As fall rolls around and the weather gets colder, people generally stock up on all kinds of Vitamin C supplements from chewable to powders to pills hoping to stave off nasty colds and coughs lurking everywhere in the environment around us. Walking into a health food store to pick up some vitamins can be rather frustrating these days as you go through aisles filled with various supplements from so many different companies, each trying to compete against one another claiming to be the better than the last one. This seems to be a common theme with simple Vitamin C supplements – that are now available in 50 or more different forms, so what is the best one to purchase without breaking the bank with so many choices?

Here are a few simple things to remember when purchasing any type of Vitamin C.

Vitamin C, when found in fruits and vegetables, is bound to bioflavonoids. This type of Vitamin C is complete and has great benefits on the body such as improving immune function, improving the integrity of capillaries and structural tissues in the body such as skin and is great at sequestering free radicals form the body as an antioxidant. Whole food Vitamin C supplements work the best on the body. Vitamin C that is usually purchased from health food stores come in various forms such as plain ascorbic acid – separated from the bioflavonoids, which can sometimes be too acidic for the body, and so now we also have it esterified with Calcium – usually called Ester C.  This is a buffered form of C and less acidic for the body. The best form of Vitamin C is the one that contains bioflavonoids such as hesperidin and quercitin, making it a complete Vitamin C; the way nature intended it to be. Quite often, rosehips are added which are great source of Vitamin C, and are great for boosting the immune system and have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties as well.

The more isolated forms of pharmaceutical ascorbic acid are okay but in order to get the complete effect of Vitamin C, the whole food supplements fare better.

Pills versus powders?  Powders or liquids are easier to digest and  better absorbed into the blood streams, followed by capsules and caplets.

By Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.