Vitamin C: Why It’s the Most Important Vitamin to Take This Year

February 11, 2020
Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS

Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS

Award-winning nutritionist and New York Times bestselling author.

Vitamin C is the ally you need on your side for everything from cholesterol to coronavirus

There’s so much more to vitamin C than fending off the common cold. Ever since I read the amazing discoveries from research pioneers like Dr. Fred Klenner, Dr. Robert Cathcart, Linus Pauling, and Dr. Matthias Rath, I’ve been a true believer in the many versatile – and life saving – healing properties of vitamin C. I am firmly convinced that what we’ve learned about vitamin C in the past 75 years of research is just as relevant today as when it was first found to be a cure for the “incurable” diseases of that time.

The Cure for the Incurables?

Fred Klenner, MD, was a doctor in the 1940s in Reedsville, North Carolina who almost exclusively used vitamin C to cure all of his patients. He was a meticulous researcher who prolifically wrote and published his discoveries. In the 1949 AMA Conference, he presented his findings of high dose IV vitamin C curing 100 percent of his polio patients.

He found that pesticides like lead arsenate and DDT were causing damage to the gut that allowed common enteroviruses to travel into the nervous system and cause the inflammation, nerve damage, and paralysis that were the hallmarks of polio. He also found tonsillectomies, which were the most common surgery done in his time, were another route for enteroviruses to find their way into the nervous system. Regardless of which route caused the polio, IV vitamin C cured it.

It wasn’t just polio that he found high dose vitamin C cured – chicken pox, measles, mumps, and tetanus also responded. He found that vitamin C stopped viral replication and contributed to the breakdown of viruses, stopping the spread of the infection. His research went far beyond viruses, however.

Dr. Klenner’s thorough research showed all of the following conditions responded to his high dose vitamin C therapy:

  • Alcoholism
  • Arthritis
  • Atherosclerosis
  • Bladder infections
  • Burns and secondary infections
  • Cancers, several types
  • Chronic Fatigue
  • Corneal Ulcers
  • Diabetes
  • Encephalitis
  • Glaucoma
  • Heat stroke
  • Heavy metal poisoning (including mercury and lead)
  • Hepatitis
  • Herpes simplex viruses
  • Herpes zoster virus (Shingles)
  • High Cholesterol
  • Leukemia
  • Mononucleosis
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Pancreatitis
  • Pneumonia
  • Radiation burns (including sunburn)
  • Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
  • Ruptured intervertebral discs
  • Schizophrenia
  • Surgical complications
  • Venomous bites
  • Viruses

Dr. Klenner found the success of vitamin C therapy to be dependent on high doses. He believed the therapeutic level was ideally 350 milligrams of ascorbic acid per kilogram of body weight, which is roughly 160 milligrams per pound. Since then, Dr. Cathcart, Linus Pauling, and Dr. Rath have used even higher doses in their research and found great success as well – even with cases of terminal cancer who had no other hope of recovery.

However, when it comes to vitamin C, it seems that every little bit helps. A study of elderly patients who were hospitalized with severe respiratory infections found an 80 percent lower death rate when they were supplemented with only 200 milligrams of vitamin C daily than those who had none.

Vitamin C – You Can’t Live Without It

Everyone needs vitamin C in their diet. Even though many species of animals can produce their own, the human body does not. And we need it for the growth and repair of all of the tissues in our bodies, as well as many of our body functions. We simply can’t live without it!

From a strong immune system to beautiful skin, vitamin C is working behind the scenes at every level to keep you healthy. According to research from the National Institutes of Health, here is just a small list of reasons why you can’t live without it:

