Is Ascorbic Acid Made From Corn?

[limitme]

In the documentary food inc...they basically implied ascorbic acid is a derivative of gmo corn. It is?

 

[Cookie]

Not necessarily gmo corn, but yep, commercial ascorbic acid is made from corn.

An alternative source is sago palm.

 

[jfh]

Ascorbic acid is unstable. In my opinion, that makes it worthless; even for its shelf life.

It is better to supplement with vitamin C from rose hips or acerola cherry. You can even find this inexpensively from Wal-Mart.

Far better than any of the above, - amla.
https://www.raysahelian.com/amla.html
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-784-INDIAN+GOOSEBERRY.aspx?activeIngredientId=784&activeIngredientName=INDIAN+GOOSEBERRY&source=3

 

[EarlyBird]

Ascorbic Acid!

Thanks for the link, Jim! I guess what I'm taking has been the wrong Vit C.
1000mg capsules - at least 2 daily from Solgar. Listed as L-Ascorbic acid.
Also says free of Corn, yeast,wheat,soy, dairy products, preservatives, artificial flavors/colors. www.solgar.com

 

[Arrowwind09]

Ascorbic acid is unstable. In my opinion, that makes it worthless; even for its shelf life.

It is better to supplement with vitamin C from rose hips or acerola cherry. You can even find this inexpensively from Wal-Mart.

Far better than any of the above, - amla.
https://www.raysahelian.com/amla.html
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-784-INDIAN+GOOSEBERRY.aspx?activeIngredientId=784&activeIngredientName=INDIAN+GOOSEBERRY&source=3

Funny you should feel this way considering all the hundreds and hundreds if not thousands of positive studies done on ascorbic acid and the work of Linus Pauling.

If things were urgent I would go for the new lipsomal vitamin c from Livon Labs.

 

[athletic dept]

I'm in total agreement with Arrowwind09. Ascorbic acid is a good source of vitamin C. I'm also in agreement that liposomol vitamin C is the creme de la creme of C.

Rose hips and acerola C is extremely expensive. The vitamin C advertised to contain either of these is what is called pixie dust. A little bit added to a vat justifys the claim on the label that it contains it.

 

[limitme]

I'm in total agreement with Arrowwind09. Ascorbic acid is a good source of vitamin C. I'm also in agreement that liposomol vitamin C is the creme de la creme of C.

Rose hips and acerola C is extremely expensive. The vitamin C advertised to contain either of these is what is called pixie dust. A little bit added to a vat justifys the claim on the label that it contains it.

If ascorbic acid comes from GMO corn, how can that be a good thing?

 

[jfh]

Thanks for the link, Jim! I guess what I'm taking has been the wrong Vit C.
1000mg capsules - at least 2 daily from Solgar. Listed as L-Ascorbic acid.
Also says free of Corn, yeast,wheat,soy, dairy products, preservatives, artificial flavors/colors. www.solgar.com

It is not the wrong vitamin C. It is just that you don't really know what MG it is after a while. It is also heat sensitive as well. I'd say it is probably already well degraded by the time it hits the market shelves. It rapidly oxidizes in aqueous systems.

Here is an interesting article on the stability of vitamin C. https://www.xpressnet.com/bhealthy/vitaminc.html

 

[jfh]

Funny you should feel this way considering all the hundreds and hundreds if not thousands of positive studies done on ascorbic acid and the work of Linus Pauling.

If things were urgent I would go for the new lipsomal vitamin c from Livon Labs.

I suspect that they were careful to use a specifically manufactured and preserved ascorbic acid in their thousand clinical trials. Much like the iodine doctors did in theirs by creating Iodoral to control the trial exactly to their specifications.

Ascorbic acid is extremely unstable in vitro. It reduces other radicals including the hydroxyl radical, organic alkoxyl and peroxyl radicals, urate radical, tocopherol radical, and the ferric and cupric ions. It readily oxidizes to dehydro-ascorbate in a two step reaction. When the ascorbate anion loses one electron, it becomes an ascorbate radical, A·. https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/life-science/cell-culture/learning-center/media-expert/ascorbate.html

But for regular home users, it depends upon how and when they use and store it. Although the following quote regards the storage of ascorbic acid for administration to patients, it is another reason why I don't like multivitamins. Yes, I know the supplement can be by itself; but most take it with food or other supplements. I'd rather use a whole food source of vitamin C.

Ascorbic acid stability in TPN infusions in 3-litre plastic bags was examined. Vitamin C was found to degrade slowly in mixtures which do not contain trace elements. In the presence of copper, degradation proceeds rapidly until dissolved oxygen is depleted. Reducing the copper concentration had only a minor influence on degradation rate. However, this copper-catalyzed reaction was prevented if cysteine was present in the TPN regimen. The amount of ascorbic acid degraded depended on the dissolved oxygen content of the infusion, the amount of residual air in the bag after filling and the permeability of the plastic to oxygen. In the absence of copper, 20–30 mg ascorbic acid was broken down within 24 h at ambient temperatures, but if copper was present, 150–200 mg was degraded within 2–4 h. The contribution of dehydroascorbic acid to the amount of vitamin C delivered to the patient was negligible. It is concluded that either vitamin C and trace element injections containing copper should not be added to the same bag, or an adequate coverage of ascorbic acid must be included to allow for losses by oxidation before and during administration. https://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119853682/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

 

[jfh]

Rose hips and acerola C is extremely expensive. The vitamin C advertised to contain either of these is what is called pixie dust. A little bit added to a vat justifys the claim on the label that it contains it.

Try here. Bulk organic rose hips. Does not even require as much mg to match ascorbic acid. https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/bulkherb/r.php#h_r_hp

I agree that acerola is somewhat more expensive. https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/bulkherb/a.php#h_a_ace_p

Amla (indian gooseberry) is 12 times more powerful than ascorbic acid; so not much is required. https://www.vedaliving.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=amla&osCsid=lh0gq2h35tmvqaji18oh0fje41&x=0&y=0

 

[Cookie]

I agree with jfh that AA is unstable and worthless.

I've been doing alot of reading on synthetic vitamins lately. My problem with ascorbic acid is that even though it has been discovered that AA mimics the same molecular structure as its natural counterpart, it doesn't change the fact that it's still merely the incomplete, iscolated chemical compound version of Vitamin C found in foods. Simply, there are no accompanying vitamins and minerals. The body ends up having to provide all the other components AA is lacking in order for it to be absorbed. Robbing peter to pay paul! How is that benefical to the body? It seems to me that it would eventually cause deficiencies.

In the food version, all the bioavailability components are available.

At least by supplementing with the acerola cherry version, it contains other vitamins (bioflavonoids, tyrosinase & rutin) to help lift some of the burden from the body having to provide.

 

[pinballdoctor]

The problem is simply you can't get enough natural c every day. The best form is camu camu, but even with that, 500 mg would be the size of a golf ball, so imagine taking 20,000 mg per day... just not possible.

Pauling showed us that ascorbic acid is not only beneficial in large doses, but is completely safe. Remember, he took straight ascorbic acid, not the more gentle ester C, nor did he take Quercetin, rose hips, camu, acai, etc.

To say ascorbic acid is worthless is wrong. It is a super star.

 

[saved1986]

The problem is simply you can't get enough natural c every day. The best form is camu camu, but even with that, 500 mg would be the size of a golf ball, so imagine taking 20,000 mg per day... just not possible.

Pauling showed us that ascorbic acid is not only beneficial in large doses, but is completely safe. Remember, he took straight ascorbic acid, not the more gentle ester C, nor did he take Quercetin, rose hips, camu, acai, etc.

To say ascorbic acid is worthless is wrong. It is a super star.

Chemist here (and I post on this board so you know I am not a big pharma or GMO fan). But Vit C in the form of straight synthesized ascorbic acid is ok (IMO). The thing you haveto watch out for is synthetic Vit E. If you look at the bottle and it says l-tocopherol or l tocophrol acetate it is natural. If it says d,l-tocopherol or d,l-tocopherol acetate it is synthetic. The natural works much better.

 

[EarlyBird]

Vit C

I guess for now I'll continue with my Solgar's Vit C capsules. During the
Fall, Winter, Spring seasons I eat fresh grapefruit daily as well as fresh lemon
and numerous other fruits/berries. Now, with Summer here, I've added melon,
fresh peaches/nectarines, even more berries, apples.
By Fall, my Solgar's C should be almost gone and I can switch to the Amla
product or one of the others recommended by you all.
Thanks All for your great info on the Vit C and ascorbic acid. Greatly appreciated!

 

[jfh]

To say ascorbic acid is worthless is wrong. It is a super star.

If you are talking about my remark, "Ascorbic acid is unstable. In my opinion, that makes it worthless; even for its shelf life.", check it for yourself. Try this standard high school test. Take some ascorbic acid. Separately subject it to heat, light, and moisture. Then follow this test. https://www.cforyourself.com/Overview/Primer/Chemistry/c_tests.html

In this context, I am not sure of the quality of ascorbic acid on the market shelf, after the delivery vehicle, or on my own shelf. If I ever have to have IV, I expect them to use well protected ascorbic acid. And in this context of curing ills, ascorbic acid really is a superstar.

Also, excessive ascorbic acid will be broken down to oxalic acid, which can be a problem for people with kidney problems.

 

[Ted_Hutchinson]

Ascorbate Hickey Roberts

The relationship between vitamin C and health is controversial.
Double Nobel Prize winner, Linus Pauling, argued that ascorbate could prevent or cure heart disease, stroke, cancer and infections.
Conventional experts disagreed, disparaging supplements in favour of fruits and vegetables.
This book presents a new model, describing the action of vitamin C in health and disease.
It demonstrates conclusively that the establishment has misinterpreted the evidence, potentially resulting in epidemic levels of avoidable disease.
The dynamic flow model explains the current results and points the way for future experiments.
Vitamin C supplementation could eradicate many diseases.
In pharmacological doses, it could cure the major killers of the industrialised world.
to test these ideas may condemn countless people to chronic illness and premature death.

You can also read the reviews on Amazon and look inside.

The most impotant thing I took from this book was the fact that that half life of vitamin c once absorbed into the body is so very short. Ideally time release or sustained release may spread the absorption over a longer time frame and avoid it all going down the loo in on your next visit.

Have any of you tried or considered these Swanson Ultra
PureWay-C 500 mg w/Bioflavonoids

There are other Purewaty- C formulations Dr Best do one. But Swanson's look better value.

I haven't tried them and the only science I can find supporting this form is from the company making them so they would say that wouldn't they. So I am more than a little skeptical however it is an alternative that may be worth considering.
The hype may have an element of truth.

 

[Arrowwind09]

I have found plain old ascorbic acid very effective for eliminating colds and other minor diseases quickly, like in 24 hours or less if taken to bowel tolerance.

So in cost analysis, which I am always thinking of
What does a 500mg tablet of alma cost and exactly how much vitamin c does it provide?
Can it compare to a standard bottle of ascorbic acid.

 

[jfh]

So in cost analysis, which I am always thinking of
What does a 500mg tablet of alma cost and exactly how much vitamin c does it provide?
Can it compare to a standard bottle of ascorbic acid.

You would need to take much less amla than vitamin C.

Amla contains approx. 20 times more Vitamin C than oranges, is 10-20 times better assimilated than USP Vit. C and has a unique antioxidant profile including healthy tannins which work synergistically with its Vitamin C content for stability.
https://www.iherb.com/Paradise-Herbs-Amla-60-Veggie-Caps/4458?at=0

I like this brand the best
https://www.iherb.com/Himalaya-USA-Amla-C-Natural-Antioxidant-60-Caplets/3693?at=0


Amla Berry, the Indian gooseberry, provides the highest concentration of vitamin C of any natural source. This whole food vitamin C with naturally occurring bioflavonoids is 12 times more assimilable than synthetic vitamin C.

Amla, revered for over 5,000 years in Ayurvedic medicine for its anti-aging and immune enhancing properties, contains a superior source of vitamin C as well as high levels of the antioxidant Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) and tannins which inhibit the degradation of vitamin C and act as cellular protective agents against oxidative stress. Research shows that Amla increases protein synthesis.

 

[Arrowwind09]

So how many mg of vitamin c does a standard size alma tablet have?

