Some stuff on synthetic Vit. C vs. whole food Vit. C that I posted on pp in 2007 --
I've recently become aware of the debate on this issue. Some people say that synthetic Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) is actually only one of the factors that truly make up Vitamin C, and that, therefore, when you take it, it leeches the remaining factors out of your body in order to complete itself. Allegedly, this means that taking synthetic C can actually deplete your body of nutrients, ultimately causing harm. Others say this is hogwash, that Ascorbic Acid is good enough.
"Whole food" source Vitamin C is, ideally, made from whole foods that are high in C and contain all the factors that actually make up the vitamin. One complication of this is that, since whole foods are used, the resulting pill will have other vitamins and/or minerals that you may or may not want/tolerate well. Another problem is that whole food supplements cost a lot more than synthetic ones.
Of course, in the marketplace, you can also find pills that are called whole food or natural, but, in fact, are not.
I'm already taking NON-synthetic Vitamin D3 (in my milk) and Vitamin E with mixed tocopherols. I know it's important that these two be non-synthetic. All my other supplements are from food as well (e.g. fish oil). I do not want to take a multi-vitamin at this time because of my autonomic hyperreactivity. I eat fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, but C is so important, I'd like to take more. If possible, I'd rather have my C in pill form than in liquid or powder.
....
I just talked with the manager of my local The Vitamin Shoppe, whom I've known for years, and he said whole food is definitely better, but he also said, with it's greater bioavailability, you could take half as much.
So, if you take 1000 mg of Ascorbic Acid, you could get away with 500 mg of a whole food C.
That helps with the price....
