Vitamin C – The Overlooked Miracle Drug

In medical school, there is little or no time spent on vitamins, and thousands of hours of instructions spent on pharmaceuticals (drugs).  As a result, most MD’s are “educationally handicapped” about vitamins.

In the days of “wooden ships and iron men”, the most dreaded disease was scurvy.  It was the result of a lack of vitamin C.  Captain Cook and others found that a little bit of lemon or lime juice every few days prevented it, and kept their sailors better able to do their duty to King and Country.  This is where the term “limey” came to be applied to English sailors.

THE MYTH:  At the beginning of the last century, the then US government became somewhat more worried about the public health than today’s government, and funded several cereal companies to research and find a minimum amount of vitamins that would prevent the deficiency diseases of scurvy, pellagra, and beri-beri.

Of course, the cereal companies were mostly concerned about pellagra and beri-beri, (deficiencies of niacin – then known as B3, and a deficiency of B2.  They already knew that a lime a day or so prevented scurvy.  So, they set up a MINIMUM DAILY ALLOWANCE (MDA) chart. It was (and is) designed to just be enough to prevent these three terrible deficiency diseases.  It has been modified and added to along the way.

Also, along the way, the food industry lobbied successfully to change that name to “Recommended Daily Allowance”.  This sounds better, and it leads the public to believe (as they now do) that this RDA is somehow good enough for good health.  The RDA is definitely NOT sufficient for good health.  That’s the myth that has been promoted by advertising.  The RDA amounts are barely enough to prevent bad health.  Particularly with vitamin C.

Because of this wide belief, even researchers are misled.  Since the RDA for vitamin C is only 75 mg (about an orange a day), then anything 5-10 times that amount MUST be a “megadose”.  And that amount is used to test vitamin C, and to “scientifically prove” that  vitamin C cannot cure a cold, a flu, or a virus borne disease at all.  Take any such “studies” with a salt shaker – they are false!

What isn’t well known is the actual RDA for “good health”.  It turns out that  is about 4000 mg (4 grams) of vitamin C per day per 150 pounds of every primate.  Every zoo vet knows this and since a 150 pound ape is very valuable, they carefully make sure that they get this amount in food and supplemental vitamin C.  Since vitamin C only lasts in the bloodstream for 4 hours or so, splitting up any dosage Is best.  I use 2 grams  AM and PM for this reason.

You should know that all primates, including the apes (and us) lost a very important enzyme some 65 million years ago that chemically changed glucose (blood sugar) into Vitamin C in the blood.  Virtually all other animals actually manufacture vitamin C in their bodies, increasing it with stress and or disease.  That’s why cats, dogs, vultures, and other animals can eat dead meat loaded with bacteria and not get sick.  (if we could get that enzyme back, we’d be very healthy with all the junk food that transforms into glucose.)  Oh well!

That ratio of about 4 grams per 150 pounds of body weight seems to be a pretty good one for establishing “good health” guidelines for vitamin C.  A small mouse generates a proportional average amount of vitamin C daily.  So does a cow, or an elephant.  The actual amounts that are generated depend on how much is needed to combat any stress, fight germs, etc.  Studies show that most animals can generate 10 times this average as needed.

I weigh about 200 pounds, and I eat  enough whole  fruits so that I believe that 4 grams per day is right for me.  I take 2 grams with breakfast, and 2 more grams at supper, leaving the noon for taking of other vitamins and minerals.  This way, the supplemental minerals needed aren’t taken out of the bloodstream by the vitamin C too fast. Read the rest of this entry »