Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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I eat a couple lbs of fruit and vegetables a day, which equates to about 500 mg vitamin C daily.

Have any of you felt a substantial difference in your general sense of well being when transitioning from this produce-based vitamin C intake to multi-gram supplementation levels?

I am referring to the sort of protocol espoused by orthomolecular medicine, where you take a few grams of C several times throughout the day.

flag	asked Nov 16 2011 at 19:42 Kasra 1

For the record, there is definitely a dramatic difference in transitioning from 0 mg --> 100-500 mg – Kasra Nov 16 2011 at 19:43

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Wounds healing improved a lot when taking it. – Korion Nov 16 2011 at 20:05

^ Yeah, the benefits of C when sick are pretty widely reported, but I'm curious if there's a solid justification to take large doses when healthy. – Kasra Nov 16 2011 at 20:37

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I don't know, but I have been urinating a lot. – ROB Nov 16 2011 at 20:39

Hell - Yeaaaaa! – Lady_Arwen May 26 2012 at 1:09

Geoff · Answer 1 · 2011-11-16 20:43:52Z UTC

I normally get violently sick every flu season. Ive been taking 2,000 mg a day and havent gotten sick even though everyone around me has. I also take vit d and probiotics which is supposed to help but also did this the last two yrs and still got sick.

The immune benefit is a great side effect for me. I initially started taking it as I read that it helps the body during times of stessful periods. I think something to the effect of it prevents the dumping of too much cortisol into the system.

panteleimon · Answer 2 · 2011-11-16 19:55:50Z UTC

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I felt radically, fundamentally better when I first started Vitamin C supplementation (which was about 5g per day and included acerola cherry powder for bioflavinoids).

On a paleo diet I seem to need far less Vitamin C, even though I eat very little fruit and small/moderate amounts of veg. Having said that, when I caught a cold a few weeks back, I supplemented Vitamin C and felt much better after each "dose".

answered Nov 16 2011 at 19:55

panteleimon
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Before you started supplementation, how much vitamin C were you getting? – Kasra Nov 16 2011 at 20:30

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It can't have been very much, I was eating a sort of student-y, unhealthy, semi-vegetarian diet! Lots of pulses, very little meat, not many veg, plenty of gluten. At the time I was very stressed and exhausted from final exams and the vitamin C made me feel like a new person, literally within about 30 minutes. – panteleimon Nov 16 2011 at 22:22

Paleo2.0 · Answer 3 · 2011-11-16 19:59:52Z UTC

In the last couple of years I went from supplementing 0 per day to 0.5g per day to 2-3g per day with no noticeable affect to my sense of well being at any point. Years ago I took 6-8g per day and did not notice any effect.

Over the years I have tried a lot of different supplements and really have not noticed much of an effect in most of the them (the non-stimulant variety anyway.) Magnesium citrate does seem to help me get to sleep. CoQ10 did seem to help me feel more energetic later into the day, but that might have been my imagination. It is possible that other supplements do have an effect but it develops slowly enough that I don’t really notice it.

RJ100 · Answer 4 · 2011-11-16 20:29:47Z UTC

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I recently increased my vitamin c intake fourfold - switched from a daily 1g pill to taking 2g of powder 2-3 times a day. Do I feel any different? No.

However, there's enough solid research out there to convince me that it's beneficial even if I can't actually feel it.

answered Nov 16 2011 at 20:29

RJ100
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I'm always really skeptical about trusting my intellect to guide me to health, but I see where you're coming from. – Kasra Nov 16 2011 at 20:35

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I'm right with you on most things, but vit c does a lot, especially if you're living a somewhat stressful life, as I currently am. – RJ100 Nov 16 2011 at 20:50

Phoenix · Answer 5 · 2011-11-16 22:06:48Z UTC

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I used to occasionally pop a vitamin C pill, maybe like twice a week. For the last few weeks, I have been drinking 1g sodium ascorbate powder in water twice a day. Within 15 minutes of drinking it, I get a pretty significant calm, relaxed feeling. I suspect this has something to do with vitamin C's effect on cortisol, as I'm pretty certain I have some slightly wacky cortisol issues going on. I'm kicking myself for not starting C supplementation months ago.

answered Nov 16 2011 at 22:06

Phoenix
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What was your average daily C intake prior to this 2x1g regimen? – Kasra Nov 16 2011 at 22:11

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I'd say around 500g/day. I eat a fair amount of plants, and tend to go for the high vitamin C ones; broccoli, red pepper, strawberries. I think certain conditions (eg. my cortisol issues) call for gram level C supplementation. – Phoenix Nov 16 2011 at 22:23

lol 500 grams . – Kasra Dec 15 2011 at 5:08

Damn, that's a lot of broccoli I'd have to eat. – Phoenix Dec 15 2011 at 15:46

Has anyone felt physically better after vitamin c supplementation?

5 Answers