vitamin · for slow recovery
Vitamin C
Your body cannot make collagen without vitamin C, and repair is largely collagen work.
Say that in clinical terms
Vitamin C is required for collagen synthesis (hydroxylation of proline and lysine), essential for wound healing and tissue repair. It also enhances immune cell function, reduces oxidative stress from injury, and supports iron absorption for tissue oxygenation.
How strong is the research?
Vitamin C does not appear to consistently modify post-exercise inflammatory or oxidative-stress biomarkers or improve muscle soreness/strength recovery; low to very low certainty evidence.
3 papers read, 1 supporting, 2 against.
Who was studied: The cited paper is about immune cells in inflammation and cancer, not recovery from exercise.
How much to take
daily (higher doses during recovery)
500–2000 mg
Essential for collagen synthesis and wound healing. Increase intake during illness or post-surgery recovery.
Before you take it
- NIH ODS Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for adults is 2,000 mg/day (combined dietary and supplemental intake)
- GI distress (osmotic diarrhea, nausea, abdominal cramping) commonly occurs above 1,000 mg/day due to unabsorbed ascorbic acid reaching the colon
- Sustained high-dose supplementation increases risk of calcium oxalate kidney stones; particular caution warranted in individuals with prior nephrolithiasis or hyperoxaluria
- Vitamin C markedly enhances non-heme iron absorption; supplemental doses are contraindicated in hemochromatosis and other iron-overload conditions
- High-dose Vitamin C antioxidant activity may attenuate the efficacy of chemotherapy and radiation therapy; per NIH ODS, consultation with an oncologist is required before supplementing during active cancer treatment
- High-dose Vitamin C combined with antioxidant mixtures (including vitamin E, beta-carotene, selenium) may blunt the HDL-raising effect of niacin-statin combination therapy per NIH ODS
What we make of it
A narrative review with no patients of its own.
The detail
The source is a review article confirmed as such, synthesising existing work rather than recruiting anyone. It cannot support a claim on its own.