Emergen - C Supplement

[Coach Gostnell]

Yesterday, I was tired beyond belief in the afternoon, plus had a sort of itchy feeling in my head & slightly swollen throat glands. Was out of all my usual naturopathic remedies at work, but one of the supervisors gave me a packet of Emergen - C. It did get me through the end of the work day, & I was even able to show up & lead the MA class with something resembling energy, w/ one more dose shortly before the class.

What's the deal on this product? I see right off it's sweetened w/ fructose, but I didn't suffer a "crash" later, that I noticed anyway. It says it's an "energy booster" which seems to be an accurate description, but why?
Haven't had that effect from simply taking a gram of Vit. C. so do the B vitamins & the minerals make it work, or is it just the sugar?

(Started w/ the echinacea also, & got a reasonable night's sleep, so while I'm not a ball of fire today, I do feel better.)

[Chuck Kechter]

Jeanne,

I don't know anything about the Emergen-C stuff. But I used to take a mulit-vitamin years ago that had A LOT of B-vitamins in it. Every day I would get a rush-crash effect.

I thought at first it was something in my diet (at the time) but after some experimentation I finally found what the culpret was. For me B vitamns are like mainlining caffeine. . .

So maybe that is it, ALONG with the hig sugar rush-crash. . .

I am much more conservative with my B intake now, though it is a part of my supplimentation.

[Coach Gostnell]

a mulit-vitamin years ago that had A LOT of B-vitamins in it. Every day I would get a rush-crash effect.


Interesting. Although I felt better, didn't have much of a rush effect, nor the corresponding crash, & generally I'm sensitive to stuff like that (getting more so all the time, it seems).

Wasn't able to get to bed until about 10, but fell asleep easily & only woke once in the night, very briefly.

So maybe the minerals or something else in the mix tones down the B-vitamin effect....?

[Connie Brown]

How sensitive are you to caffeine? What's the caffeine dose on that?

[Coach Gostnell]

What's the caffeine dose on that?

According to the package, no caffeine. Nor did it feel like caffeine OD, which I am (ahem) familiar with.

5 grams of sugar (fructose). Didn't see any of the covert sugars Kathleen lists.
60 mg of sodium :(


Didn't feel ill effects at all, and apparently a lot of people use it who have to keep functioning through colds & flu but don't like cold "medicines". I'm just trying to get the skinny on why it works at all. Maybe the B vitamins as Chuck suggested. ??

[Paul K]

FYI:

From Alcer website: (http://www.alacer.com/faq.asp)


Frequently Asked Questions about Emer'gen-C:

Emer'gen-C is Alacer’s top selling product. This effervescent drink mix is a nutritional supplement that offers you 500 to 1,000 mg of Vitamin C in the form of Mineral Ascorbates. Mineral Ascorbates can be absorbed by the body in much higher levels and are free from the side effects associated with ascorbic acid, the ‘typical’ Vitamin C, such as upset stomach and heartburn. While packaged, Emer’gen-C is in the form of ascorbic acid. However, once it is mixed with water, a chemical reaction takes place converting the acids into a nearly neutral pH effervescent drink of Mineral Ascorbates.

Q: What is the source of energy?
· Minerals assist the body with energy production.
· Vitamin C supports adrenal function and helps with fatigue and slow metabolism.
· When minerals and Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) are combined in the same. molecule, Mineral Ascorbates are formed. The advantages of linking minerals with ascorbic acid are meaningful. Ascorbic acid, by itself, is quickly absorbed through the intestinal tract and afterwards, excess quantities are rapidly excreted from the body . In fact, studies show that approximately 73% of ascorbic acid ingested gets removed from the body in less than 24 hours. In contrast, only approximately 5% of the Mineral Ascorbates are eliminated during the same time period.


Personally, I have used Emergen-C since the mid 80’s. I use it during times of physical or emotional stress. I relied on it during my stint as an outdoor adventure teacher.

I noticed that Scott Sonnon has listed it in his training logs. :!:

Paul Karpick

[Coach Gostnell]

Thanks for the info.

I'd done a search of the forum on the keyword "Emergen - C " but somehow missed Scott's posts.