Vitamin C has long been associated with good health. The many positive benefits of Vitamin C supplementation are supported by strong scientific literature. Since Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, it must be replenished daily by the body. There are various forms of Vitamin C, and not all forms are available in the ideal for immediate use by the body. Good health is one of the most important things in life, and choosing the right Vitamin C supplement may greatly influence your health and well-being.

The most commonly asked question regarding Eniva's Vitamin C is: How is it Better? Eniva's Vitamin C has combined traditional Vitamin C supplementation with something exciting and new: Ester-C® with metabolites, a highly bio-available Vitamin C. It is produced naturally with water instead of chemical solvents and is now an internationally patented process. This form of Vitamin C is biochemically the same as that made by our bodies when the Vitamin C we ingest is converted in the liver to its active form.

The next aspect that makes this product unique is its stabilized aqueous state. Eniva’s proprietary Aqueous Stabilization™ delivery system has enabled Vitamin C to be put into solution while maintaining its integrity. Further, the combination of Vitamin C with metabolites ensures premium delivery to the body. With this product, the benefits of Vitamin C can truly be experienced.

Eniva’s Aqueous Stabilization delivery system ensures premium potency and bio-availability of Vitamin C to the body. It has long been recognized that supplementation in liquid form provides for superior absorption rates than non-liquid applications. Without the heavy use of preservatives, Vitamin C in traditional liquid supplement form degrades easily. This has made the application of liquid Vitamin C supplementation difficult when seeking maximum effectiveness. This challenge has been overcome by Eniva’s Aqueous-Stabilization process. Through its proprietary delivery system, Eniva’s Stabilized Vitamin C delivers the most effective antioxidant complex in liquid form without the heavy use of preservatives while maintaining the integrity of its components. Eniva’s Vitamin C ensures superior bio-availability and effectiveness for maximum benefit of Vitamin C supplementation.* The unique bio-availability of Ester-C, combined with Eniva’s proprietary Aqueous Stabilization delivery system, has created a highly bio-available Vitamin C supplement in the marketplace. The minimum suggested daily requirement for Vitamin C is 60-95 mg/day, but many experts in nutrition suggest higher levels. (A single dose of Eniva's Vitamin C contains 300 mg, a common dosage suggested by experts in this field.) It is important that Vitamin C be consumed every day since it cannot be stored for later use. It is water soluble, and therefore, is discharged regularly by the body.

Vitamin C performs hundreds of functions in the body. It strengthens connective tissues, including the walls of blood vessels, helps the body resist infection, and protects other vitamins from oxidation. Vitamin C is crucial for the production of antibodies and optimal immune system function. Vitamin C also plays a central role in the healing of wounds and recovery from surgery, in part because it is vital to the formation of collagen, a fibrous connective tissue that strengthens many parts of the body, including muscles. Adequate Vitamin C intake forms healthy collagen tissue in the skin, thus protecting blood vessels from the effects of trauma and bruising.* Vitamin C also acts as a natural antihistamine, supports healthy airway function, aids in the formation of liver bile, and helps to detoxify alcohol and other substances.*

Higher than average intake levels of Vitamin C have been tied to improved athletic performance, better mood, cardiovascular health, proper cell replication, increased longevity, eye protective properties, and enhanced brain function.* In 1992, researchers at UCLA reported that among 11,000 participants surveyed over a ten-year period, those getting the most Vitamin C (300 mg/day) had the lowest rates of heart challenges and improper cell replication and lived the longest. These findings took differences in exercise, diet, and lifestyle into account. Although Vitamin C appears to have only a small effect in preventing the common cold, if taken at the onset of symptoms, it can reduce the duration and severity of a cold. Optimal levels of Vitamin C may also promote health including eyesight, proper sugar levels in the body, skin, ears, urinary tract, teeth and gums, bones and joints, healthy cholesterol levels in the body, menstrual cycle, menopause, and assists with wound healing and morning sickness.* Vitamin C helps recycle the antioxidant vitamin E and promotes the absorption of other nutrients.*

Research studies have explored the absorption and physiological effects of Ester-C in comparison to normal Vitamin C. These studies have yielded exciting new information about the nature of Vitamin C and its metabolites.

In 1990, Jonathan Wright, MD, of the Kent-Meridian Clinical Laboratory in Washington State conducted research using Ester-C. The human bio-availability study was designed to compare the absorption, retention, and utilization of Ester-C and ordinary Vitamin C. Absorption was measured by Vitamin C levels in the plasma fraction of blood. Retention was inferred from the urinary Vitamin C levels at different times after supplementation. Finally, tissue utilization was assessed by measuring the amount of Vitamin C in white blood cells, which are known to accumulate and utilize large amounts of Vitamin C for many physiological functions.

A more focused study of Ester-C’s effectiveness was performed recently in San Diego by Dr. Howard Hunt, Professor Emeritus of the University of California San Diego, and Dr. Thomas Rice of the Life Management Group. They wished to see if Ester-C would significantly increase tissue levels of Vitamin C in infection-fighting and immunological cells, as measured by uptake of ascorbate into the white blood cells.

Their research plan was very similar to that of Dr. Wright’s earlier study. The subjects were a group of men enrolled in a corporate fitness program. They began with a two-week washout period to stabilize their Vitamin C intake at low levels. Groups of 18 men each then received a one-gram oral dose of ascorbic acid in one of the three product forms: ascorbic acid, Ester-C calcium ascorbate, and the Ester-C threonate complex. White blood cells were isolated from blood samples removed at intervals of 0, 1, 2, 4, and 24 hours from the time of administration.

Hunt and Rice discovered that, with time, the ascorbate from all supplements steadily accumulated in white cells, but that Ester-C ascorbate reached levels of 300% above the final baseline attained with ordinary ascorbic acid, while the Ester-C threonate complex reached levels more than 400%. They concluded that the Ester-C threonate complex provided a superior way to build Vitamin C reserves in the important immuno competent cells of the blood, even using modest levels (one gram) of supplementation.* The standardized threonate group showed further intracellular increase of ascorbate; this is the subject of ongoing studies.

At present, the weight of evidence concerning the bio-availability of Ester-C seems to indicate it is different from that of normal Vitamin C, and it is appears to benefit from the presence of the threonate and other Vitamin C metabolites which help improve its absorption and tissue uptake.* This Vitamin C with threonate is the primary ingredient in Eniva’s Vitamin C product. This ingredient, along with Eniva’s Aqueous Stabilization delivery system ensures premium potency and bio-availability to the body.*

Some individuals develop diarrhea or loose stools from taking approximately 2,000 to 5,000 mg per day, while even higher levels do not bother others. High levels of Vitamin C can deplete the body of the essential mineral copper, so take a copper-containing multinutrient formula if you are consuming high doses of Vitamin C. High doses of Vitamin C may also increase the risk of kidney stones in some people, although studies indicate that those who do not have a history of kidney stones, severe kidney disease, or gout are not at risk. Because Vitamin C may increase iron absorption, check with a doctor if you suffer from iron overload and want to take high doses of Vitamin C.