Does Vitamin C Affect Blood Sugar?

What is vitamin C?

Vitamin C is a water-soluble nutrient that humans must get from food or dietary supplements since it’s not made by the body. It is an antioxidant in lower doses and prevents oxidative stress, whereas it’s a pro-oxidant in high dosages. It’s also very powerful in its role in making collagen, helping the skin, bones, ligaments, and tissues heal.

Can I take vitamin C on a ketogenic diet?

Yes. Oral vitamin C is used most often for immune support while intravenous vitamin C therapy has shown incredible efficacy against aggressive cancers as a complementary therapy. It also is being used to improve many other conditions such as arthritis, Lyme disease, bacterial or viral infections, and traumatic brain injury. Intravenous vitamin C therapy for cancer works best for those who also follow a ketogenic diet.

Does vitamin C impact blood glucose levels?

Those who are receiving high dose IV vitamin C therapy, as prescribed by their health care practitioner, may experience a false positive in their blood glucose reading as high as 400-500 mg/dl using a glucometer as compared to a lab blood draw because of interference with the electrochemical strip.

For those who are taking supplemental oral vitamin C pills for immune support (around 500-1000 mg/day), it should not negatively impact your blood glucose results as oral vitamin C does not have the same effect as IV vitamin C therapy.

Does vitamin C impact blood ketone levels?

Vitamin C is not known to affect ketone levels.

References:

https://riordanclinic.org/what-we-do/high-dose-iv-vitamin-c/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34916403/