Getting a cold? Take some vitamin C
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November 18, 1990
VITAMINC.ASC
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Vangard Note...
This article comes from a little paper called `Lifelines'. It
is a free monthly publication found in many health food
stores. It contains many informative articles. We could find
neither the address or the author's name of the following text.
Vangard Sciences and KeelyNet makes no health recommendations.
This paper is being presented for informational purposes only.
typed in for KeelyNet by Ron Barker
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Getting a cold? Take some vitamin C
Vitamin C is a nutrient essential to our well-being.
For many years vitamin C was connected only with scurvy, but since
the advent of Dr. Linus Pauling's work, "Vitamin C and the Common
Cold," many of us have become familiar with the effectiveness of
vitamin C in preventing cold.
The versatility of this vitamin makes it available for use in the
treatment of many other cases of disease and distress.
Pauling reports that optimum intake (determined on an individual
basis) decreases the morbidity and mortality of heart disease,
cerebro-vascular disease and cancer, as well as infectious diseases
in general.
As a non-specific detoxifying agent it nullifies the toxicity of
drugs, fluorine, saccharine, lead, carbon tetrachloride, benzene and
excessive intake of vitamins A and D.
It has been used successfully in the treatment of ulcers, radiation
sickness, rheumatic fever, scarlet fever, pancreatitis, whooping
cough and tuberculosis. Pauling concludes that it has value in
controlling essentially all disease.
The most recent incidence of this ability is in the lowering of the
incidence of crib death. New Age magazine reports a study done in
one Australian town known for its high infant mortality rate where
crib deaths "were virtually wiped out for 10 years by infecting
babies with 1,000mg of vitamin C each day."
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More evidence to this conclusion is a nine-year study made in
California. Investigators interviewed 577 persons of 50 years or
older, getting data related to environmental, behavioral and
nutritional factors.
As these people died, records were made as to the correlation
between the factors and the age of death. Vitamin C level had the
greatest correlation with age-correted death factor, even greater
than cigarette smoking, with those with a higher C intake living an
average of 10 years longer.
Vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is produced from a chemical reaction,
which yields a substance that participates in nearly all of the
chemical reactions in our bodies and in all the protective
mechanisms. It is not a "wonder drug."
Drugs are developed for specific and singular effects and often have
side effects which are harmful to normal bodily functions. Vitamin
C is a normal constituent of the body required for life.
The major function of vitamin C is the synthesis of collagen.
Collagen is a protein fiber found throughout the body' connective
tissue. Supporting, protecting and cementing all the organs,
collagen protects the body.
It strengthens the intercellular cement holding the body together in
various tissues by sending tiny fibrils throughout this cement in
much the same way as steel girders are used to reinforce
construction cement. This strengthening is effective against
cellular invasion.
Vitamin C is also involved in the synthesis and releases of
adrenocortical and pituitary hormones. It accelerates cortisone
production. It is a natural antibiotic and can be used against any
infection without side effects.
Many animals manufacture their own vitamin C. In fact, man, some
types of monkeys, the guinea pig and an indian fruit-eating bat are
the only mammals known to require vitamin C from external sources.
Other mammals and most birds, amphibians and reptiles have the
ability to synthesize the vitamin.
Some geneticists, as well as Pauling, theorize that we lost our
ability to manufacture our own C through genetic mutation. One of
the proofs of this theory is that even now we are missing only one
enzyme necessary to complete a chemical conversion to produce
vitamin C in the liver.
In a weight ratio th the amount of C produced by synthesizing
mammals, a man weighing 154 pounds would produce 4 grams (4,000mg)
daily in an unstressful situation.
Symptoms such as hay fever, canker sores, occasional headaches,
bleeding gums or stress can be a sign of vitamin C deficiency. Even
the excitement generated by an athletic contest can deplete the
kidneys of their store of C.
Signs of a deficiency can be loss of appetite and weight, failure to
grow, muscular weakness, anemic and even skin lesions. Further
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clues are bleeding gums, frequent colds and infections and recurring
bruises.
There are certain circumstances under which large doses of vitamin C
must be taken to avoid serious deficiency: severe illness and or
stress, surgery, accidental wounds and burns.
Some drugs can cause the destruction of vitamin C in the body for an
long as six weeks following their use. These include barbiturates,
adreniline, stibestrol, estrogen, sulfonamides, aluminum chloride,
aspirin, antihistamines, thiouracil, thyroid and atropine.
These days, vitamin C is most famous for its action to prevent
colds. Fatigue, becoming chilled, wearing wet shoes or clothes, and
air pollution can lower the body's resistance.
Ninety percent of all americans ar familiar with the sniffles,
sneezing, sore throat, etc. of the common cold. (Six to 10 percent
never contract colds due to their natural powers of resistance.)
In this country we average three colds per person per year, and we
spend a whopping $500 million per year on cold remedies.
