WHICH C FOR ME?

Wholesale Nutrition offers several forms of vitamin C from which the consumer must choose one or more to suit his particular requirements. We'll just list the different forms, their 1995 prices per gram, and discuss their pros and cons. All prices include shipping/handling to USA & Canada. (1 gram = 1000 mg)

(By crystals, we mean a fine crystaline powder which will dissolve in water.)

Quickie-Clickie (tm) Cross Reference

ASCORBIC ACID       Crystals  2.5 cents/g C   Tart, 100% pure!
ASCORBIC ACID       Tablets   4.0 cents/g C   Handy
SODIUM ASCORBATE    Crystals  3.1 cents/g C   Not acidic
CALCIUM ASCORBATE   Crystals  4.4 cents/g C   Mildly bitter
CHEWABLE VITAMIN C  Tablets   8.6 cents/g C   Handy, Chewable
C - SALTS           Crystals  4.1 cents/g C   Effervescent drink
POTASSIUM ASCORBATE Crystals  6.1 cents/g C   Effervescent drink
MAGNESIUM ASCORBATE Crystals  5.5 cents/g C   Effervescent drink
ASCORBYL PALMITATE  Crystals 27.0 cents/g C   Oil soluble form
CSTRIPS - a way of telling how much C your body uses
Other articles on Vitamin C at Mall-Net
Book Foreward by Dr. Linus Pauling

ASCORBIC ACID CRYSTALS:

At 2.5 cents/gram, this form is most economical. These pure crystals have either a nice tart taste, or a sour taste, depending on the palate. Being 100% vitamin C, ascorbic acid crystals are the most concentrated form of the vitamin (about 4 grams per level teaspoon). They go well with orange juice, apple juice, and lemonade, but if you're trying to cut corners, you may be using a nickel's worth of juice just to take a penny's worth of our vitamin C. These crystals can be put into a salt shaker and used as a lemon substitute and sprinkled in tea or on fish. Ascorbic acid crystals are also used for maintaining the fresh appearance of fruits and meats and in canning and preserving (1 or 2 grams per jar). Some persons with sensitive stomachs dislike the acidity, while others take a few grams at once to kill heartburn.

ASCORBIC ACID TABLETS:

(4.0 cents/gram) These are convenient in that they can be kept handy in purse, car, or bedside, and, at 500 mg per tablet, one's intake is easily monitored. All tablets must contain excipients such as binders and lubricants. We use a non-nutritive cellulose binder to hold the tablet together, and a very small amount of a common edible fat (stearic acid) as our lubricant (so tablets won't stick in the tableting machine). We of course add no sugars, colors, artificial sweeteners, or any other undesirable ingredients. Ascorbic acid tablets are not meant as a source of megadoses of vitamin C since dozens of tablets per day would introduce excessive amounts of excipients into the body to which some persons may be sensitive. These tablets should never be chewed as tooth enamel damage can occur over the years. And an unchewed tablet might cause some temporary local irritation to a sensitive stomach wall until the tablet finally breaks up.

SODIUM ASCORBATE CRYSTALS

(3.1 cents per gram of C) are used to avoid the acidity of ascorbic acid by sensitive persons. Many like the slightly salty taste as a substitute for table salt. Its sodium content (131 mg per gram of C) may be objectionable to those with hypertension or water retention problems. But this form is used in intravenous drips where dozens of grams/day of sodium don't seem to be a problem. Recent research indicates that only sodium chloride (table salt) may be the culprit. Anyway, sodium is a necessary ingredient for the body and a sodium-free diet is not recommended. Sodium ascorbate can be added to many foods such as milk and soup without affecting taste. It's also used as a sugar-free, additive-free, substitute for toothpaste (brush and swallow) for double use of your sodium ascorbate crystals (never use ascorbic ACID on teeth). Since sodium ascorbate is usually used for vitamin C megadoses, we don't offer a tablet form since a large excipient intake would result.

CALCIUM ASCORBATE CRYSTALS

(4.4 cents per gram of vitamin C) are preferred, despite the bitter taste, as the best source of easily absorbable calcium, as well as vitamin C. It contains NO sodium AND is NON-acid. It is also a good toothpaste substitute, leaving a refreshing and astringent feeling in the mouth (see previous paragraph). Calcium ascorbate should NOT be your sole source of megadose C or a calcium overload may result. About 10 grams per day will supply the RDA (1 gram) of calcium for an adult.

CHEWABLE VITAMIN C

(8.6 cents per gram) may be the only way to get vitamin C down the kids. A nice tart taste, the convenience of tablets, and only very slightly acid. These chewables contain rose hips, acerola, and citrus bioflavonoids (the benefits of which are still controversial). Because sodium ascorbate is used to keep down the acidity, so as not to affect tooth enamel, each tablet contains 23 mg of sodium (plus 250 mg of C). The excipients are the same as in the Ascorbic Acid Tablets, except we added a natural citrus flavor, and sorbitol, a non-sugar natural sweetener.

C - SALTS:

At just 4.1 cents per gram of vitamin C, C-Salts is probably the best all-round value. (ANDREW WEIL, MD, in his book "Natural Health, Natural Medicine", said: "THE BEST FORM OF VITAMIN C I HAVE FOUND IS CALLED C-SALTS .... MADE BY WHOLESALE NUTRITION" - a testimonial par excellence!) When a rounded teaspoon is added to just 1/8 glass of cold water, a good-tasting, effervescent drink is obtained containing 4 grams of vitamin C plus 14% of your RDA of potassium, calcium, magnesium, and zinc, all as their ascorbates. Of Vitamin C's acidity, over 90% is neutralized - and there is NO sodium. And absolutely NO excipients, either. C-Salts can go flat if left open a few times. Its C-content, though, will not be affected. Avoid moist spoons and splashing, and always put the cap right back on after using. Taste variations will occur from batch to batch since we add no coverup flavors.

Click for more Info on C Salts

POTASSIUM ASCORBATE:

(6.1 cents/gram of C) A rounded teaspoon into just an ounce of water gives you a fine tasting, effervescent Potassium Ascorbate drink containing 700 mg of potassium and 4 grams of vitamin C, and that's all! Dr Cathcart says it makes a good substitute for the potassium chloride pre- scribed for heart patients. DON'T make this product your only source of vitamin C since 20 drinks/day (1/2 bottle) can be fatal to an adult! If you plan taking over two rounded TEAspoons per day, please consult your doctor, especially if you have kidney problems. Unfortunately, Potassium Ascorbate is tasty as well as deadly - so keep it away from the kids and the unthinking! Remember Murphy's law: If it can happen, it will! Potassium Ascorbate is also humidity sensitive. See the previous paragraph on C-Salts.

MAGNESIUM ASCORBATE:

(5.5 cents/gram of C) A rounded teaspoon into 1 oz. of water results in a slightly effervescent Magnesium Ascorbate drink with 170 mg of magnesium, 4 mg of B6, and 3 grams of C.

ASCORBYL PALMITATE:

At 27 cents/gram of vitamin C, this is the most expensive source of C (200 grams of Ascorbyl Palmitate is equivalent to 85 grams of pure vitamin C). This is the fat (oil) soluble form of C and is used as an antioxidant and preservative in foods, vitamins, drugs and cosmetics. Ascorbyl Palm- itate acts synergistically with other antioxidants such as vitamin E. Its antioxidant activity is pro- portional to its use level, even when exceeding its solubility. There is no restriction on the use level of ascorbyl palmitate as a food preservative. Other antioxidants are limited to .02% of the fat content.