Kang Enbei and Dr. He are a bit pitted, and the most cost-effective is 2 yuan!
Vitamin C is an essential nutrient for the human body, and in order to avoid problems caused by vitamin C deficiency, many people will supplement vitamin C in various ways.
But you will also find that there are many types of vitamin C products, health care products, effervescent tablets, and small tablets, and the price difference is large, ranging from 2 yuan ~ 100 yuan. So what is the difference between them? How do we choose the right one?
In July 2018, Consumer Reports collected 18 vitamin C products, including 9 vitamin C health products such as Yangshengtang, Correction, Tomson By-Health, Shancun, Amway Nutrilite, Herbalife, Jiananxi (GNC), Kangbei, and Blackmores; 7 vitamin C effervescent tablets such as Xiweijia, Lidushen, Omega, Swisse, Kangbei, Newsbao, and Dr. He, and 2 vitamin C (medicine) tablets such as South China brand and Hengjian brand.
How to choose and eat vitamin C? After reading the results, I naturally knew it in my heart.
Test samples
9 vitamin C health products (19.9~347 yuan): Yangshengtang, Correction, Tomson Beijian, Shancun, Amway Nutrilite, Herbalife, Jiananxi (GNC), Kangbei, Blackmores
7 Vitamin C effervescent tablets (15.6~69 yuan): Xiweijia, Lidushen, Omega, Swisse, Kangbei, Newsbao, Dr. He
2 vitamin C (medicine) tablets: South China brand (2 yuan), Hengjian brand (2.5 yuan)
Test metrics
Vitamin C (L-Ascorbic Acid), Sodium, Additives (Colors, Sweeteners, Flavors)
Test Results (Lazy Welfare Zone)
1. The comprehensive CCR score of the correction and health care hall is better.
2. Vitamin C tablets priced at only 2 yuan are no different from dozens or hundreds of health care products and effervescent tablets, and they are cost-effective, and they are recommended as daily supplements.
3. The vitamin C content of Kangbei and Dr. He’s effervescent tablets is a “pit”. Among them, the actual content of Dr. He is less than 3% of the labeled value, and Kangbei is more than 5000% of the labeled value.
4. The vitamin C content of 3 products such as Jian’anxi and Lidushen has reached more than 10 times the recommended daily amount (100mg/d) (more than 1000mg/tablet), and it is not recommended for ordinary consumers to eat it as a long-term supplement.
5. The sodium content of effervescent tablets is amazing (6000~12000mg/100g), even more than soy sauce (4000~7000mg/100g), which has health hazards for children and other people.
6. The actual pigment of Kang’enbei chewable tablets and effervescent tablets and Newsbao effervescent tablets is inconsistent with the nominal, and the vitamin C content of Dr. He’s effervescent tablets is seriously “shrunk”, and they are all listed as unrecommended products.
The content of vitamin C such as Jian’anxi and Lidu stretch exceeded the appropriate recommended amount by more than 10 times
The content of vitamin C is the core indicator of the “goodness” of a product, as it determines whether consumers can get effective supplements without being superfluous.
The “Reference Intake of Dietary Nutrients for Chinese Residents (2013 Edition)” recommends that the appropriate recommended intake of vitamin C for ordinary consumers is 100mg/d, and the maximum tolerance is 2000mg/d.
In other words, about 100mg is enough, and if there is too much, it will be excreted in the urine and may have various side effects.
The results showed that the vitamin C content of 18 products was less than 2000mg/tablet, but this did not mean that there were no problems, but that there were many problems.
The vitamin C content of 3 products, including Jian’anxi and Lidushen, exceeded 1000mg/tablet, reaching more than 10 times the recommended intake (100mg/d).
Such a high content of vitamin C is not earned. If the average person eats more than 1,000mg of vitamin C per day, about 50% will be excreted in the urine, because the absorption rate of vitamin C is inversely proportional to intake. (Different intakes, different absorption rates)
Waste is secondary, and possible side effects are the key.
The instructions for vitamin C tablets point out that a daily dosage of more than 1000mg can cause diarrhea, red skin, headache, nausea and vomiting, stomach cramps and other symptoms, while more than 600mg per day will cause frequent urination.
At the same time, excessive intake of vitamin C will form an acidic environment in the body, and if there is too much vitamin C excreted in the urine, it is easy to cause stones.
▲Explanation of adverse reactions of overdose of vitamin C
However, if you suffer from scurvy or are infected by bacteria and viruses, you need to use a large dose of 1000mg at this time, but it is best to consult a doctor first.
It is worth noting that Jian’anxi and Lidushen are all imported brands, and the vitamin C content is designed according to the physique of foreigners, and some also belong to the category of registered drugs, so superstitious imports may delay health.
