The Truth about Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C) - long message

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The Truth about Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C)

First, please note this from the references below:

" Natural vs. synthetic vitamin C Natural and synthetic L-ascorbic acid are

chemically identical and there are no known differences in their biological

activities or bioavailabilities. "

If it were true that ascorbic acid doesn't help, how can intravenous vitamin C

successfully help cancer victims as Orthomolecular Physicians have been doing

since 1978 when Linus ing founded Orthomolecular Medicine:

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/lpbio/lpbio2.html

" " Orthomolecular medicine - ing had spoken about the importance of vitamins

in the late 1930s. In the mid-1960s he became intrigued with the biochemistry of

nutrition. Its roots were in the research he had done at Caltech on the

mechanism of action of anesthetic agents in the brain and in exploring the

possibility that mental retardation and mental illness (especially

schizophrenia) were caused by various biochemical and genetic disorders. This

work in brain-fluid chemistry — studying the molecular environment of the mind —

later led to collaborative clinical research with Dr. Abram Hoffer on the

therapeutic efficacy of vitamins in cancer. In founding the new field of

orthomolecular psychiatry ( " Orthomolecular Psychiatry " Science 160:265-271,

1968), ing proposed that mental abnormalities might be successfully treated

by correcting imbalances or deficiencies among naturally occurring biochemical

constituents of the brain, notably vitamins and other micronutrients, as an

alternative to the administration of potent synthetic psychoactive drugs.

ing later broadened this concept into orthomolecular medicine. The concept

and term (meaning " right molecules in the right concentration " ) characterized an

approach to the prevention and treatment of disease and attainment of optimum

health that was based on the physiological and enzymatic actions of specific

nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, and amino acids present in the body.

Vitamin C - Fascinated with the multifaceted role of vitamin C (ascorbic acid)

in maintaining health, he began combing the scientific and medical literature

for experimental and clinical evidence as to its importance. From published

studies, from physiological and evolutionary reasoning, and from his and his

wife's own experiences, he became convinced of the value of vitamin C in large

doses as a prophylactic or palliative for the common cold. In 1970 he wrote the

book Vitamin C and the Common Cold, which became a bestseller and brought wide

public attention while creating a huge and continuously increasing demand for

this micronutrient.

Later he became convinced of ascorbate's value in combating the flu, cancer,

cardiovascular disease, infections, and degenerative problems in the aging

process. He added other micronutrients, such as vitamin E and the B vitamins, to

his list of helpful supplements and published two other popular books and a

number of papers, both scientific and popular, on nutritional therapy. As

happened during his earlier efforts in awakening the public to the dangers of

nuclear weapons, ing's pronouncements on the subject of nutritional medicine

were often assailed by physicians and physicians' organizations that ignored his

long and insightful involvement with the biochemistry of human health and much

of the published studies. They often dismissed his ideas as quackery. " "

Also Dr. Abram Hoffer was a world-reknown Orthomolecular Physician:

http://www.orthomolecular.org/history/hoffer/index.shtml

Dr. Cathcart, Orthomolecular Physician, also has lots of information

about ascorbic acid on his website:

http://www.orthomed.com/

Here's his page about taking ascorbic acid orally:

http://www.orthomed.com/titrate.htm

Here's more references:

http://www.vitamincfoundation.org/vitcrda.shtml

Supplements: http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/vitamins/vitaminC/

" " Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) is available in many forms, but there is little

scientific evidence that any one form is better absorbed or more effective than

another. Most experimental and clinical research uses ascorbic acid or sodium

ascorbate.

Natural vs. synthetic vitamin C Natural and synthetic L-ascorbic acid are

chemically identical and there are no known differences in their biological

activities or bioavailabilities (101).

Mineral ascorbates - Mineral salts of ascorbic acid are buffered and, therefore,

less acidic than ascorbic acid. Some people find them less irritating to the

gastrointestinal tract than ascorbic acid. Sodium ascorbate and calcium

ascorbate are the most common forms, although a number of other mineral

ascorbates are available. Sodium ascorbate generally provides 131 mg of sodium

per 1,000 mg of ascorbic acid, and pure calcium ascorbate provides 114 mg of

calcium per 1,000 mg of ascorbic acid.

Bee's Note: Be cautious about taking mineral ascorbates. If it contains

calcium your calcium intake could be too high, and if it contains sodium it will

makes your body lose water along with minerals.

Vitamin C with bioflavonoids - Bioflavonoids are a class of water-soluble plant

pigments that are often found in vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables,

especially citrus fruits. There is little evidence that the bioflavonoids in

most commercial preparations increase the bioavailability or efficacy of vitamin

C (102). Studies in cell culture indicate that a number of flavonoids inhibit

the transport of vitamin C into cells (103-105), and supplementation of rats

with quercetin and vitamin C decreased the intestinal absorption of vitamin C

(103). More research is needed to determine the significance of these findings

in humans. " "

Also ascorbic acid increases oxygen in the body, since it helps the body produce

hydrogen peroxide, and we know that the prime cause of cancer, a fungus (and

also candida) is the replacement of the respiration of oxygen (oxidation of

sugar) in normal body cells by fermentation of sugar:

http://www.healingnaturallybybee.com/articles/cancer4.php

The best in health, Bee