February Newsletter – Coronavirus Health Crisis

Coronavirus – A Serious Global Health Threat or Treatable Condition?

News about the Coronavirus outbreak which started in Wuhan, China, is changing rapidly and the media frenzy has created a colossal public panic causing massive economic consequences and alarmingly rising fear among Americans who are desperate to find a preventative measure for this fast spreading global health crisis.

The outbreak of the Coronavirus in China has prompted global health and economic alarm, with neighboring states closing their borders, global airlines suspending flights, cruise ships’ quarantine and some governments barring entry to foreign nationals who have recently been to the Asian country.  While the impact on US citizens has been limited, many Americans are in a state of fear and panic similar to the one experienced during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Coronavirus, a respiratory infection, recently named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO), is closely related to SARS and MERS.  Although most of cases reported are in mainland China, the disease has been diagnosed in more than two dozen other countries, including the United States.   To date, has sickened at least 73,000 people and killed at least 2,000, setting in motion a global health emergency.  However, only 13 people have fallen ill with it in the United States and there have been no reported deaths.  In fact, so far, less than 0.0008 percent of the humans on Earth have been diagnosed with the coronavirus.

Furthermore, and to put in in proportion, seasonal influenza outbreaks kill less than 0.1 percent of people who fall ill, but as many as one billion people are estimated to catch the flu virus annually. That means between 290,000 and 650,000 people could die from the common cold every year.

The WHO says it is people living or travelling in the area where the Coronavirus is circulating who are at risk of infection. At present, the virus is circulating in China, and non-Chinese nationals who have been infected are among people who have recently travelled there or who have been living or working closely with such travelers. These facts suggest the risk to most people outside China is rather low, and citing preliminary information, the WHO also says the virus only seems to survive on surfaces for a few hours. “Simple disinfectants can kill the virus making it no longer possible to infect people,” according to the agency.

However, while the mainstream media channels continue to add fuel to the fire to sensationalize this problem, they fail to inform the public of simple and well-established preventative measures which may offer a simple and affordable solution to this current virus.

The vast benefits of high dose Vitamin C therapy to thwart and treat most highly infectious conditions, both viral and bacterial, from cold, flu, measles, Polio to Sepsis and many others have long been established in the integrative health care community.   There has been a complete lack of media coverage of this effective therapy against viruses in general, and the current Coronavirus in particular.  Moreover, physicians have demonstrated the powerful antiviral action of Vitamin C for several decades.  In fact, over fifty different diseases have been successfully treated and published in various medical journals since the early 1940s by both Dr. Frederick Klenner and later by Dr. Robert Cathcart who had treated over 30,000 patients with high dose Sodium Ascorbate Vitamin C treatment protocols.

During the great polio epidemic of 1949-50 Dr. Frederick R. Klenner, a family physician in North Carolina, treated 60 polio patients with high doses of intravenous Sodium Ascorbate Vitamin C.  None of Dr. Klenner’s patients had developed paralysis or experienced any significant side effects as a result of the Vitamin C treatment.  This discovery should have made headlines around the world but Dr. Klenner’s news fell on deaf ears.

Moreover, Dr. Klenner later proved that high doses of Sodium Ascorbate Vitamin C could also be effective as treatments for meningitis, pneumonia, measles, hepatitis and other viral and bacterial diseases. Even the bite of a rattlesnake. Again, only scorn from the medical profession.

Later Dr. Robert Cathcart, best known for his accomplishments in orthomolecular medicine, had successfully treated over 30,000 patients with his high doses of Sodium Ascorbate Vitamin C protocol during his thirty-year career without any adverse effects ever experienced by a single patient.  Dr. Cathcart believed that high doses of vitamin C, acting as a “free radical scavenger,” could decrease most of the morbidity and all of the mortality resulting from viral diseases ranging from the simple cold to complex hepatitis.

Recently several members of the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service (OMNS) were asked, “How would they treat the Coronavirus?”

