Absorption of Vitamin Megadoses

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Absorption of Vitamin Megadoses

Edited and reprinted with the permission of Scott Roberts scottr

December 2, 1999

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Errors in JAMA Vitamin C Article

by Scott Roberts

The April 21, 1999 Journal of the American Medical Association article on

vitamin C by Mark Levine, et al attempted to show by blood and urinary data that

vitamin C in doses greater than 100 to 200 mg/day have no useful benefit in

humans. The article is important because it strives to guide the new RDA for

vitamin C towards a mere 100 to 200 mg/day. The article can be seen at

http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v281n15/full/jsc80392.html.

The severity of the inadequacy of the article can be seen by the following

observations: The article cites a 1997 article to claim vitamin C in gram

doses has no place in the treatment of colds while ignoring a Feb 1999 article

by the SAME RESEARCHER that claimed 2 g/day reduces the duration of colds by

26%. The abstract of that reference is included below. Pauling claimed vitamin C

would have its greatest effect on the common cold when a gram was taken every

hour instead of just once a day.

The article recommends an RDA of 100 to 200 mg/day based on arguments that are

almost entirely theoretical instead of citing the many real-world studies

showing substantial health benefits from levels greater than 1 g/day (including

numerous studies on specific diseases done in the 1940's and 1950's - see the

1971 book by Irwin Stone " The Healing Factor - Vitamin C against Disease " ). On

the internet, an article about high doses can be found at

http://www.orthomed.com/klenner.htm and

http://www.garynull.com/documents/vitaminc.htm.

By the article's own admission, it recommends an RDA of 100 to 200 mg/day based

on faulty data manipulation. The authors chose to measure steady state blood

plasma concentration after ingestion instead of actual concentrations because

the calculation for actual concentrations was " too complex " . From reading the

text, one would think 60 umol/L in the blood is as high as can be possibly

achieved (which results from ingesting 100 to 200 mg/d). However, by making an

estimation of their lower graph in figure 3, the data indicates that if 1,000 mg

were taken 4 times a day (the minimum recommendation of several popular

nutrition experts such as Dr. Whitaker, Dr. Cathcart, Dr. Hoffer, Dr. Pauling,

Dr. Klenner, and Irwin Stone), it would average out to about 180 umol/L. Surely

a little more calculation (or even some estimating) would have been worth the

effort to show a 3-fold increase!

The authors' blood and urinary data used to support their suggested maximum

recommended daily amount of 100 to 200 mg/d is claimed to be better than data

previously available. The JAMA article's data and arguments are 20 years old.

Linus Pauling in his 1986 book " How to Live Longer and Feel Better " used nearly

the exact same blood, urine, and absorption data (pp 108-112) to address the

exact same misunderstandings to show that 140 mg/d should be considered an

absolute minimum value instead of a maximum. Pauling believed the optimum range

of vitamin C for most people would be between 3 and 20 g/d.

The authors do not seemed bothered or amazed that their claims indicate humans

need 10 to 100 times less vitamin C than almost every other animal on the planet

(adjusted for body-weight). Gorillas get 20 to 40 times as much in their diet

and the RDA-equivalent for monkeys is also about 20 to 40 times higher than the

authors are recommending for humans. Why is the RDA set so low for humans and so

high for monkeys?

The authors do not give any physiological explanation for why they believe

humans are so unique among the animal kingdom as to find relatively small doses

(1 g/d) of vitamin C " toxic " . This size dose has never resulted in a human

suffering an adverse health effect (other than those who are sensitive to it

have temporary diarrhea). The article discusses increased iron absorption and

oxalate production, but no case of a human being harmed is reported. The

article's suggested " toxic " level for humans is approximately the bare minimum

needed by all other animals. Other large mammals sacrifice 2% to 4% of their

daily food energy to make vitamin C in concentrations 10 to 20 times higher than

what the article considers " toxic " , showing that not only is it not toxic, but

it's more important than having a little extra food!

