Ascorbic acid supplement health benefit. A daily intake of 100 mg or more is appropriate
 September 27 2016 by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Ascorbic acid is required for the growth and repair of tissues. it is necessary to form collagen, an important protein used to make skin, scar tissue, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels. This nutrient is also essential for the healing of wounds, and for the repair and maintenance of cartilage, bones, and teeth.

Availability of ascorbic acid supplement
Countless products and formulas are sold either as single ingredients or combined in a multivitamin formula. Ascorbic acid comes by itself in dosage ranging from 100 to 1000 mg, it comes as powder, as Ester C, mixed in multivitamin formulas, and combined with rose hips, etc.

MultiVit Rx high Quality Daily Vitamins and Minerals with daily requirement of ascorbic acid and rose hips - 500 mg

 

 

 

This MultiVit Rx product has 500 mg of ascorbic acid and rose hips per daily dose.
Dosage and use: It is not necessary to take a pill daily. A 500 mg dose a few times a week is sufficient.

Benefits, how it helps

Brain cell protection, nerve cell protection
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2014. Ascorbic acid prevents high glucose-induced apoptosis in human brain pericytes. High glucose concentrations due to diabetes increase apoptosis of vascular pericytes, impairing vascular regulation and weakening vessels, especially in brain and retina.

Ascorbic Acid in Cosmetics
 L-Ascorbic Acid, Calcium Ascorbate, Magnesium Ascorbate, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Sodium Ascorbate, and Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate are used in cosmetic formulations primarily as antioxidants. Ascorbic Acid is used as an antioxidant and pH adjuster in a large variety of cosmetic formulations, the majority of which are hair dyes and colors at concentrations between 0.3% and 0.6%. Calcium Ascorbate and Magnesium Ascorbate are described as antioxidants and skin conditioning agents--miscellaneous for use in cosmetics, but are not currently used. Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate functions as an antioxidant in cosmetic products and is used at concentrations ranging from 0.01% to 3%. Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate functions as an antioxidant in cosmetics and was reported being used at concentrations from 0.001% to 3%. Sodium Ascorbate also functions as an antioxidant in cosmetics at concentrations from 0.0003% to 0.3%. Related ingredients (Ascorbyl Palmitate, Ascorbyl Dipalmitate, Ascorbyl Stearate, Erythorbic Acid, and Sodium Erythorbate) have been previously reviewed by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel and found "to be safe for use as cosmetic ingredients in the present practices of good use." Ascorbic Acid is a generally recognized as safe (GRAS) substance for use as a chemical preservative in foods and as a nutrient and/or dietary supplement. Calcium Ascorbate and Sodium Ascorbate are listed as GRAS substances for use as chemical preservatives. L-Ascorbic Acid is readily and reversibly oxidized to L-dehydroascorbic acid and both forms exist in equilibrium in the body.

Ascorbic acid and Pregnancy
Pregnant mice and rats were given daily oral doses of Ascorbic Acid up to 1000 mg/kg body weight with no indications of adult-toxic, teratogenic, or fetotoxic effects. Ascorbic Acid and Sodium Ascorbate are not genotoxic in several bacterial and mammalian test systems.

Ascorbic acid supplementation to prevent premature rupture of the chorioamniotic membranes: a randomized trial.
American J Clinical Nutr. 2005. Public Health Research Branch, National Institute of Perinatology, Mexico City, Mexico.
Ascorbic acid is involved in the synthesis and degradation of collagen and is important for maintenance of the chorioamniotic membranes. Inadequate availability of ascorbic acid during pregnancy has been proposed as a risk factor for premature rupture of the chorioamniotic membranes (PROM). The objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of 100 mg ascorbic acid per day in preventing PROM. A controlled double-blind trial was performed. Pregnant women (n = 126) in their 20th wk of gestation were invited; 120 accepted and were randomly assigned to 2 groups (100 mg ascorbic acid or placebo). Every 4 wk, plasma and leukocyte ascorbic acid concentrations were measured, and each subject was evaluated for cervicovaginal infection. The incidence of PROM was recorded for each group as an indicator of the protective effect of ascorbic acid supplementation. One hundred nine patients finished the study. Mean plasma ascorbic acid concentrations decreased significantly throughout the pregnancy in both groups, and there were no significant differences between groups. Between weeks 20 and 36, mean leukocyte ascorbic acid concentrations decreased from 17 to 15 microg/10(8) cells in the placebo group and increased from 17 to 22 microg/10(8) cells in the supplemented group (within- and between-group differences. The incidence of PROM was 14 per 57 pregnancies (24%) in the placebo group and 4 per 52 pregnancies (7%) in the supplemented group. Daily supplementation with 100 mg vitamin C after 20 wk of gestation effectively lessens the incidence of PROM. l ascorbic acid

