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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by NKP on October 19, 2009, at 15:46:39
Can taking more than 2000mg/day of vitamin C cause muscle stiffness, like after doing exercise?
The muscles in my hands, arms and feet feel stiff, and I don't know why.
Posted by nolvas on October 19, 2009, at 18:49:30
In reply to Vitamin C megadosing, posted by NKP on October 19, 2009, at 15:46:39
I can't see any evidence that Vitamin C would cause muscle stiffness. Various studies have used much higher dosages to treat muscle soreness and stiffness, whether Vitamin C is effective or not is a different matter. Why are you taking this much Vitamin C? It's not a huge dose by orthomolecular standards. Megadosing with vitamins is a controversial subject the greatest proponent of Vitamin C megadosing is the late Linus Pauling, who certainly had some respected credentials to his name.
Here's a link to the man and information regarding vitamin c megadosing >
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linus_PaulingLastly I would advocate that Vitamin C be taken with Bioflavanoids as it enhances absorption >
Vinson, J. A., et al. Comparative bioavailability to humans of ascorbic acid alone or in a citrus extract. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 48(3):601-604, 1988.
I'd try and source a natural vitamin c product that contains bioflavanoids and doesn't have any additives if you aren't using one already.
Posted by BrainDamage on October 20, 2009, at 7:50:27
In reply to Re: Vitamin C megadosing, posted by nolvas on October 19, 2009, at 18:49:30
My instincts tell me to be wary of Megadosing anything
Vitamin C is acidic, so I would have thought it would upset the balance of Magnesium & Calcium.
Low Magnesium-Not good!
Posted by NKP on October 20, 2009, at 13:24:43
In reply to Re: Vitamin C megadosing, posted by BrainDamage on October 20, 2009, at 7:50:27
I am megadosing with vitamin C to see what it does to me. I read that most animals can synthesize their own vitamin C, and that, relative to their body mass, they synthesize substantially more vitamin C than what humans consume in the average diet.
Also, the 70mg/day for men, 90mg/day for women, and 135mg/day for smokers, that is typically listed as the RDA of vitamin C, is merely what is necessary to prevent obvious illness like scurvy. I saw some papers where the authors distinguish between overt vitamin C deficiency, where obvious illness sets in, and subclinical vitamin C deficiency, where the person is not obviously unwell, but where their health is less than what it could be. They basically argued that many people have subclinical vitamin C deficiency.
I'm not on any meds, but I am taking fish oil, SAM-e, tyrosine, TMG, methylfolate, B vitamins, and now also vitamin C. Of these, I know for certain that the fish oil, SAM-e and tyrosine help me. The TMG, methylfolate and B vitamins I take in part to protect against poor homocysteine metabolism that is a risk of SAM-e supplementation.
I don't take my supplements over weekends; I've found that when I take them too many days in succession, I become hypomanic, anxious, and have insomia.
Posted by nolvas on October 20, 2009, at 15:59:58
In reply to Re: Vitamin C megadosing, posted by NKP on October 20, 2009, at 13:24:43
I wish you all the best :) Do make sure it's a decent quality vitamin c supplement with the factors I listed in my last post. I recommend if you can afford it to see a functional medicine practitioner who has experience of hypomania etc. With the aid of a practitioner some extensive (if need be) testing can be done. Genova diagnostics is one such testing facility that practitioners use. Any deficiencies can be corrected and your diet modified, and other factors such as lifestyle, genetics and your environment can be taken in to consideration as well.
http://www.functionalmedicine.org/about/whatis.asp
Posted by Avocado on November 2, 2009, at 5:10:01
In reply to Vitamin C megadosing, posted by NKP on October 19, 2009, at 15:46:39
Vitamin C is cr*p for muscles:
"Oral administration of vitamin C decreases muscle mitochondrial biogenesis and hampers training-induced adaptations in endurance performance""Conclusion: Vitamin C supplementation decreases training efficiency because it prevents some cellular adaptations to exercise."
This is the end of the thread.
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