Vitamin C For Adrenal Fatigue Recovery

Are you dealing with symptoms of adrenal fatigue and trying to find the best vitamins and supplements to help you recover? If you have chronic stress (which is a cause of adrenal fatigue), and low energy levels, you almost certainly need Vitamin C!

In this post we’ll go over:

• The benefits of Vitamin C
• Why Vitamin C is crucial for proper adrenal function
• Signs of deficiency
• How to easily add Vitamin C to your diet
• Supplements and proper dosage considerations

If you’re ready to have healthy cortisol levels, support hormone production, and heal your body, you’ll definitely want to read all about Vitamin C for adrenal fatigue recovery!

Let’s dive right in!

Benefits Of Vitamin C

Vitamin C is often thought of for supporting proper immune function and is very important for that, but its usefulness doesn’t end there.

Many systems in the body require this crucial nutrient.

Vitamin C has been shown to be essential for:

• proper functioning of the cardiovascular system
• tissue repair
• the nervous system
• healthy skin
• wound healing
• healthy blood vessels
• teeth and bones
• glandular health
• a healthy immune response
• fighting free radicals

In addition to all of the benefits listed, Vitamin C can also help protect against high levels of heavy metals in the body, aid in iron absorption, assist the body in energy production, is essential for connective tissue repair, and plays an important role in thyroid health.

But one really important, and often unknown reason that we need Vitamin C is for the body’s stress response.

Vitamin C: The Crucial Vitamin For 21st Century Stress Syndrome

Did you know that people are not capable of making their own Vitamin C?

Most animals can, but we humans (and a few other mammals) lack a specific enzyme that makes that possible.

We have to get it from the food we eat or dietary supplements.

One more quick fact you may find interesting is that the adrenal glands have the highest concentrations of Vitamin C in the body.

It’s true! And there is a very good reason!

Even though this vitamin is considered water-soluble, meaning that the body doesn’t store large amounts and what is not needed is excreted, there is a small amount stored in the adrenal glands.

This is because the adrenal glands need this vitamin to function properly and make hormones (like cortisol) so that the body can cope with stressful situations.

While it’s true that the entire HPA (Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal) axis is involved in maintaining balance, the adrenal glands are always on call, so to speak, and are particularly affected in times of stress, whether it be emotional stress or physical.

When stress levels rise, the adrenal glands require additional Vitamin C and it is used very quickly, so these little glands can become depleted and in desperate need of this essential vitamin.

As you can see, Vitamin C is not only necessary for healthy adrenal function, it is absolutely essential!

Signs Of Vitamin C Deficiency

Since your body cannot make Vitamin C or store it in large amounts, the adrenal glands (and eventually other tissues and glands) become depleted and you can experience symptoms such as :

• frequent colds and respiratory infections
• poor wound healing
• tooth loss
• gums that bleed easily
• bruising easily
• fatigue

Deficiencies of this vitamin can be caused by :

• poor diet
• alcoholism
• smoking
• over the counter medications
• birth control pills

There are quite a few things that can cause vitamin deficiencies and then when you experience stressful times, there is the risk of even more depletion.

Because this vitamin plays a critical role in healthy adrenal gland function and is used so quickly, it is very important to be aware of anything that could cause lower levels of Vitamin C, and be sure to eat a diet full of this important nutrient.

This brings us to our next step- a few possible lifestyle changes and how to easily add Vitamin C to your diet.

How To Easily Add Vitamin C To Your Diet

Adding the right amount Vitamin C to your diet is important, and thankfully, fairly easy to do.

Eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables every day is an easy way to support adrenal health and get the vitamins and trace minerals your body needs.

Since Vitamin C tends to break down quickly when exposed to heat, it is best if you eat some of your fruits and veggies raw.

If you’re looking for foods that are great sources of Vitamin C to add to your diet, here are a few you should check out:

• oranges
• lemons
• kiwi
• guava
• grapefruit
• strawberries
• papaya
• cauliflower
• broccoli
• brussel sprouts
• sweet red pepper

If you add these foods to your daily diet not only will you be adding a whole food form of Vitamin C, but other important vitamins and minerals as well.

To eat properly and meet your body’s daily demands, it is recommended that you eat between 5-9 servings of fruit and vegetables each day.

In fact, Dr. Terry Wahls makes even further suggestions on how to get the right amount of nutrition (not just Vitamin C, but all vitamins and minerals) from fresh food.

She suggests 9 servings each day from 3 different categories.

Here are her suggestions:

3 servings of dark green leafy vegetables– these dark greens are full of nutrients and supply vitamins A, B, C & K. In this category you would find mustard greens, spinach, kale, dandelion greens, arugula, and beet greens.

3 servings of brightly colored veggies– these are full of antioxidants. Look for veggies like asparagus, peas, cabbage, red peppers, red cabbage, colored cauliflower, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, and other colored peppers.

