Supplement to The Art of Getting Well
You are probably familiar with Linus Pauling's views in favor of the heavy use of Vitamin
C1, one of the great anti-oxidants. Much original work with large dosages of Vitamin C was
done by Fred R. Klenner, M.D. of North Carolina. Dr. Klenner found that viral diseases
could be cured by intravenous sodium ascorbate in amounts up to 200 grams per 24 hours.
Irwin Stone2 pointed out the significance of Vitamin C in the treatment of many diseases,
and also that humans were unable to synthesize ascorbate, resulting in the medical
condition called hypoascorbemia - diseases attributed to or caused by the insufficiency of
Vitamin C. Linus Pauling, Ph.D., reviewed the literature on Vitamin C and led the crusade
to make it known to the public and the medical profession. Ewing Cameron in association
with Linus Pauling showed the usefulness of ascorbate when treating cancer1. It is of
great significance that humans, primates, guinea pigs and a very small number of bird
species are unable to synthesize Vitamin C. An easy conclusion to reach is that all of
these mammals passed through an evolutionary period where each lost the ability to
synthesize Vitamin C. Irwin Stone described the genetic defect -- whereby higher primates
lost the ability to synthesize ascorbate -- as caused by a mutated defective gene for the
liver enzyme L-gulonolactone oxidase. All higher mammals except primates, guinea pigs and
the few bird species mentioned developed a biochemical feedback mechanism which causes an
increase in ascorbate synthesis under the influence of external or internal stresses.
Robert F. Cathcart, M.D.4, of, California, in his paper "Vitamin C, Titrating to
Bowel Tolerance, Anascorbemia, and Acute Induced Scurvy", presents his brilliantly
developed clinical findings demonstrating rather clearly how the body tolerates increasing
amounts of Vitamin C when it is under the stress of various diseases. He shows from his
clinical findings on 9,000 patients that the body's ability to absorb Vitamin C is
directly proportional to the severity of stress and/or disease. Diseases improve or are
cured by his "bowel tolerance" measuring technique for determining the exact
amount of Vitamin C required by the body at the moment, and he will label a "100 gram
cold", for example, when the cold requires 100 grams to be rid of its symptoms, a
"50 gram cold" when it takes but 50 grams, and so on. Mammals that do not have
the ability to synthesize Vitamin C are at a distinct disadvantage, and obviously can be
affected by external organisms and stress more easily than those that can synthesize their
Vitamin C. Those that do so, synthesize Vitamin C with a precision that would shame most
scientific laboratories. They manufacture and meter out throughout their bodily systems
exact quantities of Vitamin C dependent upon their present degree of stress and their
degree of need for a given set of infections. The more infection and/or stress, the more
Vitamin C is manufactured. The less infection and/or stress, the less Vitamin C is
manufactured. Haven't you ever wondered how it is that certain pets, like dogs and cats,
can eat bacteria-ridden garbage and, providing they are not poisoned, they have no
difficulty in staying healthy? Whether establishment physicians accept the fact or not,
tens of thousands -- no hundreds of thousands -- have already verified good results
through usage of Vitamin C. Many of our referral physicians know and use these techniques
to fight infection, reduce stress and to assist the immunological system. When using EDTA
Chelation Therapy, Vitamin C along with other vitamins and minerals are added. Vitamin C
can be used intravenously by itself in sufficiently large dosages to reverse a number of
otherwise intransigent disorders that have a causation based on free-radical pathology.
