Can The Vitamin C In Emergen
Using vitamin C to help combat the common cold or flu is a tale as old as time but how effective is it really? Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease physician and a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told Women’s Health, “Emergen-C is a vitamin C supplement, and there’s no evidence that it benefits people with the cold or influenza or affects your propensity to get the cold or the flu.”
Adalja’s assessment is shown in a study that looked at the effect of vitamin C supplements on preventing colds. Published in Cochrane Database Systematic Review, the study found a “failure of vitamin C supplementation to reduce the incidence of colds in the normal population.” As such, the study revealed that the use of “routine mega-dose prophylaxis is not rationally justified for community use.”
Adalja told Women’s Health he fears that people may put too much stock in vitamin C supplements and avoid getting a flu shot, an actual proven preventive measure to avoid catching the flu.
Vitamin C Vs Ascorbic Acid
Its really important to get this straight, right off the bat. Vitamin C and ascorbic acid are two different substances. That distinction can be confusing, especially because if you walk down the pharmacy aisle, or even check the supplements in a health food store, youre going to see the two used interchangeably on some labels.
To clarify, Vitamin C is the good stuff. Its the complete vitamin found in an orange, broccoli, or spinach.
Is ascorbic acid really a good substitute for the Vitamin C found in plant food?
Ascorbic acid, on the other hand, is one component of Vitamin C, which can be isolated and synthetically manufactured en masse. Albert Szent-Gyorgyi won a Nobel Prize in 1930 when he discovered and isolated ascorbic acid from red peppers.
But interestingly enough, even in 1930 Gyorgyi noted that the ascorbic acid wasnt as bioavailable or active when it was removed from the red pepper.2 And that was just the tip of the iceberg for this synthetic vitamin.
Some People Use Emergen
Anyone who’s ever spent a night on the town drinking with their friends knows the value of a tried-and-true hangover cure. While taking a couple Tylenol and drinking a glass of water before going to bed after an alcohol-fueled night out may work for some, other people need a little something extra to fight the next day’s hangover headache and general tiredness.
Speaking with Insider, Los Angeles-based bartender Kellie Norris said her go-to hangover fix is a fizzy cure-all. “One packet of Emergen-C and one packet of Alka Seltzer dissolved in a glass of club soda works as a next-day cure,” Norris revealed.
And it seems Norris is not alone in using Emergen-C as a hangover remedy. Cosmopolitan dubbed the dietary supplement a “hangover hack every twentysomething should know,” recommending readers to combine the orange powder with a vitamin B complex pill. “The vitamin B complex replenishes what alcohol depletes and the fizzy vitamin C helps with overall wellness,” Cosmopolitan writer Laura Beck explained. Of course, these and really all other hangover hacks should be taken with a grain of salt.
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According To Experts There’s No Real Way To Tell If Emergen
While Emergen-C definitely has a large fanbase, the orange vitamin powder certainly has its fair share of critics as well. Of course, the majority of said critics are skeptical of the product’s advertised “immune support” formula, which has not been approved by the FDA nor been tested for safety nor efficacy. Subsequently, those who swear by the fizzy citrus drink may find trying to convince a naysayer of Emergen-C’s health benefits to be frustrating and perhaps even impossible.
According to Howard Sesso, an epidemiologist and associate professor of medicine at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, without experiments specifically testing the effectiveness of Emergen-C , there’s really no way of proving how or why it works.
Sesso told HuffPost, “It would be very difficult to know, even if it did work, is it because of Vitamin C, or is it because of Zinc?” The epidemiologist continued, musing, “Is it because of something completely unrelated, or something that we don’t yet know about?”
Savory Recipes To Boost The Immune System
If you want to make a meal using foods high in vitamin C benefits, then plant based is the way to go. Vegetables are a great source of vitamins and minerals, and can actually taste good too! If soup is your thing, try a vegetarian tortilla soup, vegan pumpkin soup, or bell pepper + sweet potato soup. If you want more solid meal, then these tacos de papas or my famous loaded sweet potatoes would be perfect.
Read Also: Healthy Smoothie Recipes For Pregnancy
Delicious Mango Smoothie Recipe
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase.
Tis the season when everyone in the workplace is being stricken down with some horrible sniffly plague and you feel like a ticking time bomb, knowing its only a matter of time before it gets you too. Be the strong, healthy one! Dont become one of the fallen with the aid of this Mango Smoothie recipe.
I know juices and smoothies and whatnot are all the rage these days, but this smoothie comes with no hoity-toity name referencing spirituality or any sort of emotion. This smoothie serves three purposes:
1. To give you an extra vitamin boost when you need it most.2. To remind you of sunshine even when its gray and dreary outside.3. To start your day with something delicious.
I mean, I guess number three really should be a given , but have you ever been to one of those $9-a-pop juice bars? I swear people are just convincing themselves they love the taste of pureed beet because if they didnt like it the price they just paid would be straight highway robbery. Have you ever met anyone who honestly, TRULY liked the taste of wheatgrass?
I digressall the flavor concerns aside, the fact that your extra vitamin boost can remind you of sunny days even during the weariest winter doldrums really is a bonus. Plus, I know I cant be the only one with good intentions for my neglected box of Emergen-C in the pantry!
