A healthy lifestyle can help bolster your natural defences. Avoid excessive stress wherever possible, eat healthily, and ensure you get enough sleep and exercise. You might also consider supplementing your diet with adequate vitamin C. It's a fact that vitamin C positively influences your immune system. Want to know how much vitamin C you can take to support your body's natural defences? And which forms of vitamin C you can choose? Read our tips here.
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How Much Vitamin C Can You Take?
The RI (Reference Intake) for vitamin C is 80mg, but this amount is not always sufficient. If you're healthy and taking vitamin C to support your immune system during exercise or intensive sports, you need an additional 200mg of Vitamin C per day. Most vitamin C product labels recommend a daily dose of one 1000 mg tablet. This is safe according to the EFSA and can be used long-term. If you wish to support your immune system these days, you can safely take more vitamin C.
When Is the Best Time to Take Vitamin C?
Vitamin C is hardly stored in the body. This means you need to consume it daily. Taking vitamin C tablets throughout the day helps maintain a consistent, high vitamin C blood level. Additionally, your intestines absorb more vitamin C if you don't take the daily dose all at once.
- Vitamin C remains in the body for a short time. Therefore, spread your vitamin C intake throughout the day, for example, 3 times a day one 1000 mg tablet
- Take vitamin C with meals
What Happens If You Take Too Much Vitamin C?
It was previously believed that consuming a lot of vitamin C increased the risk of kidney stones, but this has been debunked. If you consume too much vitamin C, you simply excrete it. Furthermore, your body stops absorbing vitamin C from the intestines. This vitamin C in the intestines then attracts water. As a result, your stomach may rumble, and you might experience mild diarrhoea. This is a harmless phenomenon that disappears immediately when you reduce your vitamin C intake.
Which Vitamin C Supplement Should You Take?
The cheapest and most commonly used form of vitamin C is ascorbic acid. Most people can tolerate this acidic form of vitamin C well. If your stomach does not tolerate ascorbic acid well, you can opt for non-acidic vitamin C. Vitamin C is then bound to a mineral such as calcium or magnesium. These so-called ascorbates are gentler on the stomach. A supplement containing calcium ascorbate or magnesium ascorbate (or a mixture of both) also provides these minerals.
Do You Have Trouble Swallowing Tablets?
An effervescent tablet with vitamin C might seem convenient. However, these supplements contain many excipients. A pure vitamin C powder is a better option. Ascorbic acid is not good for your tooth enamel. Therefore, ensure the powder does not stay in your mouth for long, for example by placing half a teaspoon of powder in the middle of your tongue and swallowing it immediately with some water.
Do you have any questions about Vitamin C? At Vitaminstore in the shops and online via chat, you can receive comprehensive personal advice.
Author: Nicole Langedijk