Dr. Andrew W. Saul, an international expert on vitamin therapy, stated, “The Coronavirus can be dramatically slowed or stopped completely with the immediate widespread use of high doses of Vitamin C.   Dr. Robert F. Cathcart, who had extensive experience treating viral diseases remarked, ’I have not seen any flu yet that was not cured or markedly ameliorated by massive doses of vitamin.’  It is very important to maximize the body’s anti-oxidative capacity and natural immunity to prevent and minimize symptoms when a virus attacks the human body. The host environment is crucial. Preventing is obviously easier than treating severe illness. But treat serious illness seriously. Do not hesitate to seek medical attention. It is not an either-or choice. Vitamin C can be used right along with medicines when they are indicated.”

“I have not seen any flu yet that was not cured or markedly ameliorated by massive doses of vitamin C.”

(Robert F. Cathcart, MD)

Professor Victor Marcial-Vega of the Caribe School of Medicine responds, “Given the relatively high rate of success of intravenous vitamin C in viral diseases and my observation of clinical improvement within 2 to 3 hours of treatment, I strongly believe it would be my first recommendation in the management of the Coronavirus.  I have also used intravenous vitamin C to treat patients with influenza, dengue fever, and chikungunya, for 24 years.”

Dr. Jeffery Allyn Ruterbusch, Associate Professor at Central Michigan University, says, “I believe all of us agree on the greatly increased benefits of vitamin C when people are placed under any stressful condition.”

Dr. Damien Downing, former editor of the Journal of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine, writes: “Swine flu, bird flu, and SARS, all developed in selenium-deficient China. When patients were given selenium, viral mutation rates dropped, and immunity improved.”

Several other authorities agreed that high doses of vitamin C, along with 3,000 IU of vitamin D, and 20 milligrams of zinc, was a good combination to help fight viral diseases. And Drs. Carolyn Dean and Thomas Levy, both world authorities on magnesium, stressed that the mineral is involved in 1,000 metabolic reactions and that maintaining adequate levels improves immunity. Another over-riding opinion was that few people know that high doses of C increase immunity and destroy viral diseases.

What does this mean to North Americans?

Patients with a diagnosis of Coronavirus should be given high dose of oral and intravenous vitamin C which can save lives.   Furthermore, high dose vitamin C  can be provided as an adjunct therapy to any other conventional treatment.    The problem is that most allopathic physicians are not trained in integrative and alternative medicine, wellness or nutrition, but rather focus on illness, disease management, and treatment of symptoms.  Sadly, despite the tens of thousands of case studies, traditional medicine still refuses to accept and acknowledge the fact that high dose Vitamin C has any clinical efficacy.

It is important to remember that preventing and treating respiratory infections with large amounts of vitamin C is well established. Those who believe that vitamin C generally has merit, but massive doses are ineffective or somehow harmful, will do well to read the original papers for themselves.

In fact, we should all pause and ponder as to why has the truth behind Vitamin C and the decades of massive amounts of documented evidence of its clinical benefits, have not been presented to the general public by responsible governmental authorities, especially in the face of a viral pandemic?

What is Vitamin C?

• Water soluble and pH neutral nutrient, well known for its vital role in the immune system necessary for the development and repair of all body tissues. *
• Highly Effective Antioxidant that can help protect and maintain healthy tissues by neutralizing free radicals generated during normal metabolism and exposure to environmental stressors. *
• Helps iron get absorbed in the body. *
• Supports a healthy Immune System. Vitamin C can assist with muscle repair for those with active lifestyles. *
• Necessary for the Production of Collagen (a structural protein in connective tissue) and is therefore essential for cardiovascular health,  growth and tissue repair, can help speed the healing process of wounds, support vision health, periodontal health, skin, bone, joint health and cartilage formation.
• Helpful in supporting Heart Health by relaxing the blood vessels. Vitamin C may help reduce total serum cholesterol. *
• Needed for Amino Acid Metabolism, neurotransmitter synthesis, and the utilization of many nutrients, such as folic acid and iron. *
• Offers powerful protection against Cold and Flu. Research supports the use of vitamin C during a common cold to reduce the duration of symptoms. Typically, the higher the dose you take the better the results during a cold. *
• Helps to Reduce Stress as it allows the body to quickly clear out cortisol, a primary stress hormone that increases sugars in the bloodstream, it increases serotonin levels, acting as a natural anti-depressant. *
• Plays an important role in learning and memory, and it helps to protect the brain from age-related degeneration including Alzheimer’s disease, Dementia and Stroke. *
• Helps improve Insomnia and Sleep Problems.  A study from the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine found that vitamin C can reduce the damage of sleep apnea. Scientists have found that apnea can have damaging effects on the cells, but vitamin C can counteract that damage. Low intake of Vitamin C has been connected to shorter sleep amounts. *
• Whole Food sources of Vitamin C include kiwis, peppers, papaya, citrus fruit, mango, brussels sprouts, kale, spinach, green and red chilis, strawberries, broccoli, tomatoes, cauliflower, and cabbage.

