Real vs. Synthetic Vitamin C (Part 2)
By Lydia Wallie, Nutrition Director
Did you miss Part 1 in this series on real vs. synthetic Vitamin C? Read the relationship between synthetic Vitamin C and corn/wheat in Part 1 here.
Here is reason #2 to avoid synthetic ascorbic acid labeled as Vitamin C:
Bioavailability.
Whole food sourced Vitamin C is more bioavailable (your body absorbs and uses it!). In this particular study, it’s demonstrated that a whole food source of Vitamin C (citrus extract) is 35% more absorbed than ascorbic acid. (1) Also, when food sources of Vitamin C are consumed (ie., bell peppers, kiwi, oranges), there are a whole host of other cofactors (nutrients) that help with the absorption and utilization of the Vitamin C.
What’s one way you can add more whole food sources of Vitamin C to your diet this week? Check out this post for 14 great food sources of Vitamin C!
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