Because your body can’t make vitamin C, and because it is excreted on a daily basis, it is essential that you consume this vitamin everyday. How much should you take? The answer to that question varies from person to person, and it varies for each person depending upon the stress he or she is experiencing on any given day. Evidence suggests that if humans had the enzyme necessary to make their own vitamin C (like most animals do), we would make around 10 grams per day. Stressors that increase your need for vitamin C include:
- Illness, such as a viral or bacterial infection
- Chronic disease, such as cancer or inflammatory conditions
- Exercise
- Exposure to toxins
- Mental and emotional stress
Two good reasons to do a Vitamin C flush are:
- To calibrate your body’s need for vitamin C, so you know how much to take on a daily basis to keep your body functioning well.
- To “jump-start” your immune system to help you fight off a cold or other infection.
Procedure
- Purchase a buffered vitamin C powder or buffered vitamin C tablets as recommended by your doctor (such as C AspaScorb or Ultra PotentC 1000).
- Determine how many grams of vitamin C are in one dose. For example, the powder may contain 1.5 grams of ascorbic acid in a level half teaspoon. Tablets may contain 1 gram (1000 mg) per tablet or half gram (500 mg) per tablet.
- Beginning in the morning on an empty stomach, take one dose of vitamin C with 2 ounces or more of pure water. Record the date and the amount of vitamin C you take.
- Every half hour, take an additional dose of vitamin C, recording the amount.
- Continue this procedure until you have a bowel movement that is a watery stool. For most people, this will occur within four hours. However, if your need for vitamin C is unusually high, the flushing may not occur until the afternoon or evening.
- When you have had a watery stool, discontinue taking the vitamin C for the rest of the day.
- Calculate the total grams of vitamin C you consumed up to the point of your watery stool. Multiply this number by 75% (.75) to determine the amount of vitamin C you should take on a daily basis. Beginning the next day, continue taking this amount in four divided doses.
- If you performed the flush when you had an acute illness, you may find you need less vitamin C when you recover. You will notice this because your stool will become looser everyday. This is a sign that you can now taper back your daily dose of vitamin C. Gradually decrease the amount of vitamin C you are taking until your stools are no longer loose.