Can I make my own liposomal vitamin C at home?
Numerous reports on YouTube as well as written reports on the subject of making liposomal vitamin C yourself are circulating on the Internet, causing confusion and uncertainty. It is quite clear that everyone would like to produce liposomal vitamin C themselves in order to avoid the relatively high costs. That is also completely understandable and legitimate and absolutely nothing would speak against it.
But what you should definitely know
First you should know how a liposome works, why you need a liposome at all and how our body reacts to it. Anyone taking a liposomal drink should know this basic knowledge. Only with this knowledge does the mode of action and, of course, the advantages of such an intake become clear.
Why liposomal and what is a liposome?
The liposome (smallest lipid bubble) was discovered a few years ago. It was found that it could be used to transport minute amounts of a drug to its destination without being lost or damaged by stomach acid. Stomach acid is a very strong acid that has many benefits for us, but it can also have a negative impact on the effectiveness of medication.
The liposome was ideally suited and stomach acid could pass through without being damaged. From there it goes to the intestinal villi, which can absorb it. From there it then gets into our bloodstream, where it is then carried to our cells with its load (in our case the vitamin C). Our cells can then absorb the vitamin undamaged and in full dosage. The liposome thus acts as our transport agent, a taxi that takes the active ingredient from A to B.
Particle size of the liposomes
So now we know that our vitamin C is transported in a liposome, so far so good. But now it goes further, because our liposome also needs the right size in order to be absorbed by the intestinal wall. (We will explain the second reason a little later) This size varies from 100 nm to 250 nm (Nm is the abbreviation of nanometer, 1 nanometer = 1 millionth of a millimeter) This size is required so that the intestinal villi can completely absorb our liposomes and then pass them on. Here is the scientific definition of the University of Potsdam what constitutes a liposome .
The larger the particles, the less the intestinal wall can absorb them, which means that the liposomes are then excreted with their cargo (the vitamin C). But that’s exactly what we want to avoid and that’s why we use the liposomal solution.
Bioavailability = Efficacy
Bioavailability means the percentage availability of a substance (in our case vitamin C). Since vitamin C itself has a very low bioavailability, liposomes are used. Our vitamin C is encapsulated in it and thus reaches its destination undamaged. So the point of taking it in liposomal form is to get as much vitamin C as possible into our cells. The more our body can utilize, that’s true.
Making Liposomal Vitamin C with an Ultrasonic Cleaner?
Producing tiny liposomes requires enormous forces and energy. Here the normal particles are reduced to the smallest nano sizes. It is like a shredder and a lot of energy is released.
An ultrasonic cleaner is there to clean, certainly not to shred! With the ultrasonic cleaner, dirt is removed from smaller utensils. An energy of 2 – 10 watts of power is sufficient for this, depending on the device. This power is then distributed over an area of 20 cm x 10 cm, depending on the device, or 30 cm x 20 cm for larger devices. The best cleaning is achieved with a frequency of 40 kHz.
Liposomes cannot be produced with it! These need a much higher energy of 400 to 4000 watts of power. This is then bundled and 3000 watts are released on an area of 3×3 cm. The frequency here is 20 kHz. The cavitation speed is over 1000 km/h.
So why is there so much talk about it?
Of course you can try to make a liposome with a mixer and an ultrasonic cleaner and you can eat it afterwards. The only thing you get with this method is an emulsion-like substance that certainly doesn’t harm you, but it’s definitely not a liposome. If you then had such a substance examined, the result would certainly be quite sobering. This is where the placebo effect comes into play. Anyone who has ever tried to produce a real liposomal vitamin C themselves knows very well that this is not possible with the type described above. If it were that easy, companies that make skin creams or medicinal products would certainly switch to cheap ultrasonic cleaners…
Expenses to produce liposomes
Making real liposomes doesn’t come cheap. First, you need the right ultrasound equipment to guarantee the necessary performance. However, where high levels of energy are needed, a by-product is produced and here it is heat. But this damages and destroys the lipids. So this heat has to be cooled down. It also requires pressure vessels, many meters of stainless steel tubing, and the whole thing has to be kept absolutely sterile.
But if you want to produce liposomal vitamin C yourself at home, you can do this very well, provided you have the necessary utensils. However, since these are very expensive, the self-made liposome will also be very expensive, much more expensive than the products professionally made on the market. The cost of the appropriate utensils would be around EUR 5,000.00. (The test results/measurements of the particle size are not included) so that you also know for sure that you have produced a correct liposome. For mass production, however, the costs rise to well over EUR 200,000.–
Conclusion
An ultrasonic cleaner should be used to clean certain utensils and not attempt to make liposomal vitamin C. Nor would you want to use a vacuum cleaner to disinfect the air in your bedroom.