The Origin of the
42-Year Stonewall of Vitamin CLandwehr, Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, 1991
“So far, plasma levels of over 100 mg/dl have been maintained in 3 patients
for more than 5 h using continuous intravenous infusion. [One] patient ... has, to date,
received 39 of the 8-h infusions of AA, ranging in dose from 57.5 to 115 g, over a 13-week
period. A recent CT scan revealed that there had been no progression of tumor growth
during the treatment period.
“Altogether, six patients have been infused intravenously with similar doses of AA
over 8-h periods with no reported side-effects. In all cases, the patients had either been
given no further therapeutic options by their oncologists, had refused further
conventional treatment, or in one case, requested the use of AA in conjunction with
standard chemotherapy.”
[AscorbateWeb Editorial: This is a highly technical article,
but contains numerous references to work done over the preceding 40+ years. Its tone
is generally positive, and mildly counters the negative conclusions of earlier studies,
notably the infamous Mayo Clinic cancer-study fiasco and report of 1979.
Overall this report emphasizes the monitoring of blood plasma ascorbate levels, instead of
using the lame and unreliable urinary spillage and/or tissue saturation
criteria of decades earlier.
Much has been learned about ascorbate safety issues over the decades, and these are described briefly.
That the authors consider “ascorbate safety” an issue is significant,
because it is a open acknowledgement that ascorbate acts powerfully and specifically (and,
rarely, fatally) against cancer, as was reported by Pauling and Cameron years earlier.
The major issue experimentalists want to flog further is how in vitro (test-tube)
tests translate to in vivo (in people) results. Carry on...]
“As iron preparations did not give desired response in our previous study and are not well tolerated by many persons we instead suggest vitamin C tablets (500 mg) to be given twice daily after every major meal. This will improve iron status and correct anemia as shown in this study. In contrast to iron preparations ascorbic acid is well tolerated, quite palatable and harmless.”
[AscorbateWeb Editorial: The next time the doctor prescribes those expensive, griping, constipating and nauseous iron pills, one might consider instead a slice of wholegrain bread, a bowl of brown rice, or sufficient red meat with half a gram of ascorbate.]
Intake of vitamins B6
and C and the risk of kidney stones in women:“A high intake of vitamin B6 was inversely associated with risk
of stone formation... In contrast, vitamin C intake was not associated with risk...
“Large doses of vitamin B6 may reduce the risk of kidney stone formation
in women. Routine restriction of vitamin C to prevent stone formation appears
unwarranted.”
[AscorbateWeb Editorial: I think this has finally laid to
rest the still-cited but always-bogus conjecture of ascorbate and kidney stone
formation...]
© March, 2003 AscorbateWeb