Vitamin C As An Antiviral + Attachment: Clinical Guide to the Use of Vitamin C

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, December 3, 2009

 

 

Vitamin C As An Antiviral:

It's All About Dose

 

 

 

(OMNS, December 3, 2009) One of the most frequent questions from

Orthomolecular Medicine News Service readers is, Just how much vitamin C should

I

take?

 

 

Our bodies cannot make vitamin C (ascorbate), although most animals can.

We must get it from our food and from supplements. But how much do we really

need? Persistent arguments on this question may be settled by looking at

how much vitamin C animals manufacture in their bodies. The answer is: quite

a lot. Most animals make the human body-weight equivalent of 5,000 to

10,000 milligrams a day. It is unlikely that animals would have evolved to make

this much vitamin C if they did not need it and use it. Indeed, cells in

many human body tissues concentrate vitamin C by 25-fold or more over blood

concentration.

 

 

Each person's need for vitamin C differs because of differences in

genetics and individual biochemistry [1,2,3]. Further, our bodies undergo

different stresses, and we certainly eat different foods. Therefore, the daily

need

for ascorbate to maintain health for an adult varies between 2,000 -

20,000 mg/day. Linus Pauling personally took 18,000 mg of vitamin C daily.

Although he was often ridiculed for this, it is interesting to note that Dr.

Pauling had two more Nobel prizes than any of his critics. He died at age 93.

Abram Hoffer, MD, a colleague of Pauling's, took megadoses of vitamin C and

successfully gave it to thousands of patients over 55 years of medical

practice. Dr. Hoffer died at age 91.

 

 

Antiviral Function

When we are challenged with a viral infection, our need for vitamin C can

rise dramatically, depending on the body's immune function, level of

injury, infection, or environmental toxicity such as cigarette smoke [4,5].

Ascorbate at sufficiently high doses can prevent viral disease and greatly speed

recovery from an acute viral infection. Surprising to some, this was

originally observed by physicians in the 1940s and has been verified and

re-verified over the last 60 years by doctors who achieved quick and complete

recovery in their patients with ascorbate mega-doses [5]. The effective

therapeutic dose is based on clinical observation and bowel tolerance. Clinical

observation is essentially " taking enough C to be symptom free, whatever that

amount may be. " Bowel tolerance means exactly what you think it means: the

amount that can be absorbed from the gut without causing loose stools.

[5,6]. Very high doses, 30,000 - 200,000 mg, divided up throughout the day, are

remarkably non-toxic and have been documented by physicians as curing

viral diseases as various as the common cold, flu, hepatitis, viral pneumonia,

and even polio. [4,5,7]. On first reading this may sound incredible. We

invite interested persons to read further, starting with the references listed

below, and especially Dr. Frederick R. Klenner's Clinical Guide to the Use

of Vitamin C. This short book is posted in its entirety at

_http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/198x/smith-lh-clinical_guide_1988.htm_

(http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/198x/smith-lh-clinical_guide_1988.htm)

..

 

 

Mechanism For Ascorbate Antiviral Effect

Several mechanisms for vitamin C's antiviral effect are known or suggested

from studies [4,8]. The antioxidant property of ascorbate promotes a

reducing environment in the bloodstream and tissues, enhancing the body's

response to oxidative stress from inflammation [9], thereby helping to fight

microbes and viruses that propagate in stressful conditions [10]. Ascorbate has

been shown to have specific antiviral effects in which it inactivates the

RNA or DNA of viruses [11,12,13], or in the assembly of the virus [14].

 

 

Vitamin C is also involved in enhancing several functions of the immune

system. Ascorbate can enhance the production of interferon, which helps

prevent cells from being infected by a virus [15,16]. Ascorbate stimulates the

activity of antibodies [17], and in megadoses seems to have a role in

mitochondrial energy production [18] . It can enhance phagocyte function, which

is the body's mechanism for removing viral particles and other unwanted

debris [4]. White blood cells, involved in the body's defense against

infections

of all types, concentrate ascorbate up to 80 times plasma levels, which,

if you take enough vitamin C, allows them to bring huge amounts of ascorbate

to the site of the infection [4]. Many different components of the immune

response, B-cells, T-cells, NK cells, and also cytokine production, all

with important roles in the immune response, are enhanced by ascorbate

[19-23]. Additionally, ascorbate improves the immune response from vaccination

[24,25].

 

 

Summary

Vitamin C at high doses is effective in preventing viral infection and

enhancing recovery. Several mechanisms are known, including specific viral

anti-replication processes and enhancement of many components of the body's

cellular immune system. When taken at an appropriate dose in a timely manner,

ascorbate is our best tool for curing acute viral illness.

 

 

References:

 

[1] Williams RJ, Deason G (1967) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 57:1638-1641.

Individuality in vitamin C needs.

