Medical Questions » Contraception Questions » Question No. 1472
Question:Can vitamin C stop the Pill from working?
Answer:There was a concern that vitamin C could make oestrogen more potent, though this has been thoroughly investigated and shown not to be the case. There is one other concern about vitamin C in relation to the Pill: it can cause loose stools if taken in excess, and diarrhoea, as you probably know, can stop the Pill from working. Again, I do not share this concern, as the problem with diarrhoea is that it usually involves an infection and/or reduced absorption (of food and the Pill), whereas the loose stools caused by excessive vitamin C do not involve a reduced nutrient absorption, and so should not affect the Pill' s effectiveness. In other words, in my opinion, vitamin C is fine to take when you' re on the Pill.

But you have to decide for yourself. The Pill isn' t 100 per cent effective, so should it fail, you can' t know whether it was because of the vitamin C or not. Therefore, most take a very cautionary line and recommend no more than lg of C per day if you' re on the Pill. I feel this is a reasonable position. If you need more vitamin C, consider another form of contraception.

       
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