Sailors and Vitamin C
Scurvy is a disease defined in 1449, it was a result of vitamin C deficiency. Sailors were the most prone to this disease because of their diet while at sea. In 1753 James Lind showed that citrus fruits could cure scurvy.
Scurvy is a disease defined in 1449, it was a result of vitamin C deficiency. Sailors were the most prone to this disease because of their diet while at sea. In 1753 James Lind showed that citrus fruits could cure scurvy.
Linus Pauling - Nobel Peace prizewinner
Linus Pauling's work on vitamin C in his later years generated much controversy. He was first introduced to the concept of high-dose vitamin C by biochemist Irwin Stone in 1966. After becoming convinced of it's worth, Pauling took 3 grams of vitamin C every day to prevent colds. Excited by the results, he researched the clinical literature and published Vitamin C and the Common Cold in 1970.
He began a long clinical collaboration with the British cancer surgeon Ewan Cameron in 1971 on the use of intravenous and oral vitamin C as cancer therapy for terminal patients. Cameron and Pauling wrote many technical papers and a popular book,Cancer and Vitamin C, that discussed their observations.
Pauling made vitamin C popular with the public and eventually published two studies of a group of one hundred allegedly terminal patients that claimed vitamin C increased survival by as much as four times compared to untreated patients.
A re-evaluation of the claims in 1982 found that the patient groups were not actually comparable, with the vitamin C group being less sick on entry to the study, and judged to be "terminal" much earlier than the comparison group.
Later clinical trials conducted by the Mayo Clinic also found that high-dose (10,000 mg) vitamin C was no better than placebo at treating cancer and that there was no benefit to high-dose vitamin C. The failure of the clinical trials to demonstrate any benefit resulted in the conclusion that vitamin C was not effective in treating cancer; the medical establishment also concluded his claims that vitamin C could prevent colds was quackery.
Pauling denounced the conclusions of these studies and handling of the final study as "fraud and deliberate misrepresentation", and criticized the studies for using oral, rather than intravenous vitamin C (which was the dosing method used for the first ten days of Pauling's original study).
The results were publicly debated at length with considerable acrimony between Pauling and Cameron, and Moertel (the lead author of the Mayo Clinic studies), with accusations of misconduct and scientific incompetence on both sides.
Ultimately the negative findings of the Mayo Clinic studies ended interest in vitamin C as a treatment for cancer.
Despite this, Pauling continued to promote vitamin C for treating cancer and the common cold, working with The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential to use vitamin C in the treatment of brain-injured children.
He later collaborated with the Canadian physician Abram Hoffer on a micronutrient regimen, including high-dose vitamin C, as adjunctive cancer therapy. Quoted from Wikipedia.
Dr Archie Kalokerinos - Australia
In the 1980s Dr Archie Kalokerinos became very concerned about the high death rate of Aboriginal children in that part of New South Wales.
He came to the conclusion that the infants had symptoms of scurvy, a deficiency of vitamin C, and he treated them accordingly. The Nobel prize winner Linus Pauling in the foreword to Kalokerinos' book Every Second Child endorsed his views.
60 Minutes - "Living Proof?" episode
Just recently a New Zealand programme, 60 Minutes, showcased a Waikato farmer, Alan Smith, who had swine flu. It was so bad that doctors were going to turn off his life support.
His family wanted to try high dose intravenous Vitamin C but doctors argued that there was no point, the family kept going until the doctors decided fine they would give the Vitamin C but nothing is going to happen.
After a few days of the Vitamin C treatment the Alan Smith started to get better the doctors declined to believe it saying it was because they had turned him prone at the same time.
He got better until they decided to move the him to a hospital closer to home.
This hospital stopped the Vitamin C treatment and the Alan Smith's health went down once again the family had to ask again for the treatment once again they gave it but this time they gave him less.
He slowly recovered and is now at his home working on his farm.