  • For collagen production, which is essential for healthy skin and nails, wound healing, and even stopping the spread of cancer.
  • To make neurotransmitters, which are responsible for your moods and the health of your nervous system and digestion.
  • For protein metabolism.
  • As a powerful antioxidant, that also regenerates other antioxidants in the body.
  • By halting the damage from free radicals, vitamin C may prevent or delay the development of certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, and any other disease caused by oxidative stress – which are many.
  • To improve the absorption of plant-based iron from the diet.
  • To chelate excess copper and other metals from the blood and facilitate their excretion.
  • Vitamin C plays an essential role in the functioning of your immune system. It can mean the difference between a strong constitution and catching every bug that comes along.
  • It strengthens arterial walls (as well as other blood vessels) and improves elasticity, decreasing the risk of stroke and aneurysm.
  • Reduces oxidized LDL cholesterol levels and associated cardiovascular disease risk.
  • Enhances the absorption of thyroid medication.
  • Relieves vertigo.
  • Reduces risk of cataract formation, and slows progression of age-related macular degeneration.
  • Relieves constipation.
  • Acts as an antihistamine (best when not sourced from corn).
  • Acts as a potent anti-inflammatory.
  • Prolongs survival of some terminal cancer patients.
  • Reduces severity and duration of colds, flus, and other viruses, including Ebola and coronaviruses.
  • Has been shown to be effective against some bacterial infections, including H. pylori and sepsis.

The Vitamin You Need Right Now

2020 has brought this new decade in with a bang. We’re facing a new coronavirus that shares similarities to the SARS outbreak, air pollution is on the rise, glyphosate is a known carcinogen running rampant in our food supply and personal care products, and heart disease and cancer are still responsible for almost half the deaths each year in the US. We need vitamin C now more than ever!

If vitamin C does everything Dr. Klenner found in his research, there’s no reason it couldn’t also help shore up your immunity to help fight off viruses that are looming large right now. Dr. Klenner found it to help with the damage from DDT and other pesticides in the gut, so I believe it may also have a role in helping to protect us from glyphosate damage. Its powerful antioxidant effects can help reduce free radicals generated from air pollution. And decades of research shows that vitamin C can help reduce risk of mortality from heart disease and cancer.

Since we can’t make our own vitamin C, and it’s hard to get enough from fruits and vegetables, it needs to be supplemented in highly absorbable forms. Because vitamin C is water soluble, it flushes out of your system within a few hours and needs to be taken more frequently. It can also be taken in its lipid-soluble form or as a high dose IV therapy, but for most people, the oral, timed release formula is the easiest and most cost effective choice. To support your body’s natural immunity, I recommend at least 3000 milligrams of a formula like Time-C for everyday use, and up to 10,000 milligrams during times of acute illness.

 

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Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS, is an award-winning New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty books including The Fat Flush Plan series and her latest book, Radical Metabolism. She’s been rewriting the rules of nutrition for more than 40 years and is internationally recognized as a pioneer in the field of diet, detox and women’s health issues. 

For a FREE daily dose of tips and strategies for maintaining healthy weight, conquering insomnia, and much more…check out my Radical Health Tips.

I’d like to meet and greet you on my Facebook groups, so won’t you check us out at the Radical Metabolism RevolutionFat Flush Nation, or my Inner Circle!

11 Comments

  1. Peeyush

    Absolutely right. Vitamin C is really mendatory for all livings. Very nice blog.

    Reply
    • Team ALG

      Thank you Peeyush.

      Reply
  2. Mary Louise

    I’m back!
    In the past you recommended cleaning veggies/fruits in Clorox water.
    Do you still recommend this?
    Thank You

    Reply
    • Team ALG

      Mary Louise, Yes that cleanse is still recommended.

      Reply
  3. Kathy Fisher

    What beans should be used in the soup?

    Reply
    • Team ALG

      We like kidney beans for soup!

      Reply
      • Shirley McCormick

        What about dry beans like northern and navy beans to avoid the sodium in canned beans ?

        Reply
        • Team ALG

          Soaked dry beans are a better alternative because, as you say, you avoid the sodium in canned beans.

          Reply
  4. Sarah

    What daily dose of vitamin C do you recommend for children, 75-100 lbs?

    Reply
    • Team ALG

      Children in that weight range can take 300mg – 400mg per day

      Reply
  5. Sandeep

    Vitamin C is helpful in the growth of body tissues. Thanks for the detailed post.

    Reply

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