Is there any brand or place you'd recommend getting the ascorbic acid from? Thank you!
The nice thing about ascrobic acid is its been around for a long time so manufacturing is pretty advanced and all sources seem to be of an ok quality. You can find some more expensive products that are GMO free etc but from a standpoint of function I have found most brands I have tried to be similar.
Some people will argue that vitamin C is worthless if your not getting the whole vitamin complex but that has been thoroughly debunked and the active molecule (ie ascorbate) when comparing the synthetic version verses that derived from from the complex is structurally identical, just a lot cheaper. Note that is not the case of all nutrients however.
I generally just use now brand ascorbic acid crystals, about $15 a pound (450 grams or so). I just put a scoop in a few ounces of water, swirl and slam it, doesnt really dissolve. It can give you short term watery stools if you take too much at one time or doses too close together so its best to start low, say 500mg a dose a few hours apart, and work up to 1-2 grams a dose. Aside from that ascorbate is less toxic than water and ascorabte (the proper concoction mind you) is even used intravenously.
I often find most athletic folks are lacking in magnesium and potassium as well. Potassium surprisingly enough has a HUGE impact on the joints and tendinitis. I have tested this theory on myself multiple times as well as a couple friends who ALL report their tendinitis and plantar fasciitis completely resolved a few weeks after getting the proper amount of potassium. With that in mind I always recommend potassium be taken as well. I have only encountered one person who got the paltry FDA level of potassium daily, most people are 2000mg or more short a day.
I generally have on hand potassium bicarbonate, ascorbic acid and potassium ascorbate which is a combo of potassium and ascorbate. Too much potassium is a bad thing but the amount that is "too much" is actually quite high and even higher for athletic individuals who are constantly working out and sweating. The FDA says we should get 4700mg a day. Id recommend logging food for a week and use the usda database to track potassium intake and find an average daily for the week. Then add in enough supplementation to get you to about 5000mg a day.
I know the bodybuilding lifestyle often calls for clean foods and avoids fruits and many veggies but they contain a lot of critical nutrients that get bypassed at the same time the demands on your bodies are higher than average creating a situation where sooner or later you will develop deficiencies and they will manifest as physical symptoms.
I found the products at
www.nutri.com to be of a high quality, especially their ascorbate products.
If you want to try and get a massive dose quick to see if you can get the tendonitis under control id suggest a liposomal vit C. Its a lot more expensive but its effectiveness is onpar with IV vit C. Lion labs lypo-c is a good one. Just keep in mind that a large bolus of IV/C or lipo-C can actually cause a herx reaction as the bodies immune systems kicks into overdrive and drives toxins into the bloodstream to be filtered out. So once again start slow and work up daily dose if you go lipo-c route.
There is also a big discussion on home made lipo-C using an ultrasonic cleaner. This process is simple, uses lecithin and ascorbic acid so there is some additional cost and for those who have done it for any length of time claim great results. Although there are also a lot of people that claim the home made liposomal process doesnt work, usually those that are associated with a specific lipo brand.
