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Analysis of Landmark Vitamin C Study Challenges the WHO’s Recommended Daily Amounts

AHA Publisher — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 07:00:35 +0000

University of Washington via News Medical – It was wartime and food was scarce. Leaders of England’s effort to wage war and help the public survive during World War II needed to know: Were the rations in lifeboats adequate for survival at sea? And, among several experiments important for public as well as military heath, how much vitamin C did a person need to avoid the deadly disease scurvy? In one experiment at the Sorby Research Institute in Sheffield, called the “shipwreck” experiment, volunteers were fed only what the navy carried in lifeboats. The grueling experiment resulted in more water and less food being carried in lifeboats. One of the more robust experiments run on human subjects during this time in England, which has had long-lasting public health consequences, was a vitamin C depletion study started in 1944, also at Sorby. This medical experiment involved 20 subjects, most of whom were conscientious objectors living in the building where many experiments, including the shipwreck experiment, were conducted. They were overseen by a future Nobel Prize winner, and detailed data was kept on each participant in the study. “The vitamin C experiment is a shocking study. They depleted people’s vitamin C levels long-term and created life-threatening emergencies. It would never fly now.” Philippe Hujoel, lead author of a new study on the Sorby vitamin C experiment, a practicing dentist and professor of oral health sciences in the UW School of Dentistry Even though two trial participants developed life-threatening heart problems because of the vitamin C depletion, Hujoel added, none of the subjects were permanently harmed, and in later interviews several participants said they would volunteer again given the importance of the research. Because of the war and food shortages, there was not enough vitamin C available, and they wanted to be conservative with the supplies, explained Hujoel, who is also an adjunct professor of epidemiology. The goal of the Sorby investigators was not to determine the required vitamin C intake for optimal health; it was to find out the minimum vitamin C requirements for preventing scurvy. Vitamin C is an important element in your body’s ability to heal wounds because the creation of scar tissue depends on the collagen protein, and the production of collagen depends on vitamin C. In addition to knitting skin back together, collagen also maintains the integrity of blood vessel walls, thus protecting against stroke and heart disease. In the Sorby trial, researchers assigned participants to zero, 10 or 70 milligrams a day for an average of nine months. The depleted subjects were then repleted and saturated with vitamin C. Experimental wounds were made during this depletion and repletion. The investigators used the scar strength of experimental wounds as a measure of adequate vitamin C levels since poor wound healing, in addition to such conditions as bleeding gums, are an indication of scurvy. In the end, the Sorby researchers said 10 milligrams a day was enough to ward off signs of scurvy. Partly based on these findings, the WHO recommends 45 milligrams a day. Hujoel said that the findings of the re-analyses of the Sorby data suggest that the WHO’s recommendation is too low to prevent weak scar strength. In a bit of scientific detective work, Hujoel said he tracked down and reviewed the study’s data, and with the aid of Margaux Hujoel, a scientist with Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, put the data through modern statistical techniques designed to handle small sample sizes, techniques not available to the original scientists. The results of their work were published Monday in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The Hujoels discovered that the data from this unique study -; which has been a cornerstone used by WHO and other agencies for establishing healthy levels of vitamin C in humans -; needed more than an “eyeball method” of data assessment. “It is concluded that the failure to reevaluate the data of a landmark trial with novel statistical methods as they became available may have led to a misleading narrative on the vitamin C needs for the prevention and treatment of collagen-related pathologies,” the researchers wrote. “Robust parametric analyses of the (Sorby) trial data reveal that an average daily vitamin C intake of 95 mg is required to prevent weak scar strength for 97.5% of the population. Such a vitamin C intake is more than double the daily 45 mg vitamin C intake recommended by the WHO but is consistent with the writing panels for the National Academy of Medicine and (other) countries,” they add. The Hujoels’ study also found that recovery from a vitamin C deficiency takes a long time and requires higher levels of vitamin C. Even an average daily dose of 90 milligrams a day of vitamin C for six months failed to restore normal scar strength for the depleted study participants. To read the original article click here.

