Bowel Tolerance – how to maximise Vitamin C dosing
Vitamin C
This information is about how to get high plasma (blood) levels of Ascorbic Acid via oral dosing.
Vitamin C is a complex of ascorbic acid, bioflavonoids and minerals as found in fresh plant foods. The active principle is Ascorbic Acid (AA).
Ascorbic Acid is converted from glucose and quickly enters cells by the same pathway. The enzyme converting glucose to ascorbic acid is lacking in humans but most animals have it and produce ascorbic acid on demand.
For an adult human to have similar body tissue amounts to animals we need a daily intake of about 10 grams (10,000 mg). When sick or stressed this amount can quickly increase to around 30 grams, even 50 or 100 grams in extremes.
Buffering Ascorbic Acid
Ascorbic Acid tastes just like that – its an acid. Very sour and acidic.
The acidity is easily neutralised by adding Sodium Bicarbonate (SB) in the ratio 1 measure AA to ½ measure SB in water. This converts the Ascorbic Acid to Sodium Ascorbate which is more pleasant to drink. Our digestion removes the sodium which is readily flushed via the urine. Calcium Ascorbate is another buffered C but we don’t flush the calcium as easily.
Sodium Ascorbate is commonly available as a powder.
Higher Doses
Ascorbic Acid is as powerful as a pharmaceutical yet safe even at high doses. The worst that can happen is diarrhoea.
The most effective way to reach high tissue levels of Ascorbic acid is via intravenous drip but the method is not easy to access. Its very effective and can achieve plasma levels 2½ times that of oral dosing.
Another method is with “Lipsomal” Ascorbic Acid, where the Ascorbic Acid is encapsulated in liposomes (fat droplets) for excellent absorption without bowel discomfort. Its expensive but absolutely worth using in extreme health challenges to push the plasma Ascorbic Acid levels well above the bowel tolerance limit of pure powder. The liposomes also have affinity to cell membranes and are the best way to ensure cellular penetration ascorbic acid.
Pure crystalline powder is accessible and affordable but there’s a limit to how much can be taken before the bowel reaches its absorption limit and causes diarrhoea. The good news is that it doesn’t take long for the bowel to get used to Ascorbic Acid and you can soon find the best routine to maximise absorption. Its takes experimentation but there’s only two things to play with
- how much per dose
- how often to dose
It is difficult to achieve high plasma levels with Buffered Ascorbic Acid such as Sodium Ascorbate. Pure crystalline Ascorbic Acid powder is best – mix it in a sweet juice to disguise the taste.
Method
Start out taking ½ teaspoon of ascorbic acid morning and evening, then add ½ teaspoon at midday. Use a measuring spoon, a half teaspoon is a bit more than 2 grams (2000 mg).
The next step is adding ½ teaspoon at midday.
These amounts can then be increased step by step. You are aiming to absorb as much Ascorbic Acid as possible before the bowel starts to loosen.
If the bowel becomes too loose for comfort its time to slow down or stop.
Bowel Tolerance means “loose stool”. It doesn’t mean diarrhoea.
Sometimes when unwell such as the onset of influenza we could soak up a teaspoon of Ascorbic Acid every couple of hours and find we need up to 40 grams to reach bowel tolerance. It’s amazing how much Ascorbic Acid the body will consume when ill or under stress.
Long Term Maintenance
It’s worth knowing what your bowel tolerance actually is. You’ll gain insight into the benefit of ascorbic acid plus have the experience to use this marvelous compound as a powerful therapy.
An interesting part of this experience is learning how much ascorbic acid your body can actually use. When very unwell it can be easy to soak up 30 grams in a day.
When the task of staying at bowel tolerance has finished helping resolve your health challenge its time to reduce the dose back to daily maintenance – a baseline of 5 to 10 grams in divided doses. For children the baseline is about 1 gram daily for each year of age.
Remember that Ascorbic Acid is a water soluble vitamin so a dose is effective for around six hours. Frequent dosing is best, minimum twice daily.
