Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)
Water-soluble antioxidant vitamin involved in collagen synthesis, immune function, and iron absorption.
Projected serum levels — 500 mg, once daily
Maintenance schedule: 500 mg once daily (oral).
Loading schedule: 625 mg on day 1, then 500 mg once daily — reaching therapeutic levels sooner.
Modeled steady state after ~1 days: peak ≈ 406 mg, trough ≈ 101 mg body load. Population-based estimate over 15 days for a 500 mg dose at a 70 kg reference body mass — the interactive app scales curves to your doses, timing, and body mass.
Key facts
- Category
- Vitamin
- Route modeled
- Oral
- Model confidence
- inferred
- Half-life
- 10 h
- Common dose
- 500 mg
- Suggested maximum
- 4k mg/day
- Reference dose range
- 250–4k mg (single dose)
- Suggested cadence
- once daily
- Validated against
- 1k mg oral — Cmax 14 mg/L at 3 h
Documented interactions
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caution
Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) + Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)
High-dose vitamin C (> 1000 mg) may degrade vitamin B12 in the gut and interfere with its absorption.
Serum checks 1 modeled interaction pairings for vitamin c (ascorbic acid) across your whole stack — absorption conflicts, enzyme inhibition, and nutrient depletion included.
Research behind this entry
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Vitamin C for preventing and treating the common cold
Major Cochrane review found regular vitamin C supplementation reduced cold duration by 8% in adults and 14% in children, but did not prevent colds in the general population.
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Vitamin C and immune function
Comprehensive review showing vitamin C supports various cellular functions of both innate and adaptive immunity, and deficiency impairs immune response.
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Vitamin C pharmacokinetics in healthy volunteers: evidence for a recommended dietary allowance
Landmark pharmacokinetic study establishing that vitamin C bioavailability declines at doses above 200 mg, with nearly complete saturation at 400 mg daily.
3 published studies referenced in the app, each with a plain-language summary.