Vitamin C Forum

I noticed that in your news item about the avian flu, it was not entirely clear that the dramatic effects are always with ascorbic acid orally and sodium ascorbate intravenously.

I have not been able to achieve the ascorbate effect with mineral ascorbates orally.

Mineral ascorbates are fine forms of vitamin C but when you are really sick, the mitochondria are failing in their refueling of the free radical scavengers with electrons. The ascorbic acid carries 2 extra electrons per molecule where the mineral ascorbates seem to carry only one (plus per molecule the mineral ascorbates are heavier due to the mineral weighing more than the hydrogen the mineral replaces). So the mineral ascorbates are not potent enough to accomplish the ascorbate effect.

There may be other reasons that we do not appreciate additionally

- Robert Cathcart, MD
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