Cathcart says: "Well nourished humans contain not much more than 5 grams of Vitamin C
in their bodies. The majority of people have much less, and therefore are at risk for many
problems related to failure of metabolic processes that depend on ascorbate. Stone calls
this condition 'chronic subclincial scurvy'. "Some of the increased need for
ascorbate," Cathcart relates, "occurs in areas of the body not primarily
involved in the disease and can be accounted for by such functions as the adrenals
producing more adrenaline and corticoids; the immune system producing more antibodies,
interferon, and other substances to fight infection; the macrophages utilizing more
ascorbate with their increased activity; and production and protection of a substance
called c-AMP and c-GMP with subsequent increased activity of other endocrine glands, and
so on." Cathcart continues with "... there must be a tremendous draw on
ascorbate locally by increased metabolic rates in the primarily infected tissues. The
infecting organisms themselves liberate toxins which are neutralized by ascorbate, but in
the process destroy ascorbate. The levels of ascorbate in the nose, throat, eustachian
tubes and bronchial tubes locally infected by a 100 gram cold must be very low, indeed.
With this acute induced scurvy localized in these areas, it is a small wonder that healing
can be delayed and complications such as chronic sinusitis, otitis media and bronchitis,
etc. develop." For a cold in the nose, there is a lack of vitamin C in that portion
of the anatomy. Linus Pauling recommends 3.1 grams of sodium ascorbate in 100 ml of water.
Use 20 drops into each nostril with an eye dropper.This gives local concentration of 1000
times more than oral dosages would provide1. Cathcart adds that from his personal
experience and from that of patients, it is apparent that the adrenals are capable of
utilizing large amounts of ascorbate with benefit if made available. According to
Cathcart, the following medical problems should be expected with increased incidence as
ascorbate is depleted: "disorders of the immune system such as secondary infections,
Rheumatoid Arthritis and other collagen disease, allergic reactions to drugs, foods and
other substances, chronic infections such as herpes, or sequelae of acute infections such
as Guillain-Barre' and Reye's syndromes, rheumatic fever, or scarlet fever; disorders of
the blood coagulation mechanisms such as hemorrhage, heart attacks, strokes, hemorrhoids,
and other vascular thrombosis; failure to cope properly with stresses due to suppression
of the adrenal functions such as phlebitis, other inflammatory disorders, asthma and other
allergies; problems of disordered collagen formation such as impaired ability to heal,
excessive scarring, bed sores, varicose veins, hernias, stretch marks, wrinkles, perhaps
even wear of cartilage or degeneration of spinal discs; impaired function of the nervous
system such as malaise, decreased pain tolerance, tendency to muscle spasms, even
psychiatric disorders and senility; and cancer from the suppressed immune system and
carcinogens not detoxified; etc." Cathcart does not say that ascorbate depletion was
the only cause for the diseases above, but that a lack of the Vitamin can predispose to
these diseases and that each one of the systems involved in the above diseases are known
to be dependent upon ascorbate to function properly. Further, that patient improvement has
been noted when Vitamin C has been provided in proper amounts by himself and others,
including A. Kalokerinos and F.R. Klenner3 . All readers should rush out to the local
health food store and purchase Vitamin C tablets. Right? Wrong! The problem with tablets
is this: Tablets contain ascorbic acid or Sodium or Calcium ascorbate crystals held
together by binders. If you were to take a sufficient amount of ascorbic acid in this form
to alleviate most conditions, you would discover yourself with diarrhea from some of the
binders alone, and this would happen long before you determined the correct dosage of
Vitamin C for your present condition. Vitamin C is also often quite expensive when
purchased in tablet form in large quantities from retail health products outlets. You need
to find a source of ascorbate that is reasonably low cost, without binders, and purchase
it in large quantity, so that you feel free to add the Vitamin C to your diet as a
supplement each day. How much you should take is to be determined by your physical
condition, amount of stress, whether or not seriously ill, and so on. The means of
determining the proper amount will be described via Cathcart's "Bowel Titration"
technique. Another fact you should know is that ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate and
calcium ascorbate are physiologically equivalent with ascorbic acid being, weight for
weight, slightly more concentrated. One good source for all three of the above is from
Bronson Pharmaceuticals, 4526 Rinetti Lane, La Canada, CA 91011-0628. You can order
soluble, fine crystals of Vitamin C in 1 kilo quantities for ascorbic acid and sodium
ascorbate, and in 1 pound quantity for calcium ascorbate. You will find it to your
advantage to have all three, as the ascorbic acid can be added to fruit drinks and other
fluids where the sodium and calcium ascorbate would not taste quite right, and vice versa.
