Not All Vitamins are What They Seem

Constipation is a very big problem among the elderly. Many of the medications prescribed to the elderly cause constipation as a side effect. Opioids, anti-depressants, blood pressure medications and anti-histamines to name a few.

Not being able to go results in a lot of pain for people, urinary problems, and even hemorrhoids.

The first line of defense seems to be reducing or eliminating the medications that are causing the constipation.

If you can’t do that, doctors will recommend more fiber in your diet. Yet too much fiber can lead to bloating, gut issues, and yes..more constipation

Since a lot of our residents are on keto and carnivore diets, they don’t eat a lot of fiber. So I turned to our health coach, Cari Kamp, for ideas on how to relieve constipation.

She recommended a combination of:

• Salt

• Iodine

• Vitamin C

• Magnesium Glycinate

I started researching the best Vitamins for my residents. And I came across this post on X about how ascorbic acid is not Vitamin C.

At the end of the post, there are links to studies showing that ascorbic acid:

• Can raise your risk of Cardiovascular disease

• Doesn’t provide an antioxidant benefit

• Can damage DNA

I’ve been told since I started in assisted living that ascorbic acid is Vitamin C. Skeptical, I googled different claims in the post. At first even Google (and the National Institutes of Health) agreed that ascorbic acid is Vitamin C.

Then I further researched the claim that they use black mold bacteria to create ascorbic acid. That is true.

Same with sulfuric acid, acetone and GMO corn.

Doesn’t seem like the healthiest concoction.

So where to turn? Lot of foods contain Vitamin C. Guava, chili peppers, bell peppers, kiwi, strawberries, and broccoli are some. Citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruit, as well as their juices, are also great sources. 

We don’t want our residents loading up a lot on fruits and introducing sugar back into their system.

That means back to supplementation. Turns out (and Cari confirmed from the post on X) that you want to look for these vitamin C supplements:

“If the ingredient label says 'Whole Food Vitamin C' from acerola cherries, camu camu berries, rose hips, amla berries, berries, lemons, etc...then your Vitamin C supplement contains the whole food compound of natural Vitamin C.”

A quick search on Amazon yields some Vitamin C supplements that are whole food Vitamin C.

If you don’t trust Amazon for supplements, find a medical practitioner friend who has a Full Script account and can give you access. Often with a 20% discount.

Challenges abound in finding the right therapies for yourself or your family. Like so much else in life, we need to surround ourselves with good people and good information. Hopefully I am helping you to do that.