Vitamin C

[Big Bad Baz]

Oh no!

He's off again!

Stop it now..i cant type through crying.

[JLH]

Thanks for that JLH,

do you think the crystal I used may take a lot longer for the body to absorb.

Cheers
Jamie

I'm not sure, mate. But it sounds like it was just going straight to your stomach and straight out again... so to speak. Rather than getting around your whole body which is where it is needed. Another thing is maybe the rest of your diet has a high Vit C content already eg, loads of Fruit etc, and by adding such a high dose your body was just ejecting it. I don't have that problem as i don't eat enough fruits etc. Also i don't know how hard you train, but i've had people come and train with me that have needed to take 3000mg per day (i'm a bit of a sadist when it's comes to coaching )... As athletes we need much more Vit C than the RDA... as that is solely based on being a couch potato... Try the effervescent tablets, i would normally tell people to flood there system with it to start with eg 3000mg a day... but in your case just start with the 1 a day broken into 2 drinks the way i currently do it... and see how it goes... remember you can always up the dose either if you feel a cold coming on, or if you have trained harder than normal.

good luck.

[NotOnUrHelly]

Thanks for that JLH,

Ill give it a go.

Cheers

Jamie

[The Juicer]

More serious answers - I've definitely read that you can't overdose on Vit C - that the body just gets rid of it harmlessly. Do the crystals have a lot of artificial sweetener in by any chance? That could be causing your.... problem.

Used to take the Tesco 1mg day tablets, and swore that what why I never got many colds. Haven't taken them for months now though, and still haven't had a cold (touch bloody wood)!

[The Juicer]

Knew I shouldn't have said that! Talk about jinxing yourself. I've got a right bloody sore throat now - and I want to do Kinder Trial tomorrow!!

[Dr Bob]

Large vitamin C doses could actually have a negative effect on health (aside to those already discussed here...). Linus Pauling, biochemist and Nobel Laureate, advocated taking high doses of vitamin C for just about everything from the common cold to mental health problems. He even claimed that his own high doses of vitamin C delayed the onset of his prostate cancer, which eventually killed him. It's actually possible that the presence of a really oxidative compound such as vitamin C in his urine could have aggrevated the prostate cancer. He claimed to take 12 g a day and upped it to 40 g if he ever felt a cold coming on.

There have been some cases in the US (where else) of people taking enormous doses (> 50 g). Their bodies get so used to getting rid of the stuff that when they drop back to normal doses they can't absorb the required amount and suffer vitamin C deficiency.

Basically, everything in moderation. 1000 mg a day is not bad, but remember, neither is a cold. It may bugger up your training but it keeps your immune system ticking over.

DB

[OneHillWonder]

There have been some cases in the US (where else) of people taking enormous doses (> 50 g). Their bodies get so used to getting rid of the stuff that when they drop back to normal doses they can't absorb the required amount and suffer vitamin C deficiency.

woweee!

[Tryer]

Jamie, don't give up the Vit C.
You should have taken SLOW RELEASE tablets rather than the fizzy laxative type. That bloke Linus Pauling (mentioned by Dr B in this thread) may have been a bit extreme but you can't dismiss entirely someone who won 2 Nobel prizes.
Most alternative health practitioners extol the virtues of vitamin C and unless you already live on a diet of fruit you should get benefits in terms of less colds and viruses. I wont bore you with details - there is tons of stuff on the www.
Personally I take about 3 to 4g of Vit C per day if I feel that there is risk of a cold. I never take less than 2g per day. Your body can't store Vit C so a sudden massive dose is not much use.
I suggest you try taking up to 4 x 1g slow release tablets at intervals during the day with food. If you get the shits you've taken too much (your last the problem was more likely that it was the wrong form than the amount as 1g is only excessive as a sudden hit). Get well.

[NotOnUrHelly]

Cheers for that Tryer,

Hows the recovery after the op going?

I have knocked the Vit C on the head at the moment, when I was getting the shits I was on Anti-biotics for sinusitus and taking loadsa lemsips for my cold. I was also on Ibuprofen for the sinus headaches (drugstore cowboy or what). So it may not have been entirely the Vit C, it could have been any of the above.

Im back running this week without incedent as of yet, although my breathing is horrendus but I can live with that.

I have also lost 6 pounds since christmas

Im not taking any vit C or anti biotics or lemsips at the minute so I'll probably get back running steady and reintroduce the vit C in a different format.

(Did I mention the vit C crystal I bought where 1 month out of date, bargain at 99p. I dont think that had anything to do with it though)

Thanks for the later more sensible replies to my prob.

[Tryer]

Going very well thanks... I have moved my full reply to the Nasal Polyps thread. Seemed more appropriate!