Absorption Rate & Depletion of Vitamin C:

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, which means it dissolves in water.  In contrast to fat-soluble vitamins, water-soluble vitamins do not get stored within the body.  Instead, ingested Vitamin C gets transported to the tissues via body fluids, and any extra gets excreted in urine.   Vitamin C is used up even more rapidly during emotional stress, alcohol, or smoking. Vitamin C blood levels of smokers are much lower than those of nonsmokers given the same intakes. Other situations reduce absorption or increase depletion of vitamin C include fever, viral illness, antibiotics, cortisone, aspirin, pain medicines, environmental toxins such as DDT, petroleum products, carbon monoxide, exposure to heavy metals such as lead, mercury or cadmium. Sulfa antibiotics increase elimination of vitamin C from the body by two to three times the normal rate. Many factors increase the demand for Vitamin C and unless these are appreciated, calculated and dosed, they may result in depleted levels and lead to what is now called modern day scurvy.

Vitamin C is metabolized by the body in roughly a two-hour period, then undergoes transition from the blood stream to either kidney excretion or glandular mediation to tissue sites where it is required within 3-4 hours’ time.  For this reason, it is suggested that vitamin C supplements be taken in four-hour intervals rather than once a day.

The demands depleting Vitamin C are:

• The age of the individual
• Habits — such as smoking, the use of alcohol, playing habits
• Sleep, especially when induced artificially
• Trauma — trauma caused by a pathogen, the trauma of work, the trauma of surgery, the trauma to the body produced accidentally or intentionally
• Kidney threshold
• Environment
• Physiological stress
• Time of year
• Loss in the stool
• Variations in individual absorption
• Variations in “binders” in commercial tablets
• Body chemistry
• Drugs
• Pesticides
• Body weight
• Inadequate storage

Why PUR-C Na+?

• 100% Pure Pharmaceutical Grade USP-FCC Certified
• Pre-Buffered (pH 7.4) Bacteriostatic Crystalline Powder
• Non-GMO Source, Vegan, & Gluten Free Vitamin-C
• Increased Bioavailability
• Rapid Delivery
• Full cGMP Certification
• 50g Sodium Ascorbate Crystalline Powder
• No-Waste Clear PET Bottle
• Up to 24 – Months Shelf Life
• Stores at Room Temperature
• 100% Made in the USA

References

1. Vitamin C:

Case HS (2018) Vitamin C questions answered. Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, https://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v14n12.shtml.
The Third Face of Vitamin C Robert F. Cathcart, M.D. Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, 7:4;197-200, 1993. http://www.doctoryourself.com/cathcart_thirdface.html
Gonzalez MJ, Berdiel MJ, Duconge J (2018) High dose vitamin C and influenza: A case report. J Orthomol Med. June, 2018, 33(3). https://isom.ca/article/high-dose-vitamin-c-influenza-case-report.
Gorton HC, Jarvis K (1999) The effectiveness of vitamin C in preventing and relieving the symptoms of virus-induced respiratory infections. J Manip Physiol Ther, 22:8, 530-533. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10543583
Hemilä H (2017) Vitamin C and infections. Nutrients. 9(4). pii:E339. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28353648.
Hickey S, Saul AW (2015) Vitamin C: The real story. Basic Health Pub. ISBN-13: 978-1591202233.
Levy TE (2014) The clinical impact of vitamin C. Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, https://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v10n14.shtml
OMNS (2007) Vitamin C: a highly effective treatment for colds. https://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v03n05.shtml.
OMNS (2009) Vitamin C as an antiviral https://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v05n09.shtml.
Taylor T (2017) Vitamin C material: where to start, what to watch. OMNS, https://www.orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v13n20.shtml.
Yejin Kim, Hyemin Kim, Seyeon Bae et al. (2013) Vitamin C is an essential factor on the anti-viral immune responses through the production of interferon-α/β at the initial stage of influenza A virus (H3N2) infection. Immune Netw. 13:70-74. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23700397.