Mango Creamsicle Smoothie
Directions:
Fight Off That Cold With Our Emergen
Ready for day 3 of our healthy smoothie extravaganza? Weve rounded up 12 smoothie recipes, created our own green smoothie, and now, were making a delicious cold-busting, antioxidant-filled berry smoothie.
This smoothie has a secret cold fighting ingredient for those whose immune systems are weakened from over-celebrating NYE Emergen-C! Its packed with health-promoting antioxidants, protein from the Greek yogurt, and anti-cold medicine. Start your mornings off with this smoothie and youre bound to beat whatevers ailing you, including boring breakfast syndrome. As you can see, we took a cue from Inspired Edibles in our smoothie roundup and froze our smoothie in cube form making it easy to grab-and-go in the morning.
Ingredients:
2 cups frozen berries
1 medium banana
1 cup strawberry nonfat Greek yogurt
1 packet Emergen-C
Cut the banana into small pieces so its easier to blend. Then, blend the frozen berries and the banana together. When blended, add in Greek yogurt. When completely liquid, add in the Emergen-C. Blend and then youre done!
This smoothie is so delicious, you might even want to serve it for dessert!
For those who are always on the move, freeze your smoothie into an ice cube tray. You can let it melt in your travel mug during your morning commute, so by the time youre sitting at your desk, its perfectly melted for consumption.
What are your favorite healthy smoothies? Let us know in the comments below or on or .
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What’s Even In Emergen
Aside from its fun, fizzy effect, Emergen-C has a tangy, citrusy taste that makes it all the more appealing to consumers. Unlike the myriad of other products that claim to fight colds and boost immune systems, Emergen-C seemingly manages to pack a nutrient-dense punch in an arguably yummy flavored way.
If you’re wondering about the exact ingredients that make-up Emergen-C supposedly fighting illness while tasting kind of like an orange creamsicle treat you need not look further than Emergen-C’s website, where the manufacturer has dedicated an entire page to detailing the vitamins and minerals packed within the powdery substance.
According to the exhaustive ingredients list, Emergen-C contains a mixture of antioxidants , B vitamins , electrolytes , probiotics , as well as other nutrients . It’s hard to imagine fitting that much good stuff in one little dose of powder, but Emergen-C manages to do the job.
Healthy Sources Of Vitamin C
Naturally-occurring Vitamin C is plentiful. Theres little need to bother with corn-syrup derived nonsense when you can get the real deal, with around 90% absorption.
The following plant-based foods are rich in Vitamin C. Make them part of your daily diet in raw, unprocessed, and organic form whenever possible:
- Red bell pepper: 190 mg per cup
- Kiwis: 137 mg in two kiwis
- Mango: 122 mg per cup
- Green bell pepper: 120 mg per cup
- Broccoli: 120 mg per half cup
- Oranges and other citrus fruits: 60-100 mg per serving
- Papaya: 88 mg per cup
- Strawberries: 85 mg per cup
- Kale: 80 mg per cup
- Pineapple: 79 mg per cup
- Brussels sprouts: 75 mg per cup
- Potatoes : 42 mg
Read Also: Best Easy To Clean Blender For Smoothies
What Is Emergen C
I use Emergen C in my Vitamin C smoothie recipe because it makes it easy to get the right amount. They are small packets to add to water with vitamins and minerals to support your immune system.
I use the Super Orange original Emergen C, but they have several other flavors. You could make an Emergen C smoothie recipe with coconut pineapple, cranberry pomegranate, lemon lime, raspberry, pink lemonade, strawberry kiwi, or tangerine.
You would use the same immune booster smoothie recipe and use different fruits.
I like using Emergen C to support my immune system, but I’m not crazy about the taste. I’ll drink it when I need to, but this Emergen C smoothie recipe tastes better than using the packet in water.
Emergen C is for kids 14 years old and older and adults. Two of mine are over 14, so they can drink the a vitamin C smoothie recipe.
I can’t get them to drink the powder in water, but they will happily drink an Emergen C smoothie recipe.
Each Emergen C packet has 1000 mg of vitamin C, so don’t drink all of this Vitamin C smoothie recipe at once. Save half for the following day.
Emergen C is getting harder to find. I linked to Amazon, but iHerb also carries it. You can get free shipping at only $20 at iHerb.
Whats In This: Emergen
All 30 ingredients in this bullshit cold-buster, explained
Were often told that you should never eat anything if you dont recognize everything on the ingredients list. But since most of us have no idea what xanthan gum or potassium benzoate are or more importantly, what theyre doing to our bodies were decoding the ingredients in the many things Americans put in themselves.
This edition: Emergen-C Super Orange, which is made from 30 separate ingredients that weve broken down in the exact order they appear on their website.
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Summary: The Trouble With Ascorbic Acid
Real Vitamin C from raw, unprocessed plant sources is absorbed by the body at an incredible 70-90% and is critical to heart health, immune health, cell function, skin health, and brain function.
