Pauling’s followers have rejected Ester-C. True, it is a buffered form, but 10% of the weight is the oxidized form of vitamin C, dehydroascorbate, which is more than simply a waste of space, as part of the real vitamin C in the product must be invested in activating it. There are also small quantities of other metabolitic products of vitamin C (inactive substances which the vitamin C turns into in the body before excretion). This product is far more expensive than the simple forms for no reason. Pauling himself supported the use of simple ascorbic acid, and that is what has been used in the massive research done on vitamin C over the past 70 years or so.
For those who can’t tolerate the acidity of ascorbic acid, the best solution is to use pure mineral ascorbate, whether it is sodium ascorbate, calcium ascorbate, or magnesium ascorbate. Here the hydrogen atoms (which when released are what pH measures) are replaced by the mineral. These are more difficult to find, but they do exist in the market, and are cheaper than Ester-C. Another solution is to simply add sodium bicarbonate, better known as baking soda, to the simple and cheap form of vitamin C, ascorbic acid powder or crystals, at a ratio of 3 parts C to 1 part baking soda. When water is added, the fizzing is the reaction which neutralizes the acidity.
I buy vitamin C in 25 kg sacks from the importer and put it into jars for distribution to my family, friends and patients. If they ever outlaw supplements, it will still be possible to buy vitamin C from food manufacturers. I got my first kg of powder from a candy maker.
An excellent source of info on vitamin C is http://www.vitamincfoundation.org/. There is a forum there in which I participate under the name ‘dolev’, with a little picture of a duck as my symbol, and my profession listed as ‘quack’. I’m a quack, not a doctor, so DYODD.