Your Vitamin C Supplement is Secretly Doing Nothing

If you have a cold, think twice before running to pick up some Emergen-C.

You’re right that vitamin C helps fight off infections, but the well-known supplements you pick up at the grocery store are missing important cold fighting elements.

Most vitamin C supplements are made from synthetic ascorbic acid, which the FDA legally considers to be vitamin C. This is because of a mistake early researchers made when trying to analyze and measure vitamin C. But it isn’t the whole picture.

Vitamin C is really a whole complex of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes that work together to support immune function. Ascorbic acid is the antioxidant preservative shell that surrounds the other parts of vitamin C to keep them safe.

While it does a little on its own to boost your immune system by protecting tissues from inflammation, it’s not doing any of the work that needs to be done to fight your cold.

So why do brands use synthetic ascorbic acid instead of vitamin C complexes? It’s easy to manufacture in bulk, and it sounds a lot better to claim “1,000 mg of vitamin C” than just “20.”

Whenever we hear that a little bit of something is good for you, we often assume that a lot of it is even better. Brands lean into that when marketing high dose ascorbic acid supplements to fight colds.

It’s time to rethink your cold recovery strategy. When you know what to look for, you can reduce your symptoms and feel better much faster.

How Vitamin C Complex Helps You Fight a Cold

Although the FDA legally considers ascorbic acid vitamin C, the real complex is so much more than that.

Ascorbic acid surrounds a team of immune boosting factors to keep them safe while they travel through your body toward immune cells, membranes, tissues, and more. The vitamin C complex is made up of:

• P factors: make capillaries tougher and more durable

• Vitamin J: increases your blood’s ability to carry oxygen

• Vitamin K: Balances clotting and promotes healthy tissues

• Bioflavonoids: Helps your body absorb these factors and reduce inflammation

• Copper enzyme: Supports immune signaling and collagen formation

The synthetic “vitamin C” supplements you’re used to can’t do much without its team of immune boosters. You’re probably stressing your body out more than helping it if anything.

What Can Happen When You Take Too Much Ascorbic Acid

Remember, if a label reads “1,000 mg” of vitamin C, it really means 1,000 mg of synthetic ascorbic acid. Just 500 mg of naturally occurring ascorbic acid would be the size of a ping pong ball.

Your body can’t absorb that much ascorbic acid at once anyways, so most of your supplement is going to waste. Once your bloodstream becomes saturated, absorption stops and the rest gets flushed out of your system or lingers in your intestine. While it isn't as dangerous as a vitamin B overdose, it can cause unwanted symptoms.

When you take high doses of synthetic vitamin C, it can cause some uncomfortable symptoms. Ascorbic acid is exactly what it says, pure acid. This can cause a lot of overwhelm in your gut, including bloating, cramping, and nausea.

If you’re taking high doses daily, your body can experience a rebound effect when you stop suddenly. You become so used clearing out large amounts of synthetic vitamin C that this process continues when you’re no longer taking it. This can make your cold symptoms worse or your vitamin C levels dip below normal levels.

Meanwhile, you’re not getting the results you’re expecting because it’s missing the important machinery to activate your immune system. It doesn’t matter how much synthetic vitamin C you take, you’re going to get minimal benefit.

What You Should Do Instead

My favorite vitamin C supplement is Cataplex C from Standard process. It’s extracted from natural foods that contain entire vitamin C complexes rather than just containing the protective shell.

This is what your body is really asking for when you’re sick to ramp up your immune function. It’s better absorbed, and it addresses the entirety of your immune system.

Not only do I carry Cataplex C in the office, but I can drop it into your Fullscript account for you. Consider keeping this around your house instead of Emergen-C for when you get sick.

Acupuncture pairs well with vitamin C complexes to fully maximize your immune function. It reduces inflammation, increases lymph circulation, improves sinus drainage, and more. Not only can it help you recover from your symptoms faster, but it also helps prevent you from getting sick in the first place.

If you want to address gaps in your immune system before, during, or after a cold, or in your general health, schedule an appointment with my acupuncture and herbal medicine clinic in Lakewood, CO. I have many natural services that fortify your health, and I can help you stock up on the supplements that will help you recover while showing you what really works, and what doesn’t.