Vitamin C

[WeirdAl]

Can vitamin C really run with the big boys of bodybuilding supplementation? Surprisingly, yes. This powerful organic substance, also known as ascorbic acid, runs neck and neck with better-known supplements for its plethora of benefits. Undoubtedly, you've heard the word about vitamin C giving immune system a boost, helping to ward off or shorten the duration the common cold and aiding the in averting heart disease and types of cancer. These attributes are great for you stay healthy. What might not know, though, that vitamin C has benefits those reported by the press. In addition to immune system, C can aid recovery, capillaries and other and help your body and/or use hormones, acids and collagen, allowing greater bodybuilding progress.

When you train using of pounds of weight, place extreme stress on your body and may incur injuries. Vitamin C can help reverse and repair the damage you do in the gym. As an antioxidant, it works on the cellular level to reverse oxidative stress, thus preventing excessive muscle damage and enhancing muscle recovery and possibly growth. In addition, vitamin C aids the body in creating collagen, which in turn helps your joints recover, and it strengthens capillaries and blood vessels. Having sufficient vitamin C in your system at all times leads to faster recovery from training and injuries, and it may also reduce pain and bruising.

If you've been a bodybuilder for any length of time, you know that maintaining proper hormone function is essential to making gains and feeling good. Vitamin C supports hormone function by aiding in the production of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine. Supplementing with vitamin C creates a surplus that is at your body's disposal to use when responding to the stress of a hard training session or even such everyday stresses as relationships, work or commuting.

Due to this laundry list of bodybuilding benefits, vitamin C should be one supplement you pop morning, noon and night. If you are eating a wide variety of fruits and veggies (see the meal-plan sidebars for the best choices) like you should be, you are already getting a decent amount of vitamin C. However, you should be supplementing as well, for its positive bodybuilding effects. Because vitamin C is water soluble, it isn't held in the body for more than a few hours. For best results, take vitamin C supplements at regular intervals throughout the day, rather than all at once. Taking this valuable nutrient in several smaller doses with food will also help you avoid digestive side effects and provide your body with a constant supply.

SIZE YOUR Cs The recommended daily allowance for vitamin C is a mere 75 milligrams (mg) for women and 90 mg for men. This is an extremely low level, and it represents only the amount needed to prevent health problems such as scurvy, a vitamin deficiency disease. The basic recommended amount for healthy bodybuilders (and other individuals, as well) is 1,000-1,500 mg in divided doses. For those seeking to aid bodybuilding recovery or perhaps to help fend off a cold, a daily dosage in the 1,500-5,000 mg range might be more effective. Some individuals may experience stomach problems with, a high intake of vitamin C. If this occurs, back off the dosage and slowly, build up to higher amounts as your stomach allows. When purchasing a vitamin C supplement, look for one that contains bioflavonoids, which improve the uptake of vitamin C. The accompanying charts present three daily food-and-supplement plans to help you "C" clearly.

EVERYDAY
DOSAGE

Add the following vitamin C rich foods and
supplemental C (including bioflavonoids) to
your meals to make certain you're getting the
amount of vitamin C that a bodybuilder
needs every day.

MEAL VITAMIN C

BREAKFAST
Supplemental C 250 mg
1/4 cup black currants 51 mg

LUNCH
Supplemental C 250 mg
1 cup cooked Brussels sprouts 97 mg
1 cup strawberries 85 mg

DINNER
Supplemental C 250 mg
1 cup cooked chopped broccoli 98 mg
3 oz green peppers 110 mg

Approximate daily total 1,200 mg

BODYBUILDING
RECOVERY

On days when you feel overtrained, run down or
when you plan a particularly challenging workout,
bump up your vitamin C intake. Here's how

MEAL VITAMIN C

BREAKFAST
Supplemental C 500-750 mg
1/2 medium red grapefruit 46 mg

LUNCH
Supplemental C 500 mg
1 cup cooked spinach 18 mg
1 medium tomato 59 mg

DINNER
Supplemental C 500-750 mg
1 medium kiwi fruit 75 mg

Approximate daily total 1,700-2,200 mg

COMMON COLD

When you feel a cold coming on, or after you already
have one, taking a higher-than-normal dose of
vitamin C for a few days might help.

MEAL VITAMIN C

BREAKFAST
Supplemental C 750-1,000 mg
1 cup cubed papaya 87 mg
1 cup orange juice 98 mg

LUNCH
Supplemental C 750-1,000 mg
2 cups romaine lettuce 27 mg
2 cups chicory (salad greens) 86 mg
1 large red bell pepper 312 mg
1 cup cantaloupe 75 mg

DINNER
Supplemental C 750-1,000 mg
1 cup cooked snow peas 77 mg
1 cup raspberries 31 mg

NIGHTTIME SNACK
Optional supplemental C with 1,000 mg
protein shake before bed

Approximate daily total 4,000-4,800 mg

I take 3g a day

[WeirdAl]

I take anywhere from 3-5 g

I take 6, sometimes up to 8.

6-8g of Vit C a day? I bet it took some time to work up to that, if someone just went straight to 8g a day, they would have the shits for sure

I have had it at that dose for a long time. In the beginning, yes I had mudd butt.