We’ve seen a tremendous number of fly-by-night brands of liposomal vitamin C pop up in the past couple of weeks due to the increased demand from COVID-19. We think that it’s important to understand what is “liposomal” and what isn’t, as there is a lot of junk that is being passed off as liposomal, when it truly is not.
In lay terms, a liposomal formulation encapsulates the vitamin C (or ascorbic acid) in little nano-sized fat bubbles (liposomes) that protect the ingredient and allow it to pass through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream, where it can then attach to cells and be delivered to where it is most needed. What we are talking about here is increased bioavailability - the amount of vitamin C that is actually absorbed and utilized by the body. Liposomal encapsulation is the closest alternative to intravenous (IV) delivery, which is expensive & inconvenient to say the least. Um, er, it also requires a NEEDLE.
How Is Liposomal Delivery Different From Traditional Vitamin C?
With traditional forms of vitamin C (capsules, tablets, powders, gel caps, etc.), the body will typically only absorb about 200mgs of the vitamin at a time, even if taking higher doses (i.e. megadoses). The body excretes any amount over that, but high dosages can also cause an upset stomach and diarrhea. Intravenous and liposomal delivery methods avoid those problems by bypassing the lower intestine and getting the vitamin C to where it needs to go, and allows the body to absorb and utilize it at much higher rates.