Alcohol enhances vitamin C excretion in the urine

Urinary ascorbic acid excretion was measured on four consecutive days in 9 normal male volunteers for 4 hr before and after drinking nothing (control), 0.58 g alcohol/kg body wt as whisky or lager or water (11./70 kg body wt). The normal reduction in ascorbic acid excretion under control conditions was abolished by drinking water. Alcohol in either form produced a 47% increase in urinary ascorbic acid excretion. A similar ascorbiuresis in chronic alcoholics would be an additional factor in the causation of vitamin C deficiency in these patients.