REPRINTED FROM BEYOND HEALTH® News

Vitamin C

by Raymond Francis

Vitamin C is perhaps the most miraculous molecule you can put into your body. Yet almost all Americans are deficient in vitamin C, and this is contributing significantly to our epidemic of chronic disease. This amazing vitamin is very special because it has the ability to donate or accept electrons easily, thereby facilitating the flow of electricity (electron flow) in the body. Electron flow controls and regulates the body’s functions by promoting cell-to-cell communications. Disease happens when electron flow is impaired; life ends when electron flow stops. Insufficient vitamin C will impair flow, and this is why vitamin C deficiency is a significant contributor to disease. It is also why adequate C will both prevent and reverse disease. When electron flow is optimized, health and vitality are optimized; adequate vitamin C is vital to health. The problem is this: most of us do not get enough C on a daily basis. To make matters worse, many vitamin C supplements are potentially harmful.

Vitamin C’s many roles in the body are so basic to healthy function that it is almost a universal wonder drug. It is a powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and anticancer compound. No matter what ails you, adequate amounts of vitamin C will help. Many “incurable” conditions have been cured simply by providing sufficient vitamin C.

According to Thomas Levy, M.D., author of Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases, and Toxins, “vitamin C is the single most important nutrient” and vitamin C deficiency “will facilitate the development of nearly all chronic degenerative diseases.” Levy also proposes that vitamin C deficiency is the primary cause of most infectious diseases.

Almost all infectious diseases can be both prevented and reversed by adequate amounts of vitamin C. Infections deplete vitamin C. This is why people who die of infections often die of complications caused by depleted vitamin C, such as internal bleeding. Levy writes, “Vitamin C is undoubtedly the ideal agent for treating any viral infection...prompt administration of very large doses of vitamin C can bring back heavily infected individuals from even comatose states, resulting in complete cures.” While modern medicine administers health-damaging antibiotics and vaccinations to protect us from infections, adequate amounts of vitamin C will safely prevent and reverse almost all infections.

Toxicity is one of the two causes of disease. Vitamin C works to neutralize the effects of toxins. Toxins harm us by producing free radicals that damage DNA and body tissues and also by depleting vitamin C. By depleting vitamin C, the

patient dies of vitamin C deficiency. Vitamin C interacts with toxins to render them harmless and also helps repair damage done by toxins. Vitamin C is the treatment of choice for virtually any toxic problem, be it snakebite, spider bite, carbon monoxide poisoning, pesticide exposure, or heavy metal poisoning.

Vitamin C may be the most important molecule we can put into our bodies to get well, stay well, and maintain optimal health. Regardless of diagnosis, vitamin C is so basic to human biochemistry that obtaining adequate amounts of vitamin C should be the foundation of any wellness strategy. The challenge is to make sure you are getting enough. Always take vitamin C on a daily basis, and always be sure to take enough. Dr. Levy recommends a minimum of 6000 mg of vitamin C per day. (How much are you taking?) Most adults will need more than 6000, perhaps 10,000 or 12,000. Anyone with a health problem would be wise to take an amount called “bowel tolerance.” To determine bowel tolerance, take vitamin C in divided doses throughout the day until excessive gas or loose stools are encountered. Reducing the dose to where this does not happen is bowel tolerance. In some people that might be 10,000 mg. In an acutely ill person, it might go as high as 100,000 mg or more.

In acute situations involving serious infections or toxic exposures, it may not be possible to obtain sufficient vitamin C orally. In these cases, intravenous vitamin C is necessary. Problems such as AIDS, cancer, carbon monoxide poisoning, hepatitis, mushroom poisoning, polio, SARS, Lyme disease, or West Nile disease all require large doses of both oral and intravenous vitamin C. Intravenous doses as high as 50,000 to 100,000 mg per day may be necessary to address these problems.

When taking large amounts of anything it is essential to make sure that what you are taking is very pure. Unfortunately, this means you cannot go out and just purchase vitamin C off the shelf at the health food store. Most vitamin C is made from corn. Corn is a major allergen, and for those who are allergic to corn, corn based vitamin C may stress the immune system. In addition, most vitamin C products are not manufactured and handled with sufficient care; they often contain too much oxidized vitamin C, which can be harmful. Products such as Ester C contain as much as 10 percent oxidized vitamin C—not a good choice. In addition, such products usually contain D-ascorbate, an irritant and biologically useless form of vitamin C. High quality vitamin C is 100% L-ascorbate, fully reduced and corn free. I take and recommend Beyond Health Vitamin C because it is the purest I have found. To reverse disease and to achieve optimal health, optimal amounts of vitamin C are essential.

Raymond Francis is an M.I.T.-trained scientist, a registered nutrition consultant, author of Never Be Sick Again and Never Be Fat Again, host of the Beyond Health Show, Chairman of the The Project to End Disease and an internationally recognized leader in the field of optimal health maintenance.

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