Many of these popular drugs, available without prescription, are
both harmful and dangerous causing illness and even death. Their use
does not control the infection, only the symptoms. Vitamin C gets
rid of the symptoms by fighting the infection, with no harmful side
effects.
Studies have been done to investigate the usefulness of vitamin C
against colds. Time after time it has proven effective.
Dr. Edme Regnier, who conducted a successful five-year study, and
irwin Stone, who originally told Pauling about the benefits of
vitamin C, both believe that it is effective in large amounts and
that the amount of protection increases with the amount of vitamin
C. They recommend that 4 - 10 grams be taken daily at the onset of
cold symptoms.
Pauling recommends that we carry 1 gram of C with us at all times,
taking one or two tablets at the onset of a cold and continuing this
procedure for several hours.
If there is a quick disappearance of the symptoms, after the first
or second dose, we return to our regular intake. If we still show
symptoms the second day, we continue the procedure. Viral action can
be suppressed, so the regimen needs to be continued long enough to
rid the body of the virus.
Vitamin C can be used to stop a cold whether or not one is taking it
regularly, but again several grams must be taken at the onset. In
this case, the procedure should be continued every 20 or 30 minutes
until the symptoms disappear. Then the dosage should be decreased
gradually.
Control of colds would lead to a decrease in more serious diseases
which sometimes occur when a cold gets out of had. In fact, Pauling
believes that colds could be prevented in 90 percent of the
population with the use of vitamin C.
Page 3
The same measures recommended for prevention of colds are used to
avoid the flu.
If you are a would-be victim of the flu or cold, don't just take
your C and keep working. Get some rest and drink lots of fluids. In
this way you will avoid any possibility of serious illness and,
equally important, you avoid spreading the virus around to others
who may be susceptible.
As demonstrated by its effectiveness with the common cold and
influenza, both viral infections, vitamin C does have a general
antiviral action.
Akira Murata, a Japanese microbiologist, using 20-gram injections of
sodium ascorbate (a salt of ascorbic acid) found that several kinds
of virus were inactivated to more than 99 percent within 10-20
minutes in adult human beings.
Because vitamin C stimulates action in the body's natural protective
mechanisms, more white blood cells are produced. This means that
vitamin C is effective against bacterial as well as viral
infections.
Vitamin C has been recorded as successful in combating the following
diseases: viral pneumonia, hepatitis, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis,
measles, mumps, chicken pox, viral pneumonia, viral orchitis, viral
meningitis, shingles, fever blisters, cold sores, canker sores,
diphtheria, tetanus, staphylococcus, vaccunia virus and herpes.
As mentioned earlier, vitamin C is extremely important for direct
physical stress: surgery, accidental wounds and burns. Because of
its function in the formation of collagen, the speed of and tensile
strength of tissue is directly proportional to the amount of C
obtained.
Vitamin C accelerates the formation of new blood vessels at the site
of the injury. It also activates the healing enzymes, speeds the
formation of new proteins and helps to prevent hemorrhaging.
It follows that here is a great need for increased amounts of C
before surgery. Some surgeons suggest that 5 grams of sodium
ascorbate be included per liter of intravenous fluid.
The use of C decreases the amount of post surgical pain, and the
time required for the resumption of normal body functions. Of
course, it accelerates healing, and it decreases hospitalization
time.
How much vitamin C should a person take under normal circumstances?
According to Earl Mindell's "Vitamin Bible," daily doses most often
used are 500mg to 4 grams. One of the most widely used supplements,
it is available in conventional pills, time-release tablets, syrups,
powders, chewable wafers and just about every other form a vitamin
can take.
Because vitamin C is excreted in two or three hours, it is important
to either take it in a time-release form or else take it throughout
the day. Large doses of vitamin C can alter the results of
Page 4
laboratory tests. Before blood or urine testing, the doctor should
know if you are taking vitamin C.
The body's ability to absorb vitamin C is reduced by smoking (each
cigarette destroys 25-100mg), stress, high fever, antibiotics,
cortisone, aspirin, pain killers and inhalation of DDT or petroleum
fumes.
Cooked foods retain about half the vitamin C of raw foods.
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Vangard Note...
Some research doctors have been trying to treat HIV (AIDS)
patients with high doses of vitamin C. Some have used many
thousands of grams of C. This can be very dangerous to the
patients. The vitamin C is very quickly absorbed by the virus.
This in not meant as a cure for the HIV but to aid the immune
system.
Also it is best to use a liquid or chewable vitamin C. As this
will very quickly be absorbed in the body and is much more
efficient than the pill form.
Do you know how Englishmen got to be called Limey's?
A long time ago when the English sailors were out at sea,
scurvy was a common problem. The only source of vitamin C
available to them, was from eating limes. Thus came the term
LIMEY'S!
Submitted by: Ronald Barker
Vangard Sciences
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Jerry W. Decker.........Ron Barker...........Chuck Henderson
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