The two ascorbates are virtually tasteless (with a very light salty flavor, if anything),
and the ascorbic acid is tart, as an acid should be. All three can be mixed in water. To
avoid overbalancing mineral ratios, by taking too much sodium as compared to calcium, one
can mix the two ascorbates, sodium and calcium -- and one can also supplement with
magnesium and whatever minerals that your physician recommends, the magnesium in dosages
of equal weight to the calcium intake. Cathcart's "Bowel Tolerance" technique is
simple to apply. A normal person can probably get by very well on between 4 and 15 grams
per 24 hour period. This includes, of course, the amounts you consume via green peppers,
lettuce, fruits and so on. When one comes down with a sickness, or has been under unusual
stress, one increases the amount of Vitamin C consumed each 24 hours to the point where
diarrhea just begins -- then one backs off to the dosage used the day prior to the
diarrhea. That "just lower than required to produce diarrhea," is the exact
amount your body needs for the time being. It may be necessary to increase your dosages by
amounts of 5, 10, 15, ... grams per 24 hour period until you find the correct dosage.
These are monitoring matters best left up to you and your personal experiences. I usually
take 2 grams in the morning and evening or between 3 and 5 grams per day, as a regular
maintenance routine. It is easy and convenient -- using a 1/4 measuring teaspoon laying
beside one of the Vitamin C containers -- to quickly slip 1 gram into my water or cold
drink, whether it is fruit or soda pop. (One quarter teaspoon approximates 1 gram of
powdered or crystalline Vitamin C.) You can add the same quantity, or more, to a glass of
orange juice, or any other fruit juices, but I would recommend using ascorbic acid, as it
is the natural taste of fruits. You should know that the amount of Vitamin C that you
consume in a commercially prepared fruit drink is insignificant and not really enough to
talk about, and certainly not sufficient to produce a disease cure! As presented at the
Second Annual Rheumatoid Disease Foundation Medical Seminar, Cathcart's findings were
shown, as follows:USUAL BOWEL TOLERANCE DOSES
Grams Per Number of Doses Condition
24 Hours Per 24 Hours
Normal
4-15
4
Mild Cold
30-60
6-10
Severe Cold
60-100
8-15
Influenza
100-150
8-20
ECHO, Coxsackievirus
100-150
8-20
Mononucleosis
150-200+
15-25
Viral Pneumonia
100-200+
15-25
Hay Fever, Asthma and Food Allergy
0.5-50
4-8
Burn, Injury, Surgery
25-150
6-20
Anxiety, Exercise and Other Mild Stresses
15-25
4-6
Cancer
15-100
4-15
Ankylosing Spondylitis
15-100
4-15
Reiter's Syndrome
15-60
4-10
Acute Anterior Uveitis
30-100
4-15
Rheumatoid Arthritis
15-100
4-15
Bacterial Infections
30-200+
10-25
Infectious Hepatitis
30-100
6-15
Candida Infections
15-200+
6-25
According to Cathcart, disease symptoms will persist until
the amount of Vitamin C reaches about 80-90% of bowel tolerance dosages. Perhaps it is
only near this tolerance that the ascorbate is pushed into the primary sites of the
disease. Further, suppression of symptoms in some instances may not be total, but usually
it is very significant and often the amelioration is complete and rapid. If you try this
procedure and find that your bowels emit a great deal of gas to the point of discomfort as
you increase daily dosages, then you are one who has "gas-forming" microflora
throughout your intestines, such as, but not only as, Candidas albicans. The gas is
usually non-odorous carbon dioxide, and usually, a by-product of yeast organisms, and
others. This indicates a problem that should be handled if you are to have good absorption
of digested foods, and if you are to successfully use the Cathcart technique. According to
Cathcart, the Bowel Tolerance test should be made only with ascorbic acid, but once the
tolerance dosage is learned, for that particular problem, then you can use the other
