Gout and Sensitive Stomachs: Treatment with Vitamin C

Vitamin C is the basis of your body's natural collagen formation (needed to keep your muscles elastic and your skin from sagging) and an excellent antioxidant. Vitamin C can also be used to reduce inflammation, whether due to injury, inflammation under skin due to aging or the type of food you eat, or inflammation like allergies. If you are taking collagen supplements, you likely want to pair that with vitamin C to improve collagen production and usage in your body. Vitamin C is great if you have been exposed to illness or feel you are coming down with a cold. But some people are very sensitive to Vitamin C, whether due to gout or medication conflicts or your stomach cannot handle the acid of vitamin C. In this case, it is important to find other options so that you can take advantage of this great vitamin.

The first option is to research the Vitamin C alternative variants. These are forms of vitamin C that for one reason or another are more tolerable to consume. One option is Rose Hips; the buds that form and do not develop into flowers are a concentration of an early vitamin C variant. Very potent and you may not need that much of it. This is cheap and available at drug stores and supermarkets. It is a good variant for when you think you might be coming down with a cold.

Consider what juices, such as Pomegranate, Apple or Blueberry, are high in vitamin C without being too acidic. Bananas are high in Vitamin C without being acidic. Also consider teas such as Hibiscus tea that is high in Vitamin C without bothering your stomach and is low acidity. For the most vitamin C per cup, look to get whole tea leaves at places like natural food stores or Adagio Teas. These leaves contain the most nutrients.

Another option is Ascorbyl Palmitate, which is Vitamin C but it is water soluble, meaning you can take more of it without side effects. This variant is recommended by skin gurus such as Dr. Nicholas Perricone. It comes in a capsule form and powder that can be eaten or mixed into food or drinks, the taste is a bit citrus-y. It is harder to find this variant of Vitamin C in the store; you will likely find it in a health store, GNC or Vitamin Shoppe. The advantage is it is tolerable by almost anyone regardless of medical conditions or medications, and you can take larger quantities when exposed to illness or when you have a cold. This variant is even helpful for allergy symptoms. It is more expensive than generic vitamin C, but it is more powerful. Even those with multiple medical conditions and conflicts can take multiples of this kind of gentler vitamin C per day.

Another option if you cannot take larger doses of vitamin C is to consider taking Alpha Lipoic Acid, a great antioxidant that recycles the vitamin C already in your body from food and supplement intake. This maximizes the value of the Vitamin C already in your system. This is especially good for inflammation reactions or anti-oxidant needs. When paired with vitamin C, these two vitamins will meet most of your anti-oxidant needs to support your body's health.