[ennay]

From O magazine

A recent study conducted at the University of Jena, in Germany, found that supplements of vitamins C and E can subvert some of the benefits of exercise. Physical activity produces chemical by-products called reactive oxygen species (ROS). While ROS can cause some tissue damage, they also spur the body to metabolize calories (helping you lose weight) and improve insulin response (helping you process sugar). This last perk explains why many doctors recommend that patients at risk for diabetes get more exercise. Yet vitamins C and E are antioxidants, meaning they work to eradicate ROS. Consuming the levels of antioxidants found in regular servings of fruits and vegetables destroys just some ROS; megadosing with the amounts found in supplements can extinguish nearly all of them before they have a chance to spark the body's metabolic and insulin responses.

I read this and looked back and right at the time I started vitamin C supplements (on the advice of a doctor) I started regaining weight. It isnt all of it by a long shot but I had been sick for 6 months and quit the Vitamin C and am finally healthy and my cravings are cut in half.

[Metal Chick]

Wow. Good to know. I was always told you couldn't really have too much vitamin C. I take quite a bit. I might at least cut it in half.
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Actually, after thinking about it. My skinny friends all take a lot of C. And I have been sick a lot less often since I've been taking it regularly. I think I'll keep on as I am.

Not to say it doesn't cause weight gain in some people, but I'm pretty sure vitamin C isn't the reason I'm fat! lol

[Mikan]

I noticed the more I take vitamin C the more sick I get during cold and flu season. After catching the h1n1 a few weeks ago, I gave up the vitamin C supplement drinks I was having everyday. I get over 100 % vitamin C naturally in the food choices I have daily. My friend told me she read somewhere the more you pump it into your body the more your body relies on it instead of fighting things on it's own. Good to know I'm not losing out, since it seems not to be constructive to weight loss.

[JulieJ08]

I think it's just one more indication of why we should try to stick to a healthy diet instead of supplements, although there are various reasons for exceptions.

Most of the time, there is wisdom, even if we don't know it yet, in the proportions of nutrients in real food!

[chewysmom]

Hmmm, that's interesting. This is the first year I've really relied on vit c, for both myself and the kids. Honestly, I can't tell that it's helped us at all really, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to cut the supplements out.