Megadoses of vitamin C are regularly taken by a not negligible number of Italians, convinced that they have found the best way to prevent and fight various diseases. First of all, we specify that - compared to a daily requirement estimated by the most authoritative international agencies (FAO included) around 60-120 mg (0.06 - 0.12 g) - when it comes to megadoses, the levels of vitamin C intake exceed two grams / day, up to and over ten grams.
Those who take megadoses of vitamin C can still experience problems with gastric acidity, with heartburn and reflux, especially when the vitamin is taken as such, that is, in the form of L-ascorbic acid. Its salts, on the contrary, give less problems of gastric heartburn, but they cause risks related to the additional supply of minerals. Thus, for example, sodium ascorbate can be contraindicated to those suffering from hypertension; 5 grams, in fact, bring more than half a gram of sodium, a quantity that is certainly not negligible, since it would be a good rule - for healthy people but especially for hypertensive people - not to take more than 2.5 grams / day (actually the style modern food often determines significantly higher intakes, regardless of external sources). Five grams of potassium ascorbate, on the other hand, provides the body with nearly one gram of potassium, which can cause problems for individuals with kidney disease or on potassium-sparing diuretics.
Among the side effects attributable to the megadoses of vitamin C there are further gastrointestinal problems (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea), so much so that very often - rather than indicating precise doses - we prefer to recommend the personalized intake of the maximum quantity that does not cause gastrointestinal problems. side effects, like heartburn, can be mitigated by dividing the megadose into at least three different daily intakes, a practice which also multiplies the percentage of vitamin C absorbed in the intestine.
An excess of vitamin C in the diet seems to favor the synthesis of kidney stones due to the increased production of oxalates. For this reason, especially if you have a history of stones, it is generally recommended to limit the overall dietary intake. of vitamin C (diet plus any supplements) to no more than 1 g per day. The risk of vitamin C metabolizing into oxalates is higher in pyridoxine (vitamin B6) deficiency, as can occur in colitis with recurrent diarrhea. Therefore, before taking vitamin C supplements, people with calcium oxalate stones should have additional medical examinations.
After this necessary premise, the article does not intend to dwell on the preventive and curative usefulness of such practices. In fact, the editorial line of this site follows the positions dictated by official medicine, the same which, just to be clear, has almost doubled the average life expectancy over the course of the last century. Therefore, moreover aware that reiterating the uselessness of such practices certainly cannot move the proponents of megadoses of vitamin C from their positions, let us dwell on some simple considerations. pharmaceutical multinationals to tarnish the healing virtues of vitamin C.
That what we live in is an imperfect world is certainly not new, just as there is no doubt that pharmaceutical multinationals can exercise their power by indirectly influencing people's relationship with health. However, what is inconceivable is to leverage the "ignorance and fears of readers by inculcating the concept of the" international conspiracy against vitamin C ". If this were true, logically unthinkable, all the researchers and all the universities of Italy and of the world would be under the direct control of pharmaceutical companies. Now, if we think about our reality and the cultural revolution of "68 we obviously realize that there are many teachers with ideologies in complete antithesis with those of the most unbridled capitalism supported by multinationals. All this to say that inevitably, if indeed megadoses of vitamin C were able to keep their promises, all this would have clearly emerged for years also in the research of official medicine. Instead all this has not happened and the few positive evidences - mostly coming from independent studies of some proponents of alternative medicine (like that orthomolecular) - contrast with those of uselessness that emerged from many researches.
A case where it would perhaps be more rational to hope for the influence of pharmaceutical multinationals (the conditional is mandatory) is that of the relationship between vitamin PP (B3 or niacin) and cholesterol. At high dosages (about 150 times higher than the daily requirement), the supplementation of this vitamin has in fact proved to be exceptionally capable of lowering the blood values of triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, while at the same time raising the good fraction or HDL. because of the side effects related to the treatment - even if apparently not so serious (in some subjects it can cause headache, skin redness, gastrointestinal problems, dizziness and alterations in liver function) - drugs containing megadoses of vitamin PP (such as acipimox) do not they are still widely used in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia.
Be careful when using hydroquinone disinfectants because in high doses the vitamin C counteracts the urinary disinfectant activity of the Ericaceae (eg Bearberry and Strawberry Tree).
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