Lab-manufactured ascorbic acid, on the other hand, is a totally different story. Absorbed by the body 35% less effectively than natural Vitamin C, this corn-syrup derived frankenstein supplement has been linked to cancer, heart problems, and kidney stones, particularly in the mega-doses promoted by scientist Linus Pauling.
If you choose to supplement with Vitamin C, make sure youre buying whole-foods-sourced Vitamin C and reading labels very carefully. But above all else, make sure your diet includes lots of raw, organic foods high in Vitamin C, like bell peppers, kale, and oranges!
LISTEN NEXT: Check out my podcast episode with Dr. David Friedman, the expert cited in this article about ascorbic acid and Vitamin C. He debunks myths that many believe about supplements and food.
Robyn Openshaw, MSW, is the bestselling author of The Green Smoothies Diet, 12 Steps to Whole Foods, and 2017s #1 Amazon Bestseller and USA Today Bestseller, Vibe. Learn more about how to make the journey painless, from the nutrient-scarce Standard American Diet, to a whole-foods diet, in her free video masterclass 12 Steps to Whole Foods.
Did You Make This Recipe
Find Emergen-C Super Orange 30 CT, Emergen-C Raspberry 30 CT, and Emergen-C Tangerine 30 CT at your local Walmart in the dietary supplements aisle. You can pick up all of the ingredients for this smoothie at the same time. Find out more about Emergen-C here:
What drinks would you like to try with Emergen-C? Let me know in the comments section!
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Recommended Reading: Breakfast And Lunch Smoothie Diet
The Dangerous Truth About Emergen
Emergen-C® is a vitamin C-based powder that you consume by mixing it into a glass of water.
Its heavily advertised as being the ultimate cold prevention and cure and is often given to children.
Although naturally-occurring vitamin C can have great health benefits, the same cannot be said about the synthetic version of the vitamin.
Tips For A Happier Winter
in friendship, Life on 11/08/16
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HowDoYouEmergenC #CollectiveBias
Winter is such a struggle for me. I thrive in every other season but winter just isnt my best time. I love sunshine and warm weather and hate the cold with a passion!
There are a few tips that I wanted to share with those who struggle with this season as much as I do. These really have helped me stay happy and encouraged during the winter.
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What Happens If You Take Expired Emergen
A lot of us are familiar with the act of digging out an old bottle of vitamins and taking them anyway. What’s the harm, right? Well, their efficacy and vitamin content can deteriorate over time. This means, according to Dr. Frederick Hecht, professor of medicine at the University of California, that if you’re taking them past their expiration date, “you will not get the full amount of vitamin labeled on the package” .
However, you shouldn’t be too worried about the safety of taking expired Emergen-C. Expiration dates on vitamins and supplements are generally based on the potency of the ingredients, not the safety of the product itself, as Verywell Fit pointed out. So, as long as your Emergen-C hasn’t gone moldy or is giving off a strange smell, it should still be safe to take. You just won’t get the full vitamin content that you would have had you taken them earlier. An exception to this rule is prenatal vitamins, which should be taken within the expiration date to make sure you’re getting the correct amount of folic acid.
Refreshing Green Smoothie With Emergen
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HowDoYouEmergenC #CollectiveBias
This time of the year is so busy. I often time find myself run down and worn out. As much as I love the holiday season, its easy to forget to take care of myself. One way I keep a healthy lifestyle is to fill myself with good foods in the morning. Ive noticed such a difference in my life since Ive started having fresh/frozen fruits and veggies for breakfast yes veggies for breakfast! Sugary, starchy pastries, muffins and cereals were only temporarily satisfying and would leave me crashing long before lunch time.
And now, Emergen-C has provided me with another way to support my healthy lifestyle. Emergen-C is an easy and delicious way to take vitamins that are important to my healthy lifestyle. And with 7 B Vitamins to enhance energy naturally* without caffeine, I feel even more refreshed when I drink Emergen-C. I have found that a packet of Emergen-C Super Fruit is a great addition to my morning green smoothie!
Emergen-C is packed with B vitamins, antioxidants, electrolytes plus more vitamin C than 10 oranges^. 1,000 mg of Vitamin C plus other antioxidants Zinc and Manganese support your immune system*. With over 20 flavors, you have plenty of delicious varieties to choose from.
The first step to adding Emergen-C to your daily routine is purchasing it!
Blend and voila! Delicious, refreshing and healthy!
Read Also: How To Make A Pina Colada Smoothie
Vitamin C: Ascorbic Acid Supplements Can Hurt Your Health
Robyn Openshaw – Apr 03, 2019 – This Post May Contain Affiliate Links
When it comes to food, we intuitively know that quantity matters. Eating or drinking too much of anything can be harmful to your health. After all, even water can kill you1 if you drink too much of it, too quickly!
Also, any nutrient found naturally in foods, when isolated from the synergistic effect of the complete food may not yield the results youre hoping for. Which brings us to ascorbic acid, sold as Vitamin C.
While REAL Vitamin C isnt on trial, new studies show that synthetic ascorbic acidthe poster child of never-too-much supplements can have serious negative consequences for your health.
Lets talk about the difference between Vitamin C and ascorbic acid, how ascorbic acid found its way into so many Vitamin C supplements, and why it can hurt your health.
In this post: