Vitamin C 1000mg with Bioflavonoids

Description

Vitamin C 1000mg as buffered ascorbic acid with citrus bioflavonoids beside it, each listed separately on the panel. Buffered means the ascorbic acid is paired with a mineral to raise the pH, which is why a vitamin c 1000mg tablet of this kind is easier on an empty stomach than plain ascorbic acid. The mineral adds weight, so it is declared rather than left out.

Label figures

What happens to a vitamin c 1000mg dose

Absorption is dose dependent and the percentage falls as the amount rises. Published pharmacokinetic work measures around 70 to 90 percent absorption at intakes of 30 to 180 mg, dropping below half at a single gram, with the remainder excreted.

That is not an argument against a gram, which is well under the 2,000 mg upper limit. It is an argument for knowing what the figure means, and for splitting large intakes if you want more of them absorbed. The numbers are on the NIH vitamin C fact sheet.

What buffering actually does

Plain ascorbic acid at a vitamin c 1000mg dose is acidic enough to upset some stomachs, and buffering it with calcium, magnesium or sodium ascorbate raises the pH. The mineral comes along with it and counts toward your intake of that mineral, which is the part most labels skip.

Our panel states which mineral and how much, so anyone already taking a calcium or magnesium supplement can add it up. The elemental figures for those are on the minerals page.

Bioflavonoids, and the honest position

Hesperidin, rutin and related citrus flavonoids are frequently sold alongside ascorbic acid on the argument that they improve its absorption or retention. The human evidence for that specific effect is weak, and the better conducted comparisons have measured little difference.

They are in here because they occur with vitamin C in citrus and because buyers want them, listed with their own milligram figure rather than folded into the vitamin C number. That is a description of the evidence, not a claim about the tablet.

Tablets, capsules and powder

A gram of ascorbic acid is a physically large amount, which is why a vitamin c 1000mg product is usually a sizeable tablet rather than a capsule. Powders reach the same figure in a quarter teaspoon and cost less per gram, with the trade being that you measure it.

Liposomal versions cost several times more per milligram on an absorption argument whose human evidence is still thin. All of these formats sit on the vitamins page with their cost per milligram printed, so the premium for a format is visible before purchase.

None of that changes the amount of ascorbic acid in a vitamin c 1000mg serving, which is the only figure the assay confirms.

Fruit sources, for comparison

A vitamin c 1000mg tablet is a different purchase from a fruit powder. Acerola and camu camu carry ascorbic acid at around 10 percent of their weight, so grams of powder replace a tablet, and they bring fruit acids and polyphenols with them. Both routes are stocked on the greens and wholefood page and priced per milligram assayed.

What the trials measured

Supplementation studies have used 200 mg to several grams a day, measuring plasma and leucocyte ascorbate concentrations, common cold duration and incidence, and various oxidative markers. Those are the doses administered and the endpoints recorded in the literature.

Testing

Every lot of vitamin c 1000mg is assayed for ascorbic acid content and screened for heavy metals and microbials by an independent laboratory. Ascorbic acid degrades with heat and humidity, so the assay is performed on the finished tablet rather than on the raw material, and under strength lots are withdrawn with the certificate left published. Your lot report is linked above.