2. Vitamin D:

Cannell JJ, Vieth R, Umhau JC et al. (2006) Epidemic influenza and vitamin D. Epidemiol Infect. 134:1129-1140. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16959053.
Cannell JJ, Zasloff M, Garland CF et al. (2008) On the epidemiology of influenza. Virol J. 5:29. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16959053.
Ginde AA, Mansbach JM, Camargo CA Jr. (2009) Association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and upper respiratory tract infection in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Arch Intern Med. 169:384-390. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19237723.
Martineau AR, Jolliffe DA, Hooper RL et al. (2017) Vitamin D supplementation to prevent acute respiratory tract infections: systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data. BMJ. 356:i6583. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28202713.
Urashima M, Segawa T, Okazaki M et al. (2010) Randomized trial of vitamin D supplementation to prevent seasonal influenza A in schoolchildren. Am J Clin Nutr. 91:1255-60. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20219962.
von Essen MR, Kongsbak M, Schjerling P et al. (2010) Vitamin D controls T cell antigen receptor signaling and activation of human T cells. Nat Immunol. 11:344-349. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20208539.

3. Magnesium:

Dean C (2017) Magnesium. OMNS, https://www.orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v13n22.shtml
Dean C. (2017) The Magnesium Miracle. 2nd Ed., Ballantine Books. ISBN-13: 978-0399594441.
Levy TE (2019) Magnesium: Reversing Disease. Medfox Pub. ISBN-13: 978-0998312408

4. Zinc:

Fraker PJ, King LE, Laakko T, Vollmer TL. (2000) The dynamic link between the integrity of the immune system and zinc status. J Nutr. 130:1399S-406S. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10801951.
Liu MJ, Bao S, Gálvez-Peralta M, et al. (2013) ZIP8 regulates host defense through zinc-mediated inhibition of NF-кB. Cell Rep. 3:386-400. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23403290.
Mocchegiani E, Muzzioli M. (2000) Therapeutic application of zinc in human immunodeficiency virus against opportunistic infections. J Nutr. 130:1424S-1431S. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10801955.
Shankar AH, Prasad AS. (1998) Zinc and immune function: the biological basis of altered resistance to infection. Am J Clin Nutr. 68:447S-463S. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9701160.

5. Selenium:

Beck MA, Levander OA, Handy J. (2003) Selenium deficiency and viral infection. J Nutr. 133:1463S-1467S. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12730444.
Hoffmann PR, Berry MJ. (2008) The influence of selenium on immune responses. Mol Nutr Food Res. 52:1273-1280. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18384097.
Steinbrenner H, Al-Quraishy S, Dkhil MA et al. (2015) Dietary selenium in adjuvant therapy of viral and bacterial infections. Adv Nutr. 6:73-82. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25593145.
6. Klenner FR. The treatment of poliomyelitis and other virus diseases with vitamin C. J South Med Surg 1949, 111:210-214. https://www.doctoryourself.com/klennerpaper.html.
7. Cathcart RF. The method of determining proper doses of vitamin C for treatment of diseases by titrating to bowel tolerance. Australian Nurses J 1980, 9(4):9-13. https://www.doctoryourself.com/titration.html

Disclaimer

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT INTENDED NOR IMPLIED TO BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF YOUR PHYSICIAN OR OTHER QUALIFIED HEALTH PROFESSIONAL PRIOR TO STARTING ANY NEW TREATMENT OR WITH ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE REGARDING A MEDICAL CONDITION. NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE SERVICE IS INTENDED TO BE FOR MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS OR TREATMENT.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product/s is/are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.