Vitamin C Push

Full ingredient list

Exact amounts delivered in each size. Formulas are compounded per patient and can be adjusted by your provider.

Supporting studies

• 1

  Giving vitamin C by vein produces blood levels the digestive tract simply cannot achieve — up to roughly 60 times higher than the maximum tolerated oral dose.

  NIH investigators studied 17 healthy hospitalized volunteers, measuring plasma and urine vitamin C after matched oral and intravenous doses, then modeled doses from 1 to 100 grams. A 1.25 g dose produced mean peak plasma levels of 134.8 micromol/L taken orally versus 885 micromol/L given intravenously. Modeling predicted a ceiling of about 220 micromol/L for maximal oral dosing (3 g every 4 hours) compared with 13,400 micromol/L for a single 50 g IV dose. The authors concluded that oral vitamin C is tightly controlled by the body, and only intravenous administration produces these high plasma and urine concentrations.

  Clinical pharmacokinetic study in healthy volunteers with pharmacokinetic modeling Padayatty SJ, Sun H, Wang Y, Riordan HD, Hewitt SM, Katz A, Wesley RA, Levine M Vitamin C pharmacokinetics: implications for oral and intravenous use. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2004. PMID 15068981 ↗

• 2

  In a nationwide NIH survey of more than 9,000 treated patients, high-dose intravenous vitamin C was found to be remarkably safe and well tolerated.

  Researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases surveyed practitioners who administered IV vitamin C, reviewed manufacturer sales data, and analyzed the FDA Adverse Events Database. Among 172 practitioners treating 11,233 patients in 2006 and 8,876 in 2008, the average dose was 28 grams. Of 9,328 patients with available data, only 101 reported any side effect, and these were mostly minor. The authors' stated conclusion was that, apart from known precautions in people with kidney impairment or G6PD deficiency, high-dose intravenous vitamin C 'appears to be remarkably safe.' (Route: intravenous.)

  Practitioner survey and adverse event database analysis Padayatty SJ, Sun AY, Chen Q, Espey MG, Drisko J, Levine M Vitamin C: intravenous use by complementary and alternative medicine practitioners and adverse effects. PLoS One. 2010. PMID 20628650 ↗

• 3

  Vitamin C concentrates inside white blood cells and directly boosts how well they hunt down, engulf, and kill microbes.

  This comprehensive review synthesizes the evidence on vitamin C across innate and adaptive immunity. It documents that vitamin C accumulates in phagocytic cells such as neutrophils and there enhances chemotaxis (the cells' ability to migrate toward infection), phagocytosis, generation of reactive oxygen species, and ultimately microbial killing. It also supports epithelial barrier function against pathogens and promotes oxidant-scavenging activity in the skin. The authors note that treating an established infection requires substantially higher doses than prevention, because inflammation and metabolic demand dramatically increase the body's vitamin C requirement.

  Comprehensive narrative review of human and mechanistic evidence Carr AC, Maggini S Vitamin C and Immune Function. Nutrients. 2017. PMID 29099763 ↗

• 4

  In a systematic review of randomized trials, intravenous vitamin C improved neutrophil chemotaxis — the ability of front-line immune cells to migrate toward an infection.

  This systematic review gathered randomized controlled trials measuring vitamin C's effect on specific neutrophil functions including migration, phagocytosis, oxidative burst, and apoptosis. Of three trials assessing neutrophil chemotaxis in hospitalized patients or outpatients, two showed improved neutrophil function following intravenous vitamin C administration. The authors specifically note that intravenous vitamin C delivers significantly higher plasma concentrations than oral dosing, making it the more effective route for achieving these cellular effects. (Route: intravenous.)

  Systematic review of randomized controlled trials Liugan M, Carr AC Vitamin C and Neutrophil Function: Findings from Randomized Controlled Trials. Nutrients. 2019. PMID 31487891 ↗

• 5

  Collagen literally cannot be built correctly without vitamin C — it is the required cofactor for the enzyme step that locks the collagen triple helix into shape.

  This National Cancer Institute review lays out the biochemistry linking vitamin C to connective tissue and wound healing. Ascorbate is required for the hydroxylation of proline residues in procollagen, and the resulting hydroxyproline is what stabilizes collagen's triple-helical structure. Because of this, ascorbate stimulates the secretion of procollagen from the cell. The paper connects this directly to the defective connective tissue and impaired wound healing seen when vitamin C is deficient.

  Mechanistic review with preclinical data Peterkofsky B Ascorbate requirement for hydroxylation and secretion of procollagen: relationship to inhibition of collagen synthesis in scurvy. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1991. PMID 1720597 ↗

• 6

  Lysine is the specific amino acid the body converts into the chemical cross-links that hold collagen fibers together and give skin, tendon and bone their strength.

  This peer-reviewed review describes the post-translational chemistry of type I collagen, the most abundant structural protein in vertebrates. Specific lysine residues are hydroxylated to hydroxylysine inside the cell, then, outside the cell, a copper-dependent enzyme (lysyl oxidase) converts lysine and hydroxylysine in the collagen telopeptides into reactive aldehydes. Those aldehydes spontaneously form the stable covalent cross-links between collagen molecules that are essential for collagen's mechanical stability and biological function. Without adequate lysine, this cross-linking chemistry has no substrate.

  Mechanistic review Yamauchi M, Sricholpech M Lysine post-translational modifications of collagen. Essays in Biochemistry. 2012. PMID 22708567 ↗

• 7

  Vitamin C supplementation raised glutathione — the body's master antioxidant — inside red blood cells by nearly 50%.

