This Common Vitamin Could Stop Lower Back Pain in Its Tracks
Jolting awake, Barbara Farfan felt a stabbing pain shoot from her hip down her left leg. What is happening to me? she worried and quickly tried a series of stretches, hoping for relief. But to her dismay, the agony got worse.
An international pet-sitter, the Seattle native was staying in a small city in Mexico. It wasn’t the easiest place to find resources, especially during a pandemic. I don’t have any painkillers, and I can’t go buy any because of the lockdown, she despaired.
To Barbara’s horror, the shooting pain soon became so intense, she could barely get out of bed. She’d crawl to the bathroom and the kitchen for water. But preparing meals required standing — which was excruciating — so for five days, she didn’t eat anything solid.
After a week of suffering, a local chiropractor’s office finally reopened, and he diagnosed Barbara with sciatica, a radiating pain along the path of the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back through the hips and buttocks and down each leg.
The chiropractor massaged along the nerve, which helped a little bit with the pain. Barbara was then able to stand long enough to cook, but couldn’t do much else. She also tried acupuncture, with minimal relief.
Realizing she needed access to better resources, Barbara took a f light to Mexico City. She was in so much pain by the time she landed, an airline employee had to escort her in a wheelchair. I can’t live like this, she thought.
How does vitamin C help sciatica?
After settling in, Barbara began researching natural sciatica treatments, and discovered that the powerful anti-inflammatory properties in vitamin C could be the key to relieving her pain. Even more, Barbara learned that liposomal vitamin C, where the vitamin is wrapped in little fat bubbles to improve absorption and allow for higher doses without causing digestive upset, was especially effective.
Hopeful, Barbara found premade liquid liposomal vitamin C supplements online, but most were out of stock due to the pandemic. Then, to her delight, she stumbled on a simple recipe (at right) that made a potent vitamin C emulsion by combining sunf lower lecithin (fat) with ascorbic acid (vitamin C) using an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner.
After gathering the ingredients and making the drink, Barbara began with a “superdose” by drinking one cup of the liquid, sipped over an hour, every morning. To her amazement, the pain and swelling in her leg dissipated right away.
Over the next few weeks, as her symptoms improved, Barbara began tapering her dosage until, after two months, with her pain gone, she went down to two tablespoons every morning, which she continues to take today. “I’d read that sciatica never goes away, and here I am absolutely free of pain!” says the 61-year-old, who started SciaticaPainStop.com to share natural treatments. “I feel so amazing!”
Why does it work?
Every cell in the body uses vitamin C to defend against diseasecausing inflammation, says vitamin C researcher Thomas Levy, MD. And since the primary cause of pain is inflammation, vitamin C supplements can work wonders. The caveat? Standard C is poorly absorbed by the body, he says. But liposomal C, a form where the vitamin is encased in fat, is absorbed nearly 100 percent (Buy on Amazon, $18.99). “The outer coating of a liposome is virtually identical to the cell wall, so it can literally merge into that cell membrane and become part of it.” Plus, it doesn’t bring the side effects (like diarrhea) of regular vitamin C.