3 servings of sulfur veggies– sulfur veggies are important because they actually nourish the cells in the body, help eliminate toxins, properly use protein, and aid in collagen production. Look for cauliflower, onions, collard greens, rutabagas, garlic, and radishes.

Remember, food is the best place to obtain vitamins and minerals. In that holistic form they work together in the body, so the more fruits and vegetables you can add, the healthier your whole body will be!

Supplements And Dosage Considerations Of Vitamin C For Adrenal Fatigue Recovery

If you feel like you don’t get enough Vitamin C through diet alone, or you need an additional amount for some reason, Vitamin C supplementation may be something to consider.

I personally stick to products that are whole-food based.

The reason is that whole-food-based products have bioflavonoids and these two ingredients (Vitamin C and bioflavonoids) work together.

The high-quality products that contain food-based Vitamin C are also in a much more natural dose, but we’ll come back to that in a minute 😉

When looking for Vitamin C supplements you’ll notice there are many products on the market today but be sure to do a little research because most of them are ascorbic acid, which is not the same as whole food Vitamin C.

Here are a few reasons to avoid ascorbic acid products:

1. Many products are derived from GMO sources
2. Ascorbic acid is a synthetic, isolated product that contains no essential co-factors
3. Ascorbic acid is often taken in high doses that can contribute to health issues such as thickening of the arteries, can contribute to cell mutations associated with the formation of cancer, and reduced endurance capacity.
4. Synthetic Vitamin C such as ascorbic acid can interfere with copper regulation and can cause deficiency

The good news- these issues are not found with natural, food-based Vitamin C!

Dosage

Remember how I mentioned that we would come back to proper dosage? Well, let’s get to that now.

I want to add here that I am not a doctor and therefore cannot give medical advice.

What I can tell you though, is what I have found through research and let you know works well for myself and others that I have talked with.

So, according to RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowances) guidelines, the current daily recommendation for Vitamin C is between 60-90 milligrams per day for non-smoking adults. (Smokers often require a higher doses).

Now, keep in mind that 45 mg/d is the amount that has been identified as needed to prevent scurvy. And we know that smokers, people with health issues, those under stress, and people on medication could require more.

So 60-90 mg/d may not be enough for some people.

Some experts that have studied vitamin C believe that current RDA recommendations of 60 mg per day are inadequate and that 200mg a day should be the recommended dose.

And there have been scientific studies that support this recommendation by showing that white blood cells are saturated with vitamin C at 100mg a day, and blood was saturated with 200mg a day.

As you can see, 200 milligrams per day is more than the 60-90 mg/d RDA recommendation but much less than those that use ascorbic acid and follow the teachings of Linus Pauling and others like him.

So What Is The Right Dose?

Again, I can’t ( and don’t want to) make a recommendation for you, but what I have found is that my family and I seem to do best when we take between 200-400 mg/d of whole food Vitamin C when needed.

Since it seems that our bodies can only absorb 200 mg or so at a time, I usually take one dose in the morning and one at night.

Many people take even larger doses (up to 600-800 mg/d) of whole food Vitamin C when they aren’t feeling well and short term that may be ok for them, but I personally don’t like to take too much since all vitamins and minerals work in balance and I don’t want to upset that balance.

Remember- You really can have too much of a good thing 😉

Favorite Products

After looking into different brands of Vitamin C I have found a few brands that I trust and products I like.

The reason I chose these two particular products is that they are made from whole food sources and the companies both have great reputations for quality.

The first is Pure Radiance C from Pure Synergy.

This product is made from non-GMO wild crafted and organic berries and contains no synthetic ascorbic acid.

The next product is Immune-Aid from Earthley Wellness.

It is made with camu camu and acerola berries is a whole food supplement and does not contain ascorbic acid. I am not a huge fan of stevia so this product isn’t my first choice, but it is a close second.

Vitamin C For Adrenal Fatigue Recovery Wrap Up

As we wrap up, I just want to go over a few of the important takeaways.

The main points to remember are:

• Vitamin C is essential for many functions in the body, especially the adrenal glands!
• Stress, medications, poor diet, smoking, and even birth control can deplete Vitamin C
• Healthy foods such as fruit and veggies are the best source of Vitamin C
• If you need or want to supplement look for food-based, whole food supplements
• Ascorbic acid and large amounts of any Vitamin C can cause health issues and imbalances in some people

I feel like I should add that there may be a time and place for high dose Vitamin C (also known as IV vitamin therapy) but only in specific situations such as removal of silver (amalgam) fillings, or when this type of treatment poses less of a risk than a different medication or therapy.

It should only be used under a knowledgeable doctor’s care and on rare occasions because oftentimes the products used are GMO, synthetic, and very high doses.

But again, I am not a doctor. These are my beliefs based on the research that I have done. Please be sure to do your own research and talk to your healthcare provider to determine the best options for your specific situation.

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Resources

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1962569
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1962569
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-c-benefits#The-bottom-line
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-c-deficiency-symptoms#section16
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23852908
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/87/1/142/4633311
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional/#h2
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408398.2011.649149

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