How much Vitamin C, is too much?

Being winter time, patients in the Amcal & Compounding pharmacy, are often asking our team ‘How much Vitamin C should I take‘ to try and keep things like the common cold & other bugs away.

Recently a holistic doctor passed on a study performed in the past around Bowel Tolerance of Vitamin C. The purpose of this study (article here) performed by Dr Cathcart in 1981 was to identify what quantity of Vitamin C patients could absorb depending upon how well the patient was.

The study involved a large population of patients which can indicate that the result hold some value.

A few interesting results from the study include –

• The total amount of Vitamin C tolerated by Patients significantly increased when the patient was ill or unwell.
• Patients that are considered ‘normal & well’ could consume around 4 to 15 grams per 24 hours spilt into 4 doses.
• Patients suffering from ‘mild cold’ could consume around 30 to 60 grams per 24 hours spilt into 6 doses.

The article has some other interesting points, feel free to download it here.

The Vitamin C which we commonly compound with include Magnesium Ascorbate & Ascorbic Acid. Both have similar absorption rates and can be purchased in capsules, tablets or powder.