Super C - Wellness - Ester-C

Entire books have been devoted to the benefits associated with vitamin C. It helps build better bones, boosts the immune system and contributes to a healthy heart. It also helps heal wounds, strengthens blood vessels and aids eyesight. And there are those who believe it may even prevent cancer.

Yet, just when it seems you couldn't ask for a more naturally beneficial nutrient, some researchers now claim that, yes, as a matter of fact, you can. Its name is Ester-C
Arizona physician Edwin Goertz, MD, discovered Ester-C 20 years ago while seeking help for his arthritic wife. Goertz's spouse couldn't tolerate traditional forms of vitamin C because it upset her stomach, so Goertz, an inventor of sorts, mixed water, ascorbic acid and calcium ascorbate to come up with a non-acidic alternative he dubbed Ester-C.

Today, even doctors who question the true superiority of Ester-C over plain old vitamin C agree it's ideal for patients who are sensitive to the traditional form. Chris Meletis, ND, dean and medical officer of the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon, says he has prescribed Ester-C for 10 years without complaint.
"I use it when patients need full vitamin C coverage as an antioxidant or for immune system support, yet cannot tolerate the normal quantity of pills that plain old vitamin C would require. I'm working on the premise that Ester-C has increased viability or potency--a little bit goes a little further."

But advocates say Ester-C isn't only for those sensitive to vitamin C.
Phil Brown, DVM, is the Ester-C product manager for Inter-Cal Nutraceuticals, which holds the patent for the formula. He describes Ester-C as "the Pentium processor" of the vitamin world.

The Supplement May Even Benefit Pets

"Ester-C is a complex of calcium ascorbate plus vitamin C metabolites. A lot of people call metabolites `door openers.' If you open a door wider, more people can get through.

"What we believe is these vitamin C metabolites open the door for more vitamin C to get into the cell. It also keeps vitamin C in the cell longer. That's basically why Ester-C is different."
And, whereas vitamin C dissolves in water, Brown says Ester-C doesn't, making it a natural for skin lotions, such as moisturizers and sunscreens.

The supplement may even benefit pets.
"I'm a veterinarian. That's how I got involved with the company in the first place," Brown says.
"They asked me to show that Ester-C would help dogs walk better. I didn't think it would, but I did the test anyway. And the old dogs on Ester-C actually began to walk better within a week.

"It helped their joints. It's also an antiinflammatory, so, overall, I think, the dogs just felt better."
Brown notes that 2001 sales of Ester-C to pet companies were up by 50 percent.
Not everyone, however, is quite so enthusiastic about Ester-C's benefits.

Pamela Hannaman-Pittman, ND, a naturopath at Bastyr University in Seattle, says the university dispensary doesn't carry Ester-C, but even if it did, she's not sure she'd recommend it.
"There hasn't been enough unbiased, third-party research to show that Ester-C is significantly better than ascorbic acid, either buffered or unbuffered. Because of that, I haven't seen any reason to ask patients to incur the added expense of that product."

And the added expense can be significant. An informal Better Nutrition survey of retailers in different areas of the country, for example, found that 500 mg of Ester-C can cost roughly 25 percent to 30 percent more than an equivalent dose of ordinary vitamin C.
Brown says Ester-C has few critics, but he acknowledges that skeptics have called for more research. Meletis agrees.

"In my opinion," he says, "the jury's still out on Ester-C. I don't believe the literature is conclusive yet.

"My recommendation for the average patient is to take vitamin C along with bioflavonoids. For people who have sensitive gastrointestinal systems--or esophagitis, gastritis, ulcers or other conditions that prevent them from taking large doses of vitamin C--often I will recommend Ester-C.
"But the best way to get any nutrient or vitamin--including vitamin C--is from good healthy food sources."

Ester C

Each caplet of this product contains 500 mg of vitamin C in the form of calcium ascorbate, along with 200 mg of citrus bioflavonoids. It also contains 110 mg of calcium from the calcium ascorbate.

Most vitamin C supplements use ascorbic acid. But, as the name implies, this form is acidic. And some find that this upsets their stomach. But the calcium in the Ester C "buffers" the ascorbate and thus lessens any stomach upset. Also, it is claimed that calcium ascorbate is better absorbed than ascorbic acid.

The citrus bioflavonoids are added to Ester C as this is how vitamin C is found in nature, in "complex" with bioflavonoids. Bioflavonoids are antioxidants in their own right and help to increase the absorption of vitamin C. As the name implies, such bioflavonoids are found in citrus fruits like oranges. They are especially concentrated in the "white" portion on the inside of the rind. It is for this reason that it is recommended when peeling an orange that you leave as much of the white part on as possible.

That said, my experience with vitamin C is probably rather unique. Generally speaking, if I take more than a couple of hundred milligrams of vitamin C it will cause me to urinate frequently. So I generally need to avoid multiple vitamin and minerals supplements that have 500 mg or more of vitamin C in them. However, I am able to take Jarrow's Multi Easy Powder and Multi 1-3 with no problems despite them both containing 500 mg of vitamin C. But they both have it in the form of calcium ascorbate. So I can only assume that the calcium ascorbate is being better absorbed than ascorbic acid and thus does not cause me any problems.