ascorbates. For general maintenance dosages, either ascorbic acid or the sodium or calcium
ascorbates are O.K. As I've mentioned earlier, every person responds to substances
differently. Vitamin C is no exception. According to Cathcart, at least 80% of his
patients tolerated ascorbic acid well. Perhaps among those who did not are those who also
had the gas generation problem from organisms that did not belong to the human symbiote
family. Evidently Vitamin C when taken properly can provide an important supplement to
restoring the body's natural health just as EDTA Chelation Therapy restores the ability of
the cell to nourish itself. While degenerative arthritis will sometimes be improved, it is
the various inflammatory Rheumatoid Diseases where most improvement shows. There are
probably several reasons why. There is, first, the general free-radical scavenging effect
of Vitamin C that can temporarily, at least, clean-out damaging inflammatory products and
toxins. Then there is the fact that Vitamin C when placed in all organs and tissues in
appropriate amounts for a given person will permit the bodily functions to behave
properly. Third, there is the fact of eliminating altogether, or at least reducing attacks
on, tissues by foreign invaders, thus helping ourselves in the restoration of health or to
maintain health. There is also a related factor, where Vitamin C can block allergic
reactions with augmented adrenal functions, and allergic reactions may be prevalent in a
large number of Rheumatoid Arthritis patients as well as in Candidiasis patients.
Remember, Candidiasis almost certainly accompanies Rheumatoid Diseases. Finally, and maybe
most importantly, Vitamin C in proper dosages has the ability to relieve stress that
produces continuous and damaging cortisol via the adrenal glands. Maintenance dosages are
difficult for a physician to state properly, as the individual needs of the patient vary
greatly and also the needs vary considerably in terms of degree of stress and sickness.
Each Rheumatoid Arthritis victim must learn and make quantity determinations for
themselves. In addition to a multiplicity of uses that the human body has for Vitamin C,
its concentration "directly determines the stability of the tissues. It does so
primarily via the protein collagen, which has a similar function in the human body as the
iron reinforcement has in a skyscraper. As a consequence of acute Vitamin C deficiency the
connective tissue dissolves and the body literally breaks apart, as we know from the
sailors' disease scurvy5." This is of immediate concern to every kind of arthritic.
"While acute and complete Vitamin C depletion are essentially unknown today, chronic
dietary Vitamin C deficiency is widespread. The consequences of insufficient Vitamin C
intake over decades on the tissues of the body, in particular on the wall of the blood
vessels, is disastrous. The sequence of events is "— decrease of stability and
elasticity of the blood vessel walls by Vitamin C deficiency "— loss of the
cellular barrier between bloodstream and vessel wall, "— increased infiltration
and massive deposition of dangerous blood constituents in the vessel wall, "—
development of atherosclerosis, in particular at those sites where high pressure and
turbulences prevail (e.g. at those arteries close to the heart), "— narrowing of
the vessel diameter and decrease of the blood circulation, "— eventually heart
attack and stroke occur. . . . "Heart disease is an early stage of scurvy, a chronic
Vitamin C deficiency of the body tissues5." Our intake of Vitamin C has either been
excreted or utilized within 24 hours of ingestion, according to Jeffrey Bland, Ph.D.,
President of Health-Comm, Inc6. It is important, therefore, that we eat foods containing
this essential vitamin daily, or supplement with a good source. Inter-Cal Corporation of
Arizona has produced a new form of Vitamin C called Ester-C PolyascorbateTM, which,