Dr. He, Kangbei effervescent tablets vitamin C content is a “pit”
There are many problems with this vitamin C test, far more than just a problem with high content, but also some dishonest suspicions of “fraud”.
The measured content of vitamin C in the two effervescent tablets of Kangbei and Dr. He was 452mg/tablet and 12.4mg/tablet respectively, but the labeled values were 8.9mg/tablet and 450mg/tablet respectively.
What is this concept? Kang En Bei reached more than 5,000% of the labeled value, while Dr. He was less than 3% of the labeled value, which was obviously a huge “sinkhole”.
Con Bei effervescent tablets are a solid drink (ordinary food), but the amount of vitamin C added has reached the level of health products, should we thank it for its “generosity”, or is its production process too “child’s play”?
Dr. He’s effervescent tablets have a “blue hat”, which is a health product, but the vitamin C content is very small.
In addition, the vitamin C content of Xiweijia and Omega 2 effervescent tablets is only 9.4mg/tablet and 8.8mg/tablet, which is less than one-tenth of the recommended daily amount (100mg).
In other words, you have to eat 10 such effervescent tablets at a time to meet your body’s needs, but think about those pigments and sweeteners, or persuade you to be slow, the gain outweighs the loss.
In fact, most effervescent tablets are just a drink, vitamin C is an additive in this, and the amount of additives itself is trace, which is not difficult to understand why vitamin C is only a few milligrams.
Con Bay Vitamin C Chewable Tablets are suspected of reducing costs and secretly changing raw materials
Generally speaking, vitamin C products such as health supplements and effervescent tablets are mainly pale yellow or pink, because they look more like oranges or grapes, which can stimulate appetite.
The more common pigments include lemon yellow, sunset yellow, carmine, bright blue and other artificial colors, as well as curcumin, a natural pigment.
The results showed that 9 vitamin C products, including Yangshengtang, Correction, Nutrilite, Jian’anxi, Aojiabao, Lishen, Swisse, South China brand, and Hengjian brand, were not tested for quality and met the nominal packaging of their respective packaging (no pigment).
However, the packaging of Kangbei vitamin C chewable tablets clearly labeled curcumin, but it was limon, and curcumin was not detected.
The General Principles for the Labeling of Prepackaged Food (GB7718-2011) stipulates that food additives (colors) are ingredients and should be labeled truthfully and accurately.
Of course, this is not to say that tartrazine is unsafe, but it is much cheaper than curcumin, so stealing raw materials may be to reduce costs.
According to data from a large e-commerce wholesale platform, the price of artificially synthesized limonyl pigment is about 60 yuan/kg, and the price difference between the two is about 650 yuan/kg, and the price difference between the two is as much as 10 times.
In addition, there is more than one product that has pigment addition problems. Two vitamin C effervescent tablets of Newsbao and Kangbei were detected with sunset yellow pigment, but there was no trace of it on the packaging ingredient list.
Therefore, we do not recommend consumers to buy the above 3 vitamin C products, even if there are no safety issues, but such “indiscriminate” use of pigments is worrying.
1 effervescent tablet is equal to 12 ml of soy sauce
In addition to vitamin C content and pigments, the sodium content in vitamin C should not be underestimated.
The results showed that 9 vitamin C health products and 2 tablets had low sodium content, ranging from 1.8mg~2840mg/100g.
However, the sodium content of 7 vitamin C effervescent tablets is more than 6000mg/100g, while the 2 products of Omega and Xiweijia exceed 10000mg/100g.
What is this concept? The sodium content of low-salt soy sauce is generally about 4000mg/100mL, and the sodium content of ordinary soy sauce is about 7000mg/100mL.
In other words, most of the sodium content of the 7 effervescent tablets is comparable to soy sauce, and some are even much higher, which is really surprising.
Based on the highest omega (12300mg/100g), one (4g) effervescent tablet contains 492mg of sodium, which is equivalent to 12.3mL of reduced-salt soy sauce, or 7mL of regular soy sauce.
Effervescent tablets are especially bad for children because they are too high in sodium.
According to the Reference Intake of Dietary Nutrients for Chinese Residents (2013), the appropriate intake of sodium for 4-year-old children is 900mg/d, and the appropriate intake for 7-year-old children is 1200mg/d.
Then, one effervescent tablet per day has reached more than half of the appropriate amount, and if you eat two tablets, it has exceeded (or approached) the appropriate intake, and this does not include the sodium of other snacks, bread, milk and other foods.
What does so much invisible sodium do to the body? If children consume more sodium from an early age, their chances of suffering from diseases such as hypertension in adulthood will greatly increase, which should not be underestimated.
Therefore, if you want to supplement vitamin C, it is not recommended to consume “high-sodium” products such as effervescent tablets, and children and even adults should pay attention.