TITLE: Vitamin C supplementation and common cold symptoms: factors affecting the

magnitude of the benefit. AUTHORS: Hemila H AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Department of

Public Health, University of Helsinki, Finland. Med Hypotheses 1999

Feb;52(2):171-8 CITATION IDS: PMID: 10340298 UI: 99271657 ABSTRACT:

Placebo-controlled trials have shown that vitamin C supplementation decreases

the duration and severity of common cold infections. However, the magnitude of

the benefit has substantially varied, hampering conclusions about the clinical

significance of the vitamin. In this paper, 23 studies with regular vitamin C

supplementation (> or = 1 g/day) were analyzed to find out factors that may

explain some part of the variation in the results. It was found that on average,

vitamin C produces greater benefit for children than for adults. The dose may

also affect the magnitude of the benefit, there being on average greater benefit

from > or = 2 g/day compared to 1 g/day of the vitamin. In five

studies with adults administered 1g/day of vitamin C, the median decrease in

cold duration was only 6%, whereas in two studies with children administered 2

g/day the median decrease was four times higher, 26%. The trials analyzed in

this work used regular vitamin C supplementation, but it is conceivable that

therapeutic supplementation starting early at the onset of the cold episode

could produce comparable benefits. Since few trials have examined the effects of

therapeutic supplementation and their results have been variable, further

therapeutic trials are required to examine the role of vitamin C in the

treatment of colds.

Some writers have claimed that excess vit c is excreted immediately. Taking 5

hours for blood concentration of vit C to drop to levels that are still 2 times

higher than normal steady state levels is not what I'd call " immediate "

excretion. At two hours after the dose, vit C concentration is almost 4 times

steady state levels. This data is for 1250 mg. For the proof of my statements,

see figure 3 in the reference and paragraph 2 of page 1418 in the PDF file.

If someone is taking large doses of V-C they should not just stop.The body has

altered its absorption rate and it takes a while for it to readjust. One should

taper off of large doses gradually. Linus Pauling believed in the " rebound

scurvy " effect. He said you'd be more susceptible to colds if you skipped even a

day (if you took the large doses). Interestingly, the JAMA article says it is a

myth.

Personal viewpoint:

Some vitamin C critics' personalities remind me a little of me before i starting

taking normal Earth animal size doses of ascorbic acid powder (16 grams/day in 4

glasses of grape or orange juice spaced apart). My yearly physicals don't show

any change in metals. Cholesterol from 210 to 160. Stress level plummeted. I

still get a cold once a year, but my nose never gets stuffy. I used to always

have to have kleenex boxes in places like my car, desk drawer, den, and bedroom,

but now I never need them.

There is also a surprising " high " I get. I can't compare it to anything - it

just makes me feel better. It lasts at least an hour and often up to 2 hours,

right in-line with figure 3 in the JAMA article. It's probably above 400 umol/L

in plasma that causes the high feeling (in me, not necessarily others). It's

sort of like pressure in my head is reduced. I feel like the relief in stress

relaxes me. The high feeling is stronger when it's been awhile since the last

dose. I take the large doses because it makes me feel better, not because it's

good for my health. I'll notice I'm not feeling good and say " hmmmm, 4 grams

sure would hit the spot right now. " Even if I don't have juice available, I'll

put the powder ascorbic acid in water and bear the bitterness. By the way, the

pH is less than coke even at 10 grams per glass of water.

(Additional Comment by Andrew Saul, PhD:) Discount stores and even health food

stores have deals on vitamin C. In Rochester, NY (and other cities, surely)

there's a health food store selling ascorbic acid crystals for about $16 a

pound. My son and my daughter (vitamin C megadosers since infancy; all the way

into college and not one dose of any antibiotic... I'll put the wallet full of

pictures away now; pardon me) found vitamin C at a chain nutrition store for

just over two cents a gram, in tablets. Is that ever cheaper than (the new,

costly and side-effect-ridden antibiotic) " Cipro " ! During illness, even more

frequent doses are indicated (sources below for those interested.) Hourly " C "

is not at all too often during the 'flu.

Mr. Roberts' experience with vitamin C so closely parallels my own that I'll

just conclude with a " right on. "

More information at

http://www.vitamincfoundation.org

http://www.cforyourself.com

http://www.orthomed.com

http://www.orthomed.org