Re: Mega-dose vitamin C

The more you take at a time, the more is flushed out immediately. Example: if you take 500mg, about 90% is used up; if you take 1000mg all at once, about 80% is used up and the rest is discarded; if you take 2000mg, about 60% is used up. I imagine that your body is not using more then 40% of the 6000mg you take in. That makes for some expensive urine :-)

BTW, the healthiest form of vitamin C is Calcium ascorbate. We all lack calcium, sodium is not as welcome as it may seem (potassium is a lot better electrolyte for our bodies), and ascorbic acid is not that great for obvious reasons (pH balance, as well as stomach upset that it causes).

I wouldn't take more then 2000mg at one time. Also, I never take it before a meal, only after. If we were to take vitamin C through some super healthy food, it would be absorbed from it AFTER the meal, not before. Therefore I do not subscribe to Linus Pauling's opinion that it is better to take it before meal (I also take all my other vitamins after a meal). Also, if taken during or after a meal, it will be absorbed more slowly, meaning - more thoroughly.

I've been taking vit.C like this for some two decades, so this is not only an informed opinion, but also something I confirmed in practice.