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The Remarkable Effects of Vitamin C Over the Past 70 Years

AHA Publisher — Mon, 25 May 2020 07:00:43 +0000

Lori Alton via NaturalHealth365 – Frederick R. Klenner, MD – who used high-dose vitamin C to treat such serious conditions as polio and viral pneumonia – called it “the safest and most valuable substance available to the physician.” Nobel prize-winning researcher Linus Pauling believed that it could hold the key to treating cancer. And, a groundbreaking physician at a Virginia hospital is currently using it as part of a protocol to treat life-threatening advanced sepsis. Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that can boost the immune system and enhance the function of disease-fighting phagocytes. In addition, it is inexpensive, non-toxic, convenient and – when used in the proper dose – effective. Yet, sadly, Western medicine tends to pay little attention to this remarkable vitamin. And, that’s a shame, as you’ll soon see why. Early Breakthrough: Vitamin C Pioneer Reported Success Treating Polio and Viral Pneumonia In the 1940s, Dr. Klenner, a small-town family doctor in North Carolina, claimed to have used intravenous high-dose vitamin C to cure polio in 60 out of 60 patients – with no mortalities, no paralysis and no adverse effects. He reported that he obtained these near-miraculous results by injecting his patients with massive amounts – up to tens of thousands of milligrams a day. Dr. Klenner also used vitamin C against respiratory diseases. In a 2007 review published in Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, the author, Andrew W. Saul, credits Dr. Klenner with successfully treating 42 cases of viral pneumonia. For over forty years, Dr. Klenner used vitamin C to treat an astonishing array of diseases and conditions – including hepatitis, chicken pox, measles, mumps, influenza, mononucleosis, diphtheria, dysentery, leukemia, snakebite and carbon monoxide poisoning. Even though Dr. Klenner published 28 scientific papers documenting his research – and presented a summarization of his work on polio before the American Medical Association – his pronouncements were met with little interest by his colleagues. However, his work would be carried on by other forward-thinking practitioners. There’s a Growing Consensus About the Therapeutic Effects Scientific research confirming vitamin C’s benefits continues to accumulate. For example, a study published in Immune Network revealed that vitamin C led to increased production of disease-fighting interferons, causing an antiviral immune response against the H3N2 influenza (swine flu) virus. And, in an extensive 2017 review published in Nutrients, the author noted that a total of 148 animal studies indicate that vitamin C may alleviate or prevent infections caused by bacteria and viruses. The review also cited two controlled trials showing that regularly administered high-dose vitamin C – at levels between 6 and 8 grams a day – shortens the duration of colds. The author commented that past research in which vitamin C showed unimpressive results might be explained by the insufficient dosages used. Natural health experts have been saying this all along! Could Appropriate Vitamin C Supplementation Mean an End to Deadly Heart Disease? Renowned researcher Linus Pauling believed that heart disease (along with supposed contributors to heart disease, such as oxidized cholesterol) is actually an early stage of scurvy, a severe deficiency of vitamin C. This theory was recently confirmed by a study conducted by scientists at the Dr. Rath Research Institute and published in the American Journal of Cardiovascular Disease. As vitamin C is not produced in the body, it must be obtained through diet or appropriate high-quality supplementation. And, shortfalls can have dire consequences. A lack of vitamin C causes arteries to become fragile and to rupture – a problem which the body tries to repair with deposits of cholesterol. Unfortunately, this rescue attempt can backfire, with arteries becoming clogged with atherosclerotic plaque. The result? A heightened risk of heart attack and stroke. Dr. Mathias Rath, M.D. – a longtime research partner of Linus Pauling’s – maintains that appropriate supplementation can spur production of beneficial collagen and make arteries more flexible and less prone to breakage. In fact, Dr. Rath has stated his hope that his Cellular Recommendations – which involve 3 grams of vitamin C a day, along with other antioxidants – could lead to the abolition of heart disease as a cause of human mortality. Given the fact that heart disease is currently the leading cause of death in the nation, this is welcome news. Breaking NEWS: Discover a Lifesaving Treatment for Sepsis Sepsis, a systemic infection that can lead to multiple organ failure, features a bleak 40 percent mortality rate. But Dr. Paul Marik, of the Sentara Norfolk General Hospital intensive care unit, may be changing that. The physician has developed a protocol involving IV C, vitamin B1 (thiamine) and corticosteroids. In a retrospective study published in Chest and involving 47 patients, Dr. Marik reported that 8.5 percent of the vitamin C-treated patients died – as opposed to 40.4 percent of the control patients – a phenomenal result! Of course, this vitamin is not intended to supplant or replace any conventional medical treatment – but is to be used as a complementary therapy. Eighty years ago, Dr. Klenner insisted that vitamin C – in the proper amounts – could address virtually any condition. And, he said, administering it should be the first course of action. “The patient should get large doses of vitamin C in all pathological conditions,” Dr. Klenner declared, “while the physician ponders the issue.” As a growing body of research attests, these have turned out to be words of wisdom. To read the original article click here.

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