But 500 mg is somewhat lower than what some recommend for vitamin C when taking it for its antioxidant protection or to reduce post-workout soreness. So I have tried taking additional vitamin C. And I've found that I can use as much as 1000 mg of vitamin C in my post-workout drink via Jarrow's Vitamin C Powder even though it is ascorbic acid. But if I try to take it at other times then I run into the urination problems. I can only assume that this is because my need for vitamin C is so great after a workout that I am fully absorbing it.

With my problem with ascorbic acid at times other than during my workouts and with my lack of problem with the calcium ascorbate in the Jarrow multis, I have tried supplementing with Ester C. Since it contains vitamin C in the same form as the multis, I figured it would not be problematic. And in fact, I did not run into the same urination problem with Ester C as I do with ascorbic acid. However, Ester C makes me drowsy. And if I take for several days in a row, it makes me light-headed. I'm not sure why this is as I do not get drowsy or light-headed from the Jarrow multis. Maybe it is the citrus bioflavonoids or the combination thereof.

But whatever the case, I cannot use Ester C on a regular basis. However, if I have trouble sleeping at night, I find that taking one caplet helps me to get to sleep. So I keep a bottle of Ester C on my nightstand so I can reach as need be.
Finally, it should be noted that Ester C is a trademarked combination that includes both calcium ascorbate and the bioflavonoids. Several different brands of Ester C are available in varying strengths. I am recommending Natrol's brand here as it has the same amounts as what I have used. But Jarrow Formulas has a version of "Buffered Vitamin C" that contains calcium ascorbate but without the bioflavonoids. I have not tried it, so I cannot say if it would have the same effect on me or not.

Vitamin C In Human Health And Disease

Ascorbic acid is one of the important water soluble vitamins. It is essential for collagen, carnitine and neurotransmitters biosynthesis. Most plants and animals synthesize ascorbic acid for their own requirement. However, apes and humans can not synthesize ascorbic acid due to lack of an enzyme gulonolactone oxidase. Hence, ascorbic acid has to be supplemented mainly through fruits, vegetables and tablets. The current US recommended daily allowance (RDA) for ascorbic acid ranges between 100–120 mg/per day for adults. Many health benefits have been attributed to ascorbic acid such as antioxidant, anti-atherogenic, anti-carcinogenic, immunomodulator and prevents cold etc. However, lately the health benefits of ascorbic acid has been the subject of debate and controversies viz., Danger of mega doses of ascorbic acid? Does ascorbic acid act as a antioxidant or pro-oxidant ? Does ascorbic acid cause cancer or may interfere with cancer therapy? However, the Panel on dietary antioxidants and related compounds stated that the in vivo data do not clearly show a relationship between excess ascorbic acid intake and kidney stone formation, pro-oxidant effects, excess iron absorption. A number of clinical and epidemiological studies on anti-carcinogenic effects of ascorbic acid in humans did not show any conclusive beneficial effects on various types of cancer except gastric cancer. Recently, a few derivatives of ascorbic acid were tested on cancer cells, among them ascorbic acid esters showed promising anticancer activity compared to ascorbic acid. Ascorbyl stearate was found to inhibit proliferation of human cancer cells by interfering with cell cycle progression, induced apoptosis by modulation of signal transduction pathways. However, more mechanistic and human in vivo studies are needed to understand and elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying the anti-carcinogenic property of ascorbic acid. Thus, though ascorbic acid was discovered in 17th century, the exact role of this vitamin/nutraceutical in human biology and health is still a mystery in view of many beneficial claims and controversies.

VITAMIN C

Vitamin C, also referred to as ascorbic acid or ascorbate, belongs to the water-soluble class of vitamins. Humans are one of the few species who lack the enzyme to convert glucose to vitamin C (13). Ascorbic acid (AA) is an odorless, white solid having the chemical formula C6H8O6. The vitamin is easily oxidized to form dehydroascorbic acid (DHAA), and thus oxidation is readily reversible. Vitamin C is a generic name for all compounds that exhibit the same biologic activity as AA. Consequently, the term includes both AA and DHAA. The importance of vitamin C was first was discovered in 1747. During the 16th century numerous sea voyagers died due to the disease known as scurvy. James Lind found that men suffering from scurvy were cured when given oranges and lemons and he published his findings in the Treatise of the Scurvy in 1753. He developed a hypothesis based upon the results he observed; although his ideas were incorrect, he was the first person to understand the importance of what would later be called vitamin C. These findings were not widely accepted by the rest of the world and scurvy continued to lead to wide spread death throughout the 19th century (17). Finally, in 1907 scurvy was induced in lab animals and this opened a new opportunity to understand the disease. Around 1930 two scientists working independently isolated and published their findings on vitamin C. The men found that vitamin C prevented and treated scurvy. The term ascorbic acid was adopted to describe its ability to prevent scurvy. The vitamin was then synthesized in the laboratory during 1933 (5).