according to the research of Anthony F. Verlangieri, Ph.D. of Oxford, Mississippi,
"reaches and maintains blood levels more rapidly than ordinary Vitamin C6; and,
according to the research of Jonathan V. Wright, M.D. "produced higher intracellular
ascorbate levels, . . ," was retained by the body longer, and produced less oxalate
excretion, "presumably creating less risk of oxalate kidney stones6." According
to Nancy Chandler, Vice-President of Operation at Inter-Cal Corporation, ". . . the
chelated form of Ester-C's ascorbate has ideal characteristics: resistance to oxidation
while in the gut, rapid transport out of the gut, and facile dissociation when in blood or
tissues7." Chandler also comments that Ester-C has had much of its acidity removed,
and therefore there is no laxative, or other side effects from its use when higher doses
are taken. Ester-C is an interesting product, and deserves to be investigated and used by
those in need of large quantities of Vitamin C. If you do not find the product available
nearby, then Inter-Cal Corporation, 421 Miller Valley Road, Prescott, AZ 86301, can tell
you how to obtain it. One last point, from personal experience: I once poo-poohed use of
large quantities of Vitamin C as I was taught by very well meaning
"establishment" physicians that I got sufficient vitamins and minerals in my
daily foods. I didn't question at the time how others could know this when they did not
follow me about daily to see how badly I ate or how lacking in nutrition was the food
available for purchase. I took Vitamin C in tablet form only a few milligrams per day, and
saw absolutely no effect on colds. Not until reading Cathcart, Pauling, Stone and others
did I realize how truly ignorant and almost superstitious we are in protecting
"establishment" medical Authoritarianism. I suffered from colds and flu as a
child, throughout my teens,and throughout the next forty years, until I began following
Pauling's advice with sufficient quantities of Vitamin C. I am almost never sick from
those diseases, at most, perhaps once a year or less. And even then, it lasts but several
days, and I'm well again. Vitamin C in large dosages may not cure Rheumatoid Disease, but
it will sure make life easier -- and protect your body while doing so! References 1. Linus
Pauling, Ph.D., How to Live Longer and Feel Better, Avon Publishers, W. H. Freeman and
Co., 1986. (ISBN 0-380-70289-4); also see Vitamin C and the Common Cold, Op.Cit. (ISBN:
0-7167-0361-0); Cancer and Vitamin C, The Linus Pauling Institute for Science and
Medicine, Menlo Park, 1979. 2. Irwin Stone, The Healing Factor, Worldwide, New York, 1972
(ISBN:0-448-11693-6). 3. A. Kalokerinos, Every Second Child,Thomas Nelson, Australia; 1974
(ISBN: 0-879-83-250-9). 4. Robert F. Cathcart, "Vitamin C, Titrating to Bowel
tolerance, Anascorbemia, and Acute Induced Scurvy, Medical Hypotheses 7:1359-13767, 1981.
5. "How Vitamin C Can Prevent Heart Attack and Stroke," The Linus Pauling
Institute of Science and Medicine Newsletter, March 1992. 6. The Key to the Power of
Vitamin C, Ester-C PolyascorbateTM, Inter-Cal Corporation, 421 Valley Road, Prescott, AZ
86301. 7. Nancy Chandler, Personal Letter from Inter-Cal Corporation, May 3, 1989
Article provided by:
The Arthritis Trust of America
Sources are given in references. Authors of
contributions\quotations are alphabetically arranged; major author, if any, is underlined.
Robert F. Cathcart, III M.D., Nancy Chandler, A. Kalokerinos, Fred R. Klenner, M.d., Linus
Pauling, Ph.D., Irwin Stone, Anthony F. Verlangieri, Ph.D., Jonathan V. Wright,
M.D./writer Anthony di Fabio.
Copyright 1994 All rights reserved by the The Roger
Wyburn-Mason and Jack M.Blount Foundation for Eradication of Rheumatoid Disease AKA The
Rheumatoid Disease Foundation AKA The Arthritis Trust of America, 7111 Sweetgum Road,
Suite A, Fairview, TN 37062-9384
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