Posted on September 25, 2012 by Jenny Cromack

Vitamin C and recovery

Most people are aware that Vitamin C is excellent at providing immune protection, however new research is highlighting some other great uses for this super vitamin, including:

• The reduction in cortisol levels following intensive training
• Minimizing the catabolic stress response and thus promoting anabolism

Effective doses have been shown to fluctuate between 1000 and 1500 mg per day, in which the vitamin C groups were shown to have lower cortisol levels immediately after and during the following 24 hours.

These research articles were all conducted on endurance type activities as well, the application for high doses of vitamin c therefore is extensive particularly for sportspersons who wish to develop strength and endurance. The doses of vitamin c could help maintain the necessary anabolic environment required for strength development whilst including endurance training, which typically creates a catabolic environment.

Furthermore research is starting to show a correlation with increased vitamin c consumption and increased testosterone levels. Despite human studies been sparse animal studies in rats look very promising with several studies establishing positive results.

So try to ingest 4g of vitamin c through each day and watch your performance sore, attempt to do this through natural sources such as oranges etc however supplements have been shown to be just as effective.