I've been using l-ascorbic acid as one way to lower my blood pressure, by way of its ability to chelate lead. In my case, the lead is in my kidneys, and by removing lead from my kidney, it will reduce oxidative stress, and this will keep the kidney capillaries from being constricted, and this will allow my blood pressure to drop. I have been able to lower my blood pressure as a result, but much work remains.
In the five months I've used ascorbic acid, I have come to a point where I feel I'm getting side effects. I would like to remove the side effects, and I'd like your help in the way of comments and suggestions.
These may not be actual side effects though, it may likely be simply my faulty perception that makes me consider these as side effects of using ascorbic acid. But I'll explain as I go why I consider them valid side effects.
I observed the following:
a. frequent urination at night that leads to loss of quality sleep
b. lower metabolism
c. excessive flatulence, though odorless
d. having acid reflux symptoms, where I would burp often
I've read and understand that l=ascorbic acid is more effective than buffered vitamin c (sodium ascorbate, magnesium ascorbate, calcium ascorbate), although it is more acidic and that some people cannot take l-ascorbate (aka hydrogen ascorbate or simply vitamin c) because it irritates their gut. I find that it does not irritate my gut, I use it over the buffered types.
But now I'm starting to ask myself if all the above"side-effects" are due to my prolonged use of ascorbic acid, which I take in at the dosage of around 7 grams a day, wherein I would dissolve it in a 600ml water bottle and drink throughout the day, in order to keep myself from ingesting amounts that would simply be excreted out through urine. The more ascorbic acid is excreted, the less of it would be absorbed by the body.
The significance of each of these side effects are as follows:
a. Frequent urination at night means loss of quality sleep. This results in, among others, the impairnment of the ability to load up on glycogen stores at night, and over time, my glycogen stores would be gradually reduced to where it would impact my blood glucose levels. With lower bloog sugar levels, there would be less sugar available to be burned for energy, and this would result in lower metabolism.
b. If I take too much of ascorbic acid, more than what I really need, it may result in too much acidity in the blood. This would trigger hyperventilation in order to breath out carbon dioxide, and would result in lower carbon dioxide in the blood. With lower CO2 in the blood, oxygenation of tissues will be reduced, and there would be less oxygen available. This would lead to lower metabolism.
c. Excessive flatulence could be a symptom of the pancreas releasing bicarbonates at the duodenum of the small intestines in order to neutralize the acid from the intake of ascorbic acid. The effect of bicarbonates neutralizing the acid could very well be carbon dioxide. As carbon dioxide is odorless, this could explain why I have odorless gas. This was my conclusion when one time when I took a large amount of ascorbic acid to fight a cold, and it resulted in plenty of gas over the next few days.
d. Before I started the protocol on using ascorbic acid, I was not a burper. I had no sign of being susceptible to acid reflux symptoms. It was only upon prolonged used of ascorbic acid that I started to burp. I think that the burp is the body's way of telling me that I should start to reduce the amount of my daily intake of ascorbic acid. Or if I needed continue the dosage level, I should consider taking it with some sodium bicarbonate, so as to counter the acidity of the ascorbic acid. At any rate, it could be a sign of excess acidity which I should not overlook.
To recap, it would appear then that an excessive intake of vitamin C would lead to lower metabolism, by way of a) reduced blood sugar availability from reduced glycogen stores due to disturbed sleep out of having to wake up often to urinate*
b) reduced oxygen availability due to lower serum CO2 as a result of increased serum acidity (or lower serum pH)
The acidic effect of excsss ascorbic acid intake can be confirmed by observing its effects c) increased odorless flatulence, and d) the increased acid reflux symptom of burping.
*Increased urination - could possibly be the result of both the compensatory response of both the lungs and the kidneys to deal with the increased serum acidity due to excessive ascorbic acid intake. In order to address the excess of H+ ions in the blood (brought about by excess ascorbic acid), bicarbonate ions would react with H+ to produce carbonic carbonic acid H2CO3, and into CO2 + H2O. This creates water that needs to be eliminated. At the same time, the acidic blood (from excess ascorbic acid intake) would cause the kidney to compensate by producing more bicarbonate using the phosphate and ammonia buffer system, and byproducts sodium phosphate and ammonium chloride would need to be excreted. Because the acidic blood environment (caused by excess ascorbic acid intake) causes the buffer system to produce byproducts that need to be excreted, it triggers the urinary bladder to release these byproducts, and these leads to increased urination frequency.
Knowing now that use of ascorbic acid can lead to decreased metabolism, we can be on the lookout for when excessive ascorbic acid is used by looking for the abovementioned symptoms. In that way, we can be kept from using ascorbic acid at levels where it can be counterproductive, when it causes our metabolism to be lowered.
But the question arises if we still need to intake an amount of ascorbic acid that is deemed excessive? I think this is when we can consider using an appropriate amount of baking soda with ascorbic acid to keep the intake of a large amount of ascorbic acid from making the blood too acidic. Remember that the kidneys have to compensate by employing the phosphate and ammonia buffer system to produce bicarbonate ions into the blood? With baking soda in use, an ample supply of bicarbonate is available to keep the kidneys from having to compensate. With no need to produce bicarbonates, there would also be no byproducts that have to be excreted. This is helpful, as this keeps the urinary bladders from having to be active, and this would reduce the freqency of urination when using ascorbic acid.
I just don't the ideal mixture of baking soda and ascorbic acid to use. Does anybody know? Anyway, I am hoping that my analysis is correct. I would very much like to proceed with my blood pressure reduction protocol, and do it better this time, by avoiding any of the "side effects" such that metabolism is not lowered, and that my sleep is not disturbed This would provide conditions that are favorable to my healing. I believe that having the right amount of energy available for use is an absolute must, as without sufficient energy the lead stuck in my kidney mitochondria would remain in place, and not be expelled out of the body.