 

[jfh]

100 gm. of Amla contains about 700 mg. of vitamin C.
...
Researchers have also shown that just 8.7 mg of natural vitamin C from Amla is equivalent to 100 mg of synthetic vitamin C. (for equivalence)

https://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/health/kanhaiya-amla-powder.html

1 gm = 1000 mg
700mg = 0.7 gm

100gm amla contains 0.7 gm of vitc

so 1gm amla contains 0.007gm vitc

A standard "Himalaya brand" capsule is 600mg. I prefer powder though.

then 600 mg amla should be 0.6gm x 0.007gm = 0.42gm of vitc in each cap. or 420mg (0.42 x 1000)

check my math just in case. and note the second sentence in that quote.

 

[pinballdoctor]

https://excessive

excessive ascorbic acid will be broken down to oxalic acid, which can be a problem for people with kidney problems.

https://excessive

Excessive ascorbic acid does not cause kidney stones, that is a myth. The truth is that vitamin c will prevent kidney stones. There was a large study done to prove this.

I am not a big fan of synthetic vitamins, however as stated earlier, it is not possible to consume enough vitamin c from fruit. It is also important to take natural vitamin C "rings" in order to work in a synergistic manner.

You are right about synthetic E, however, the worst synthetic vitamin is vitamin A, in the form of Palimate and Acetate. These are found in cheap multivitamins, and are not beneficial to health. These are not the same as beta carotene.

 

[jfh]

Excessive ascorbic acid does not cause kidney stones, that is a myth. The truth is that vitamin c will prevent kidney stones. There was a large study done to prove this.

I'm on your side PBD. That's why I said the excess would cause problems for people who have kidney problems. Those problems can cause them to not eliminate/flush properly.

 

[Cookie]

Chemist here (and I post on this board so you know I am not a big pharma or GMO fan).

Oh good, now we're cookin'! In order to convert glucose into ascorbic acid we need 4 essential enzymes to complete the task. Since we already have 3, (and there's enzymes manufactured for everything else) why do you suppose L-gulonolactone oxidase, the 4th enzyme needed to complete the biochemical pathway, hasn't been marketed?"

But Vit C in the form of straight synthesized ascorbic acid is ok (IMO).

Could you explain that, plz? In my mind synthetic ascorbic acid is not Vit C. The FDA gave the green flag to call it Vit C, but that doesn't change the fact that synthetic ascorbic acid is merely a fraction of natural Vit C. If Bioflavonoids, Factor K, Factor J, Factor P, Rutin, Tyrosinase, Ascorbinogen, and mineral co-factors are not present, there's no vitamin activity. Since ascorbic acid has been described as being the shell protecting the functional parts of the vitamin, how is okay to take alone? You figure when some of the other components are present, the body will draw on its own stores of the rest to make the vitamin complete. Over time, wouldn't taking synthetic ascorbic acid eventually cause deficiencies?

Vitamins are supposed to assist the body and it seems logical to me that it would be less taxing on the body to consume the whole complex.

 

[Cookie]

Pauling showed us that ascorbic acid is not only beneficial in large doses, but is completely safe. Remember, he took straight ascorbic acid, not the more gentle ester C, nor did he take Quercetin, rose hips, camu, acai, etc.

He died of cancer....

 

[saved1986]

Oh good, now we're cookin'! In order to convert glucose into ascorbic acid we need 4 essential enzymes to complete the task. Since we already have 3, (and there's enzymes manufactured for everything else) why do you suppose L-gulonolactone oxidase, the 4th enzyme needed to complete the biochemical pathway, hasn't been marketed?"




Could you explain that, plz? In my mind synthetic ascorbic acid is not Vit C. The FDA gave the green flag to call it Vit C, but that doesn't change the fact that synthetic ascorbic acid is merely a fraction of natural Vit C. If Bioflavonoids, Factor K, Factor J, Factor P, Rutin, Tyrosinase, Ascorbinogen, and mineral co-factors are not present, there's no vitamin activity. Since ascorbic acid has been described as being the shell protecting the functional parts of the vitamin, how is okay to take alone? You figure when some of the other components are present, the body will draw on its own stores of the rest to make the vitamin complete. Over time, wouldn't taking synthetic ascorbic acid eventually cause deficiencies?

Vitamins are supposed to assist the body and it seems logical to me that it would be less taxing on the body to consume the whole complex.

Of course its better to have the natural form for the co-factors , but straight ascorbic acid is fine. The only thing I will say (IMO) is if you take a natural form you will need less.