  In this double-blind study, adults consumed vitamin C-restricted diets and took placebo for a baseline week, then 500 mg of L-ascorbate daily for two weeks, then 2,000 mg daily for two weeks, then placebo again. Mean red blood cell glutathione rose nearly 50% after the 500 mg period compared with baseline (p < 0.05), with individual increases ranging from +8% to +84%. The authors concluded that vitamin C supplementation maintains reduced glutathione concentrations in blood and improves the overall antioxidant protective capacity of blood. (Route: oral.)

  Double-blind human supplementation study Johnston CS, Meyer CG, Srilakshmi JC Vitamin C elevates red blood cell glutathione in healthy adults. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1993. PMID 8317379 ↗

• 8

  Vitamin C recharges spent vitamin E inside human cells, letting a single vitamin E molecule keep protecting cell membranes over and over.

  Working with intact human red blood cells, researchers showed that intracellular ascorbate both protects and recycles alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E). When cells were depleted of ascorbate, oxidants destroyed alpha-tocopherol to a much greater extent; when cells were loaded with ascorbate, alpha-tocopherol loss dropped significantly. Critically, ascorbate was consumed first and almost completely before alpha-tocopherol began to decline, demonstrating that vitamin C is spent to spare and regenerate vitamin E in the cell membrane.

  Mechanistic study in human cells May JM, Qu ZC, Mendiratta S Protection and recycling of alpha-tocopherol in human erythrocytes by intracellular ascorbic acid. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics. 1998. PMID 9448716 ↗

• 9

  A double-blind randomized trial in 141 healthy adults found a single 10-gram IV vitamin C infusion measurably reduced fatigue within two hours — and the effect lasted a full day.

  Healthy office workers aged 20 to 49 were randomized double-blind to receive either 10 grams of vitamin C in saline intravenously or saline alone. Fatigue scores dropped significantly in the vitamin C group at two hours and remained lower at one day (p = 0.004). The infusion also raised plasma vitamin C levels and lowered markers of oxidative stress compared with placebo (both p < 0.001). Benefits were most pronounced in participants who started with lower baseline vitamin C. The authors concluded that high-dose intravenous vitamin C was safe and effectively reduced fatigue in this population. (Route: intravenous.)

  Double-blind randomized controlled trial Suh SY, Bae WK, Ahn HY, Choi SE, Jung GC, Yeom CH Intravenous vitamin C administration reduces fatigue in office workers: a double-blind randomized controlled trial. Nutrition Journal. 2012. PMID 22264303 ↗

• 10

  Vitamin C drives the conversion of dopamine into norepinephrine, boosting production of this key alertness and stress-response neurotransmitter several-fold.

  Using cultured human neuronal cells, researchers showed that cells supplied with dopamine generated intracellular norepinephrine at rates stimulated several-fold by intracellular ascorbate, which serves as the electron donor for the enzyme dopamine beta-hydroxylase. The effect was half-maximal at intracellular ascorbate concentrations of 0.2-0.5 mM, matching the known kinetics of the enzyme, and these levels were reached from extracellular concentrations under 25 micromol/L because the cells actively concentrate vitamin C. Ascorbate loading also prevented the rise in cellular superoxide caused by dopamine, showing it both fuels the enzyme and protects the cell.

  Mechanistic/preclinical cell study May JM, Qu ZC, Nazarewicz R, Dikalov S Ascorbic acid efficiently enhances neuronal synthesis of norepinephrine from dopamine. Brain Research Bulletin. 2013. PMID 23022576 ↗

References

• 1Padayatty SJ, Sun H, Wang Y, Riordan HD, Hewitt SM, Katz A, Wesley RA, Levine M. Vitamin C pharmacokinetics: implications for oral and intravenous use. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2004. PMID 15068981 ↗
• 2Padayatty SJ, Sun AY, Chen Q, Espey MG, Drisko J, Levine M. Vitamin C: intravenous use by complementary and alternative medicine practitioners and adverse effects. PLoS One. 2010. PMID 20628650 ↗
• 3Carr AC, Maggini S. Vitamin C and Immune Function. Nutrients. 2017. PMID 29099763 ↗
• 4Liugan M, Carr AC. Vitamin C and Neutrophil Function: Findings from Randomized Controlled Trials. Nutrients. 2019. PMID 31487891 ↗
• 5Peterkofsky B. Ascorbate requirement for hydroxylation and secretion of procollagen: relationship to inhibition of collagen synthesis in scurvy. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1991. PMID 1720597 ↗
• 6Yamauchi M, Sricholpech M. Lysine post-translational modifications of collagen. Essays in Biochemistry. 2012. PMID 22708567 ↗
• 7Johnston CS, Meyer CG, Srilakshmi JC. Vitamin C elevates red blood cell glutathione in healthy adults. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1993. PMID 8317379 ↗
• 8May JM, Qu ZC, Mendiratta S. Protection and recycling of alpha-tocopherol in human erythrocytes by intracellular ascorbic acid. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics. 1998. PMID 9448716 ↗
• 9Suh SY, Bae WK, Ahn HY, Choi SE, Jung GC, Yeom CH. Intravenous vitamin C administration reduces fatigue in office workers: a double-blind randomized controlled trial. Nutrition Journal. 2012. PMID 22264303 ↗
• 10May JM, Qu ZC, Nazarewicz R, Dikalov S. Ascorbic acid efficiently enhances neuronal synthesis of norepinephrine from dopamine. Brain Research Bulletin. 2013. PMID 23022576 ↗