Tag: Megadose vitamin c

The Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for vitamin C in adults is 2,000 mg per day, making a 7,000 mg dose significantly higher than the recommended maximum intake. Exceeding this limit is not life-threatening for most people but can cause a range of unpleasant side effects as the body struggles to process the excess amount.

Studies consistently show that the body's absorption efficiency for vitamin C decreases dramatically at higher doses, a crucial fact for understanding what is the maximum amount of vitamin C your body can absorb. This dose-dependent system explains why taking a single, large megadose is far less effective than smaller, repeated doses over time.

While vitamin C is an essential nutrient, the tolerable upper intake level for adults is 2,000 milligrams per day. Exceeding this limit by overloading your body with vitamin C can trigger a range of unpleasant, though generally non-toxic, side effects.

In the 1970s, Nobel laureate Linus Pauling popularized the idea of taking megadoses of vitamin C, suggesting it could prevent and cure ailments from the common cold to cancer. Today, with the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for most adults being just 75-90 mg per day, the question remains: **can you take a megadose of vitamin C** effectively and, more importantly, safely?

According to the National Institutes of Health, when consuming moderate amounts of vitamin C (30–180 mg), the body absorbs approximately 70–90% of it. This fact alone suggests the impossibility of absorbing more than 100% vitamin C, but the full story of how your body processes this essential nutrient is even more complex and important to understand.