Vitamin C-1000 Sustained Release

NOW Vitamin C-1000 Sustained Release is a long-running value staple: each tablet provides 1,000 mg of vitamin C as ascorbic acid (1,111% of the Daily Value) plus 25 mg of rose hips powder, in a coated tablet designed to release over an extended period. A 250-tablet bottle costs $15.67, about 6 cents a day, and the formula is vegan, kosher and halal, made without gluten, soy, dairy or nuts in a GMP-certified facility.

The dose is far more than most people need. The adult RDA is 90 mg for men and 75 mg for women (plus 35 mg for smokers), and NIH notes that absorption falls below 50% at intakes above 1 gram a day, with the excess excreted in urine. One tablet still sits well below the 2,000 mg upper limit, and higher intakes mainly risk digestive upset such as diarrhea and cramps. The label promises extended release but does not tie it to any clinical outcome, and 25 mg of rose hips adds little.

The evidence for vitamin C supplements is specific. According to NIH, regular intakes of at least 200 mg a day may reduce colds in people under heavy physical stress or cold exposure and modestly shorten colds in the general population, but starting vitamin C after symptoms begin does not appear to help. People with a history of kidney stones or kidney disease should talk to a clinician first, because high intakes can raise urinary oxalate.

Reviewers value the price and the size of the bottle. The main complaints are practical: a large oval tablet and a noticeable vitamin smell compared with capsule-based competitors.