Vitamin C

“Food-level: camu camu (vitamin C), pasteurised acai, one or two Brazil nuts. Sangre de grado, ajo sacha and guinea hen weed are traditional cold and flu plants.”

“Fruit pulp, a food, rich in vitamin C. Dried pulp is authorised in the EU as a novel food.”

“The story. Needle drinks are known across the north as a winter source of vitamin C. Popular histories link a conifer tea to the survival of Jacques Cartier's crew from scurvy in 1536. Hard boiling destroys the vitamin.”

“Spring. The hungry end of winter, then the birch sap. The first nettles go into green shchi, a spring source of vitamin C that once kept scurvy away. Cheremsha, the wild garlic of Siberia (Allium victorialis and its cousins), is gathered in bulk, eaten fresh and salted for the winter. One line: wild garlic has poisonous lookalikes, in Europe lily of the valley and autumn crocus, so he never sends a stranger to pick it. The ice on the lake breaks up with a sound like cannon.”

“Concerns: fiber elimination, microbiome changes, potential nutrient gaps (vitamin C, though meat contains some), sustainability, saturated fat (individual genetic response varies - check your lipids).”

“Why this is a priority biohack: Over 1000 published studies. Most antioxidants are non-selective (vitamin C, vitamin E) and can actually interfere with beneficial oxidative signaling. Hydrogen is selective - it only targets the destructive radicals. No toxicity at any dose. No side effects. No drug interactions. It's one of the safest and most underrated interventions in biohacking.”