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Did you know that ascorbic acid is actually synthetic vitamin C? What’s more, it is usually GMO vitamin C, which means it was derived from GMO corn.
If you are learning this for the first time, it can be a rather shocking realization as almost all vitamin C supplements on the market use isolated ascorbic acid separated from a whole food source. The manufacturing process that produces synthetically derived vitamin C leaves all the beneficial co-factors behind!
Even more disturbing, ascorbic acid is frequently marketed as natural vitamin C and added to organic foods as a natural preservative. 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. There is a growing body of evidence that those consuming high doses of ascorbic acid should have reason to worry.
Three Studies Suggest Caution with High Dose Ascorbic Acid
The journal Wise Traditions cites three studies that give pause about large doses of vitamin C. The first, 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 500 mg of vitamin C per day and a greater propensity toward thickening of the arteries (Los Angeles Times, March 3, 2000).
More recently, athletes taking 1000 mg of isolated ascorbic acid 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 and health food stores to even gas stations!
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 co-factors. 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 ascorbic acid until the onset of diarrhea.
This approach to regaining wellness has never made any sense to me. Now, with more studies indicating the danger of high doses of vitamin C, caution seems well-founded.
Fan of Linus Pauling? Consider This…
If you are a fan of Linus Pauling who popularized the notion of huge doses of Vitamin C for the common cold in the 1970s, consider this. GMO Vitamin C did not exist when Pauling was conducting his studies. GMO derived Vitamin C is what most people are unwittingly taking today!
What’s more, the studies indicating the danger of high doses of vitamin C over long periods of time had not been done yet. They were conducted long after Pauling died in 1994.
What about High Dose, Intravenous Ascorbic Acid?
What about high dose, intravenous ascorbic acid for the very ill? Note that vitamin C for IV use is almost always derived from GMO corn as well as being extremely high dose and synthetic ascorbic acid only.
Under certain circumstances and for the very ill, high dose GMO ascorbic acid therapy can be beneficial. For example, my husband used IV ascorbic acid therapy immediately after each amalgam removal. This prevented any released mercury from getting stored in the tissues. Not doing this risks the development of autoimmune disease.
However, synthetic vitamin C especially when genetically modified shouldn’t be a regular feature in anyone’s diet or supplement regimen.
Whole Food Vitamin C is Naturally Low Dose
The best way to get vitamin C on a daily basis is from whole foods sources. This will provide you this critical nutrient at a low dosage that will do no harm over the long term.
When you get the whole foods version of vitamin C, you don’t need much at all. A truly natural vitamin C supplement with no isolated ascorbic acid is naturally low-dose and yet highly effective.
Don’t forget about the benefits of fresh grassfed milk – a great source of vitamin C. The vitamin C in milk is mostly destroyed by pasteurization, along with many other nutrients. This is why buying fresh and local is so important.
Fresh and lacto-fermented fruits and vegetables (such as traditional sauerkraut) are other excellent sources of the whole vitamin C complex.
Perhaps folks feel the need to take large doses of synthetic vitamin C 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!
Ascorbic Acid is Usually from Genetically Modified Corn
What’s worse is that ascorbic acid is not just synthetic. Remember that it is also usually derived from genetically modified corn! More on that GMO vitamin C travesty fooling millions of consumers every single day in the linked article.
Another vitamin scam harming consumers concerns synthetic folate commercially known as folic acid.
The pushing of beta carotene as true vitamin A by food manufacturers and supplement companies is another nutritional falsehood scamming millions of consumers and worse, seriously harming their health.
What to Look for in a True Vitamin C Product
To give you some idea of what to look for in a vitamin C supplement, here are the ingredients of the one I use. Notice that there is no isolated ascorbic acid or other ascorbates and no additives. Just pure food Vitamin C sources. Please note that this is not the only Vitamin C supplement that qualifies as totally pure. There are a few others.
Pure Radiance C ingredients: camu camu berry extract, manioc root, acerola berry extract, amla berry extract, buckwheat sprouts, freeze-dried berry blend, blueberry, raspberry, cranberry, cherry, rose hips fruit, lemon peel, black pepper berry extract.
I also use the Amla C Plus. Here are the ingredients: Organic Amla berry, organic spirulina.
Notice that the words “ascorbic acid” are not listed in either of these products!
Want to know where to find a complete line of whole food Vitamin C supplements from a variety of whole food plant sources?
Click here for several carefully vetted brands to choose from.
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.
and I read in another article is a GM product….
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:
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.
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.
http://drbenkim.com/natural-vitamin-c-benefits.htm
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.
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
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/
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).
NOW brand uses GMO corn for their Vit C. I was furious when I found out. I refuse to buy any of their products.