Buffered vitamin C searches in Australia rose from 170 a month to 720 a month between October 2025 and August 2026, according to Google Keyword Planner data reviewed by Propel Health Australia.

BRISBANE, QUEENSLAND. Buffered vitamin C searches in Australia rose from 170 a month to 720 a month between October 2025 and August 2026, according to Google Keyword Planner data reviewed by Propel Health Australia.

The interest is in a simple question: what is actually in the scoop?

Most vitamin C is sold as ascorbic acid, which is sour and acidic. "Buffered" means the vitamin C is paired with minerals, such as calcium ascorbate or mineral phosphates, that take the edge off the acid. Because part of a mineral ascorbate's weight is the mineral, the number on the front of a pack is not always the amount of vitamin C inside.

"People are turning the tub around and reading the back," said Grant Jenkins, co-founder of Propel Health Australia. "The number that matters is total vitamin C per serve. The weight of the compound is a different number, and the two often get mixed up."

Jenkins, an ESSA Accredited Exercise Physiologist and high performance coach of 30 years, says the same habit applies to anything taken every day. "If you are going to take something daily, you should know exactly what is in it and what a serve costs. Read the label, do the sum, then decide."

Shoppers comparing products can check four lines on the label: total vitamin C per serve, what it is buffered with, any named bioflavonoid in milligrams, and the AUST L number, which shows the product is a listed medicine in Australia.

Propel Health Australia's Tangy Vitamin C is a buffered vitamin C powder with hesperidin. Each 2 g serve, half a level teaspoon, provides 964 mg of total vitamin C. Tangy Vitamin C supports immune system function. Powder, 450 g. Active ingredients: ascorbic acid, calcium ascorbate dihydrate, hesperidin, magnesium phosphate pentahydrate, calcium phosphate, zinc sulphate monohydrate. AUST L 463667. Vitamins can only be of assistance if dietary vitamin intake is inadequate. ALWAYS READ THE LABEL AND FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS FOR USE.