As many of you remember I posted a list of some research articles which claim that Vitamin C can help treat anxiety and/or depression as well as fight oxidative stress. Always looking for a way to deal with mine I followed the research advice and tried 1000 mg per day (500 mg twice per day). Most of the research did 6 weeks testing. I noticed that by the 6th week I had better cognitive function and much less of the physical symptoms such as heartpounding, skip beats, head spinning, shakiness when stressed. I did not notice any change in anxiety although maybe slightly more irritable. I also felt stronger physically and more mentally resilient and more confident. Unluckily I also started noticing chest pain, bad fatigue and the irritability after just 3 weeks. These three side effects are reported in 5 to 10% of the cases of Vitamin C usage. Needless to say I have stopped the vitamin C until these symptoms go away. I am certainly eager to try it again as I liked the mental clarity and resilience.
I found out that vitamin C has a 84 DAY half life. This means that any vitamin C you ingested will take 84 days to half flush out of the body. I think this is why the 6 week tests were successful with little side effects. Not enough time for it to build up in the body. Once I feel better I am going to give it a try at 500 once per day. If I start to develop symptoms I will try 250.