 

[2] Pauling L (1986) How to Live Longer And Feel Better, by Linus Pauling

(Paperback - May 2006) ISBN-13: 9780870710964

 

[3] Hoffer A, Saul AW (2009) Orthomolecular Medicine for Everyone:

Megavitamin Therapeutics for Families and Physicians. ISBN-13: 9781591202264

 

[4] Levy TE (2002) Curing the Incurable: Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases,

and Toxins. ISBN-13: 9781401069636

 

[5] Hickey S, Saul AW (2008) Vitamin C: The Real Story, the Remarkable and

Controversial Healing Factor. ISBN-13: 9781591202233

 

[6] Cathcart RF (1981) Vitamin C, titrating to bowel tolerance,

anascorbemia, and acute induced scurvy. Med Hypotheses. 7:1359-1376.

 

[7] Klenner FR (1979) The significance of high daily intake of ascorbic

acid in preventive medicine, in: Physician's Handbook on Orthomolecular

Medicine, Third Edition, 1979, Roger Williams, PhD, ed., p 51-59.

 

[8] Webb AL, Villamor E (2007) Update: Effects of antioxidant and

non-antioxidant vitamin supplementation on immune function. Nutrition Reviews

65:181-217

 

[9] Wintergerst ES, Maggini S, Hornig DH (2006) Immune-enhancing role of

vitamin C and zinc and effect on clinical conditions. Ann Nutr Metab.

50:85-94.

 

[10] Kastenbauer S, Koedel U, Becker BF, Pfister HW (2002) Oxidative

stress in bacterial meningitis in humans. Neurology. 58:186-191.

 

[11] Murata A, Oyadomari R, Ohashi T, Kitagawa K. (1975) Mechanism of

inactivation of bacteriophage deltaA containing single-stranded DNA by ascorbic

acid. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 21:261-269.

 

[12] Harakeh S, Jariwalla RJ, Pauling L (1990) Suppression of human

immunodeficiency virus replication by ascorbate in chronically and acutely

infected cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 87:7245-7249.

 

[13] White LA, Freeman CY, Forrester BD, Chappell WA (1986) In vitro

effect of ascorbic acid on infectivity of herpesviruses and paramyxoviruses. J

Clin Microbiol. 24:527-531.

 

[14] Furuya A, Uozaki M, Yamasaki H, Arakawa T, Arita M, Koyama AH (2008)

Antiviral effects of ascorbic and dehydroascorbic acids in vitro. Int J Mol

Med. 22:541-545.

 

[15] Gerber, WF (1975) Effect of ascorbic acid, sodium salicylate and

caffeine on the serum interferon level in response to viral infection.

Pharmacology, 13: 228.

 

[16] Karpinska T, Kawecki Z, Kandefer-Szerszen M (1982) The influence of

ultraviolet irradiation, L-ascorbic acid and calcium chloride on the

induction of interferon in human embryo fibroblasts. Arch Immunol Ther Exp

(Warsz). 30:33-37.

 

[17] Anderson R, Dittrich OC (1979) Effects of ascorbate on leucocytes:

Part IV. Increased neutrophil function and clinical improvement after oral

ascorbate in 2 patients with chronic granulomatous disease. S Afr Med J.

1;56476-80.

 

[18] Gonz lez MJ, Miranda JR, Riordan HD (2005) Vitamin C as an Ergogenic

Aid. J Orthomolecular Med 20:100-102.

 

[19] Kennes B, Dumont I, Brohee D, Hubert C, Neve P (1983) Effect of

vitamin C supplements on cell-mediated immunity in old people. Gerontology.

29:305-310.

 

[20] Siegel BV, Morton JI (1984) Vitamin C and immunity: influence of

ascorbate on prostaglandin E2 synthesis and implications for natural killer

cell activity. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 54:339-342.

 

[21] Jeng KC, Yang CS, Siu WY, Tsai YS, Liao WJ, Kuo JS (1996)

Supplementation with vitamins C and E enhances cytokine production by peripheral

blood

mononuclear cells in healthy adults. Am J Clin Nutr. 64:960-965.

 

[22] Campbell JD, Cole M, Bunditrutavorn B, Vella AT (1999) Ascorbic acid

is a potent inhibitor of various forms of T cell apoptosis. Cell Immunol.

194:1-5.

 

[23] Schwager J, Schulze J (1997) Influence of ascorbic acid on the

response to mitogens and interleukin production of porcine lymphocytes. Int J

Vitam Nutr Res. 67:10-16.

 

[24] Banic S (1982) Immunostimulation by vitamin C. Int J Vitam Nutr Res

Suppl. 23:49-52.

 

[25] Wu CC, Dorairajan T, Lin TL (2000) Effect of ascorbic acid

supplementation on the immune response of chickens vaccinated and challenged

with

infectious bursal disease virus. Vet Immunol Immunopathol. 74:145-152.

 

 

Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine

 

Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to fight

illness. For more information: _http://www.orthomolecular.org_

(http://www.orthomolecular.org)

 

The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and

non-commercial informational resource.

 

 

Editorial Review Board:

 

Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D.

Damien Downing, M.D.

Michael Gonzalez, D.Sc., Ph.D.

Steve Hickey, Ph.D.

James A. Jackson, PhD

Bo H. Jonsson, MD, Ph.D

Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D.

Jorge R. Miranda-Massari, Pharm.D.

Erik Paterson, M.D.

Gert E. Shuitemaker, Ph.D.

 

 

Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D., Editor and contact person.

Email: _omns_ (omns)