J Obstet Gynaecol India. 2014 Dec. Ascorbic Acid concentration and preterm premature rupture of membranes. Ascorbic acid concentration was low in women with PPROM. Thus, vitamin C supplementation should be made mandatory along with iron and calcium to antenatal women to avoid the complications of PPROM.

Heart disease and attack
Antioxidant effects of combined vitamins C and E in acute myocardial infarction. The randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, multicenter pilot Myocardial Infarction and VITamins (MIVIT) trial.
Kardiol Pol. 2005.
There is a large body of evidence that reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion play a crucial role in myocardial damage and endothelial dysfunction. The MIVIT pilot trial was designed to test the effects of antioxidant ascorbic acid and vitamin E on the clinical outcome of patients with AMI. In this randomized, double-blind, multicenter trial, 800 patients (mean age 62) with AMI were randomly allocated to receive, on top of routine medication, one of two treatments: ascorbic acid (1000 mg/12 h infusion) followed by 1200 mg/24 h orally and vitamin E (600 mg/24 h) or matching placebo for 30 days. Primary end point (composite of in-hospital cardiac mortality, non-fatal new myocardial infarction, VT/VF/ asystole, shock / pulmonary edema) occurred less frequently in patients treated with antioxidants. This randomized pilot trial shows that supplementation with antioxidant vitamins ascorbic acid and vitamin E is safe and seems to positively influence the clinical outcome of patients with AMI.

Ascorbic Acid Research, side effects
Ascorbate increases human oxaluria and kidney stone risk.
J Nutr. 2005. Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Washington State University, Spokane, WA
Currently, the recommended upper limit for ascorbic acid intake is 2000 mg/d. However, because ascorbic acid is endogenously converted to oxalate and appears to increase the absorption of dietary oxalate, supplementation may increase the risk of kidney stones. The effect of ascorbic acid supplementation on urinary oxalate was studied in a randomized, crossover, controlled design in which subjects consumed a controlled diet in a university metabolic unit. Stoneformers (n = 29; SF) and age- and gender-matched non-stoneformers (n = 19; NSF) consumed 1000 mg ascorbic acid twice each day with each morning and evening meal for 6 d (treatment A), and no ascorbic acid for 6 d (treatment N) in random order. After 5 d of adaptation to a low-oxalate diet, participants lived for 24 h in a metabolic unit, during which they were given 136 mg oxalate, including 18 mg 13C2 oxalic acid, 2 h before breakfast; they then consumed a controlled very low-oxalate diet for 24 h. Of the 48 participants, 19 (12 stoneformers, 7 non-stoneformers) were identified as responders, defined by an increase in 24-h total oxalate excretion > 10% after treatment A compared with N. Responders had a greater 24-h Tiselius Risk Index (TRI) with AA supplementation because of a 31% increase in the percentage of oxalate absorption and a 39% increase in endogenous oxalate synthesis with treatment A than during treatment N. The 1000 mg ascorbic acid twice each day increased urinary oxalate and TRI for calcium oxalate kidney stones in 40% of participants, both stoneformers and non-stoneformers. vitamin c ascorbic acid.

Emails
Q. Is erythorbic acid the same as ascorbic acid?
   A. Erythorbic acid is a stereoisomer of ascorbic acid with similar properties.

Interactions, combinations
Q. Can ascorbic acid be taken the same day as vinpocetine?
   A. We don't see any reason why not.

I've heard good things about resveratrol. Would it interact with ascorbic acid in a bad way if I took them both together?
   I have not seen any indication that it would.

Where to buy
Q. I wish to purchase 2 to 4 oz of L ascorbic acid crystals.
   A. The best way is to do a google search since we are not familiar with a liquid ascorbic acid crystals product .

Is l-ascorbic acid exactly the same thing as ascorbic acid? I need to purchase some.
   Both are the same as far as when mentioned on a supplement bottle label.