin C than your body needs, you will just get rid of it.

“You really can’t overdose on water-soluble vitamins,” said Ken Hollen of Diet and Sport Nutrition, who has become my go-to guy on supplements. “What will happen is that you will get diarrhea.”

A person would need to take 10,000 to 13,000 mg to get to that point. I was taking six packets of Emergen-C, which has a lot of other vitamins and minerals in it, but that means I was taking 6,000 mg of vitamin C. (In fact, one article I found said it’s best to take vitamin C in conjunction with other vitamins or nutrients because of the synergistic effect that mimics whole food and reduces negative side effects.)

Another article made the point that megadosing any vitamin or mineral can throw your system out of balance, so you should consult a doctor or nutritionist to make sure you don’t create a different problem for yourself.

Hollen also pointed out, as did two of the articles I read, that taking vitamin C with calcium ascorbate can buffer your stomach and make sure you don’t increase the acidity of your system. Unfortunately, many supplements, including my beloved Emergen-C, use ascorbic acid, which can cause increased acidity.

As for all of those fabulous things that infomercial said vitamin C could do for you, there are studies that show significant impacts on health by increasing the intake of vitamin C. The one I was most interested in was the anti-inflammatory properties. Hollen explained to me that because vitamin C is found in the fluid around the joints and ligaments, it removes some of the inflammatory properties, but it’s not significant enough to be taken for that purpose alone.

Interestingly, nearly all of the articles and studies I read said increasing vitamin C even a little bit would most likely make most people feel better.

Best Syndication) Although little research has been conducted on the ascorbic acid (vitamin C) needs of strength-power athletes (SPAs), what we know about the functions of ascorbic acid indicate that SPAs should probably be consuming ascorbic acid at levels above the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA). Research clearly shows that deficiency, or even marginal ascorbic acid status, can adversely affect physical performance. For example, muscle weakness is a common symptom of vitamin C deficiency.Vitamin C has several functions that would be important to the performance of SPAs. For example, vitamin C is needed for the integrity and strength of tendons and ligaments. Ascorbic acid also is needed for the synthesis of adrenaline, which is needed to produce the excitatory state before and during performance. Adequate intake of the vitamin causes a lower release of the hormone, cortisol, in response to physical stress. Cortisol is a catabolic hormone that causes the body to break down skeletal muscle.

Thus, lower secretion of this hormone may result in better performance. In general, any physical stress could cause an increased need for vitamin C. Finally, ascorbic acid is a powerful water-soluble antioxidant. Research has established that physical training, including weightlifting, causes an increased production of oxidative damage markers. Vitamin C, in its antioxidant capacity, would function to reduce the level of these damage products.

Studies do seem to indicate that strenuous physical activity increases the need for vitamin C. Animal and human studies show reduced tissue levels of ascorbic acid with exercise. Reduced urinary excretion of the vitamin following exercise has also been reported. Several studies show better heat adaptation with improved vitamin C status. One study, using junior elite weightlifters, did report a reduced serum cortisol concentration in the lifters following a training session when the lifters had been consuming a vitamin C supplement versus when they consumed a placebo.

The Recommended Dietary Allowance for vitamin C is 60 mg/day. However, recent studies in nonathletes suggest that an optimal vitamin C intake is more likely to be around 200 mg/day. Because physical training, such as weightlifting, places stress on the body, optimal vitamin C needs in SPAs may be 200 mg or higher. Vitamin C and exercise studies generally indicate that intakes of various athletes should be in the 200-500 mg/day range. Minimal evidence shows that intake of ascorbic acid above 1000 mg daily is beneficial to a person in general or to athletes specifically.

Although vitamin C supplements are inexpensive to purchase and easy to take, many athletes can easily consume 200 mg/day or more in their normal diets. Studies with body­builders and football players show normal vitamin C intake to be 180-300 mg/day. A single 8-ounce glass of orange juice will provide approximately 100-120 mg of vitamin C. If the athlete consumes a proper selection of high vitamin C fruits and vegetables, then meeting the 200-500 mg/day intake level should not be a problem. Although ascorbic acid is a nontoxic vitamin, doses above 1 g/day may cause irritation and discomfort to the gastrointestinal system. Again, obtaining the vitamin from proper dietary selection is the best way to proceed.