Calculator Help

1. Potency

This is probably the most important question – the other entry values are pretty standard. Read the label on your ascorbic acid container (should be pure ascorbic acid without buffering agents like calcium). For example, if the label states there are 2.25 grams in ½ teaspoon, then you’d enter 4.5 grams per teaspoon. Similarly, if the label states there is one gram in the little scoop they give you, then you have to count how many scoops fill a level tablespoon (it’s more accurate to use a tablespoon over a teaspoon). You’d then enter the number of scoops/grams in a tablespoon. The calculator expects values between 9-15 grams per tablespoon and will give a warning but will not maintain a yellow caution as there is a wide range of potencies.

2. Ascorbic Acid

The number of tablespoons of ascorbic acid you will use depends on the size of your ultrasonic cleaner. In a two-cup cleaner, 1 cup of distilled water will be used to dissolve each 3-4 tablespoons the lecithin leaving only 1 cup to dissolve the ascorbic acid. Typically, ½ to 1 cup of water is used to dissolve each tablespoon of ascorbic acid. If we use the typical amounts of water to dissolve our ingredients, we can’t use more than 1 tablespoon of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in a two-cup cleaner.

3. Lecithin

Typically, either 3 or 4 tablespoons of lecithin are needed to ensure each tablespoon of vitamin C is encapsulated well. Some folks like to use 4 tablespoons to ensure the maximum encapsulation rate. It takes 1 cup of distilled water to dissolve each 3-4 tablespoons of lecithin. In addition, some lecithin comes in a granulated form and some in a thick liquid. It makes a difference in the calculations as the liquid form adds slightly more to the total overall volume of the batch. The calculator will bring up a yellow caution if the ratio of vitamin C and lecithin isn’t between 1:3 to 1:4.

4. Water

Typically, you need ½ to 1 cup of distilled water for every 1 tablespoon of vitamin C and 1 cup of water for every 3-4 tablespoons of lecithin. The calculator looks at the amounts of vitamin C, lecithin, and water entered and gives a yellow caution if these ratios aren’t maintained.

5. Target C Level

To find out how much vitamin C you want to take, you need to look at the dosage table from the work of Dr. Cathcart. This table lists the amount of vitamin C in pill or powder form for a range of illnesses. For example, we see that for a mild cold, people benefitted by taking somewhere between 30-60 grams in 6 to 10 divided doses every 24 hours until they felt better. What the liposomal C calculator does is to convert this dosage in pill/powder form into an equivalent amount of your specific batch of liposomal vitamin C. The calculator issues a yellow caution for entries over 60 grams simply to let you know you’ve entered a substantial dosage.

6. Encapsulation Rate

Depending on how good a job you do mixing up your liposomal C (correct temperatures, not much coagulation, etc.) will determine how much of the ascorbic acid gets wrapped up within the lecithin fat. Typically, this value is between 70-90% but could be much lower. A higher value of 85% is entered by default as the higher the encapsulation rate, the more conservative the recommended dosage will be. The calculator will issue a yellow caution on values outside the 70-90% range. You can read about how to test your encapsulation rate in the Liposomal C blog post.

7. Absorption Rates

It’s generally accepted that the body will absorb 80% of encapsulated liposomal vitamin C and only 16-20% of vitamin C in pill/powder form. The calculator uses a default value of 16% as the lower the absorption rate for vitamin C in pill/powder form, the more conservative the recommended dosage will be. A yellow caution comes up if entered values are outside of these ranges.

Calculations

You can read about how the calculations are done in the Liposomal C blog post. The calculator does it’s best to try and make sure you enter reasonable values. It also looks at the ratio of vitamin C absorbed in liposomal form and pill/powder form and will terminate calculations if these values are too far out of range. Nonetheless, it’s up to you to double check your entries and the calculator results – read disclaimer below.

Final Notes

Make sure to take your liposomal C in divided doses over the course of the entire day. If you suffer from hypoglycemia, then make sure to take a bit of a snack with each dose. Start gradually over the course of several days working up to your target level and then likewise tapper down when stopping. You can read more about all of this in the Liposomal C blog.