SupposeĀ a guy takes a garden hose to a house fire, but he is unsuccessful at stopping the fire. ThenĀ he says that water does not put out fire. We all know that he didn’t use enough water. This happens with vitamin C research all the time. Doctors and scientists don’t use enough vitamin C to get a result and then say that vitamin C is ineffective. In this article I will share 10 vitamin C studies that did get results because they used a high enough dose of vitamin C.
Vitamin C and Hypertension
Researchers looked at whether vitamin C could help lower blood pressure in people with hypertension. In the study, participants took 2 grams of vitamin C at first and then 500 mg each day for a month. The results were promising: their systolic blood pressure (the top number) dropped by about 13 points (from 155 to 142 mm H on average, and overall blood pressure also went down. The study suggests that taking regular doses of vitamin C might help manage high blood pressure, but more research is needed to fully understand how it works.
Vitamin C for Colds and Flu on College Campus
Dr. H. Clay Gorton and Dr. Kelly Jarvis conducted a study to see if high doses of vitamin C could help prevent and treat cold and flu symptoms. They observed adult students at a training facility in Chile, giving the test group of 252 students 1,000 mg of vitamin C every hour for the first six hours of symptoms, then three times a day after that. The results were impressive: the group taking vitamin C reported 85% fewer symptoms compared to the previous yearās control group. This study suggests that megadose vitamin C can effectively reduce and prevent cold and flu symptomsā
Vitamin C for Inflammation in Cancer Patients
This study from the Riordan Clinic explored the effects of high-dose intravenous vitamin C (IVC) on inflammation in cancer patients. Researchers treated patients with intravenous vitamin C doses ranging from 7.5 to 50 grams. They found that vitamin C helped reduce markers of inflammation, like C-reactive protein (CRP) and pro-inflammatory cytokines, in most patients. Interestingly, those who showed a decrease in inflammation often also had reduced tumor markers, like PSA (common in prostate cancer). Inflammation and cancer progresion went together, and the intravenous vitamin C seemed to help both.
Vitamin C for Terminal Cancer Patients: The Cameron and Pauling Study
In their 1976 study, Ewan Cameron and Linus Pauling investigated the effects of high-dose vitamin C (ascorbate) on terminal cancer patients. They treated 100 patients with around 10 grams of intravenous vitamin C daily, comparing them to 1,000 similar patients who did not receive the supplement. The results showed that those who took vitamin C lived about four times longer than those who didnāt (210 versus 50 days for comparison controls). And the vitamin C therapy worked wonders for a small fraction of the patients. About 10% of the treated group lived over 20 times longer. The study suggested that high-dose vitamin C could significantly improve survival and quality of life for advanced cancer patients.
Vitamin C Helps Rebuild the Immune System after Bone Marrow Transplant
Dr. Victor ItaĆ Urbalejo-Ceniceros and colleagues conducted a study on using high-dose vitamin C to improve immune function after bone marrow transplants. Patients who received 20 g of vitamin C daily for the first 10 days post-transplant and 500 mg twice daily afterward showed better recovery of immune cells (like NK cells) compared to those who didnāt get extra vitamin C. The group with vitamin C also had fewer infections, and no serious side effects were reported. The study suggests that vitamin C might help strengthen the immune system after transplants.
Trauma Center Includes IV Vitamin C and Saves More Lives
Dr. Bryan Collier and his team at Vanderbilt University found that their high-dose antioxidant treatment (1,000 mg of IV vitamin C every 8 hours, 1,000 IU of vitamin E, and 200 Āµg of selenium daily) significantly helped trauma patients. The results showed that patients receiving this antioxidant treatment had a 28% lower risk of death, shorter hospital stays, and reduced time in the ICU. Those with an expected survival rate below 50% benefited even more, showing a 76% lower risk of death. This suggests that the antioxidants were particularly effective in critically injured patients, helping to improve survival rates and shorten hospital and ICU stays, offering a cost-effective approach to supporting recoveryā
Vitamin C Shows Promise for Type 2 Diabetes
Dr. Juhani Eriksson and Dr. Aarne Kohvakka from the University of Tampere in Finland conducted a study in 1995 on how vitamin C affects people with type 2 diabetes. In their trial, participants took 2 grams of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) daily for 90 days.
The results were promising: vitamin C significantly improved blood sugar control, and the reduction in HbA1c levels was not just statistically significant but also clinically meaningful. This suggests that vitamin C might help people with diabetes manage their blood sugar more effectively.Ā However, since the study was relatively short (only three months), it is possible that if people kept on using vitamin C they could potentially have even greater benefits.Ā And even higher doses could be used, like closer to 10,000 mg a day.Ā Further studies at a high dose of vitamin C have not been done.Ā Instead the medical community has done many studies since then using between 500 mg and 1,000 mg of vitamin C a day.Ā Useless.Ā
Vitamin C Helps Athletes Reduce Muscle Damage
Dr. Chun-Chung Chou, Dr. Yu-Chi Sung, and Dr. Glen Davison studied how short-term high doses of vitamins C and E affect muscle damage in athletes. They either gave a placebo or 2,000 mg of vitamin C and 1,400 IU of vitamin E daily for four days to elite Taekwondo athletes. The results showed that this combo helped reduce muscle damage and inflammation during matches, as seen through lower levels of muscle damage markers. The study suggests that short-term antioxidant use can aid in recovery without affecting performanceā. So, take vitamin C a few days before a strenuous workout or your long weekend project to aid recovery.
Vitamin C Improves Blood Flow in People with Heart Disease
Dr. Noyan Gokce, Dr. John F. Keaney Jr., and their colleagues explored how vitamin C affects blood vessel health in people with coronary artery disease (CAD). The study showed that taking a single 2-gram dose of vitamin C improved endothelial function, which is how well blood vessels can widen to allow more blood flow. This is important because endothelial cells produce nitric oxide (NO), a molecule that helps relax blood vessels. The improvement was sustained with a daily dose of 500 mg over a month, suggesting vitamin C helps enhance NO production and maintain healthier blood flow.
Sometimes You Just Need More C
Dr. Jill Murphree and colleagues from Vanderbilt University Medical Center reported a case where high-dose vitamin C was used to treat a patient with myasthenia gravis, Crohn’s disease, and signs of scurvy. The patient had symptoms like bruising and bleeding, and even though she was taking 2,000 mg of oral vitamin C daily, her symptoms persisted. Eventually, they switched to intravenous vitamin C, which successfully resolved the symptoms. The study highlights that in some cases, oral vitamin C may not be enough, and IV therapy might be necessary for effective treatmentā. It could be that liposomal vitamin C would have been effective, but they didn’t try that.
Summary: Vitamin C Doesn’t Work if You Don’t Take Enough
In conclusion, the studies summarized here highlight the potential benefits of high-dose vitamin C for various health conditions, from improving blood vessel function in heart disease to aiding in recovery from muscle damage, in the ICU, and even supporting immune health. Dr. Frederick Klenner said patients “should get large doses of Vitamin C in all pathological conditions while the physician ponders the diagnosis.ā And Dr. Klenner, who used vitamin C extensively in his medical practice, had one main complaint: failure to benefit from Vitamin C use is usually due to inadequate amounts being used for too short a period of time. So, keep this in mind when you go to use vitamin C. It is very safe orally. Just spread it out throughout the day. Usually every 2-3 hours is enough, but hourly doses have also been used quite effectively in certain circumstances. You, too, can get great results, but don’t expect to put out a house fire with a garden hose.
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