Thoughts and comments would be highly appreciated.
In the five months I've used ascorbic acid, I have come to a point where I feel I'm getting side effects. I would like to remove the side effects, and I'd like your help in the way of comments and suggestions.
These may not be actual side effects though, it may likely be simply my faulty perception that makes me consider these as side effects of using ascorbic acid. But I'll explain as I go why I consider them valid side effects.
I observed the following:
a. frequent urination at night that leads to loss of quality sleep
b. lower metabolism
c. excessive flatulence, though odorless
d. having acid reflux symptoms, where I would burp often
I've read and understand that l=ascorbic acid is more effective than buffered vitamin c (sodium ascorbate, magnesium ascorbate, calcium ascorbate), although it is more acidic and that some people cannot take l-ascorbate (aka hydrogen ascorbate or simply vitamin c) because it irritates their gut. I find that it does not irritate my gut, I use it over the buffered types.
But now I'm starting to ask myself if all the above"side-effects" are due to my prolonged use of ascorbic acid, which I take in at the dosage of around 7 grams a day, wherein I would dissolve it in a 600ml water bottle and drink throughout the day, in order to keep myself from ingesting amounts that would simply be excreted out through urine. The more ascorbic acid is excreted, the less of it would be absorbed by the body.
The significance of each of these side effects are as follows:
a. Frequent urination at night means loss of quality sleep. This results in, among others, the impairnment of the ability to load up on glycogen stores at night, and over time, my glycogen stores would be gradually reduced to where it would impact my blood glucose levels. With lower bloog sugar levels, there would be less sugar available to be burned for energy, and this would result in lower metabolism.
b. If I take too much of ascorbic acid, more than what I really need, it may result in too much acidity in the blood. This would trigger hyperventilation in order to breath out carbon dioxide, and would result in lower carbon dioxide in the blood. With lower CO2 in the blood, oxygenation of tissues will be reduced, and there would be less oxygen available. This would lead to lower metabolism.
c. Excessive flatulence could be a symptom of the pancreas releasing bicarbonates at the duodenum of the small intestines in order to neutralize the acid from the intake of ascorbic acid. The effect of bicarbonates neutralizing the acid could very well be carbon dioxide. As carbon dioxide is odorless, this could explain why I have odorless gas. This was my conclusion when one time when I took a large amount of ascorbic acid to fight a cold, and it resulted in plenty of gas over the next few days.
d. Before I started the protocol on using ascorbic acid, I was not a burper. I had no sign of being susceptible to acid reflux symptoms. It was only upon prolonged used of ascorbic acid that I started to burp. I think that the burp is the body's way of telling me that I should start to reduce the amount of my daily intake of ascorbic acid. Or if I needed continue the dosage level, I should consider taking it with some sodium bicarbonate, so as to counter the acidity of the ascorbic acid. At any rate, it could be a sign of excess acidity which I should not overlook.
To recap, it would appear then that an excessive intake of vitamin C would lead to lower metabolism, by way of a) reduced blood sugar availability from reduced glycogen stores due to disturbed sleep out of having to wake up often to urinate*
b) reduced oxygen availability due to lower serum CO2 as a result of increased serum acidity (or lower serum pH)
The acidic effect of excsss ascorbic acid intake can be confirmed by observing its effects c) increased odorless flatulence, and d) the increased acid reflux symptom of burping.
*Increased urination - could possibly be the result of both the compensatory response of both the lungs and the kidneys to deal with the increased serum acidity due to excessive ascorbic acid intake. In order to address the excess of H+ ions in the blood (brought about by excess ascorbic acid), bicarbonate ions would react with H+ to produce carbonic carbonic acid H2CO3, and into CO2 + H2O. This creates water that needs to be eliminated. At the same time, the acidic blood (from excess ascorbic acid intake) would cause the kidney to compensate by producing more bicarbonate using the phosphate and ammonia buffer system, and byproducts sodium phosphate and ammonium chloride would need to be excreted. Because the acidic blood environment (caused by excess ascorbic acid intake) causes the buffer system to produce byproducts that need to be excreted, it triggers the urinary bladder to release these byproducts, and these leads to increased urination frequency.
Knowing now that use of ascorbic acid can lead to decreased metabolism, we can be on the lookout for when excessive ascorbic acid is used by looking for the abovementioned symptoms. In that way, we can be kept from using ascorbic acid at levels where it can be counterproductive, when it causes our metabolism to be lowered.
But the question arises if we still need to intake an amount of ascorbic acid that is deemed excessive? I think this is when we can consider using an appropriate amount of baking soda with ascorbic acid to keep the intake of a large amount of ascorbic acid from making the blood too acidic. Remember that the kidneys have to compensate by employing the phosphate and ammonia buffer system to produce bicarbonate ions into the blood? With baking soda in use, an ample supply of bicarbonate is available to keep the kidneys from having to compensate. With no need to produce bicarbonates, there would also be no byproducts that have to be excreted. This is helpful, as this keeps the urinary bladders from having to be active, and this would reduce the freqency of urination when using ascorbic acid.
I just don't the ideal mixture of baking soda and ascorbic acid to use. Does anybody know? Anyway, I am hoping that my analysis is correct. I would very much like to proceed with my blood pressure reduction protocol, and do it better this time, by avoiding any of the "side effects" such that metabolism is not lowered, and that my sleep is not disturbed This would provide conditions that are favorable to my healing. I believe that having the right amount of energy available for use is an absolute must, as without sufficient energy the lead stuck in my kidney mitochondria would remain in place, and not be expelled out of the body.
Thoughts and comments would be highly appreciated.
