8 Vitamin C Benefits (and Some Common Side Effects)

WARNING!

I have to speak to the contributor that can't find a Vitamin C source that doesn't make him sick. All Vitamin C isn't from the same source.

I had to see a good allergist to find out that the Vitamin C I was taking was made from CORN! It left me shakey and unable to sleep for 3 days, and I had cut a 100 mg tablet in half so all I got was 50 mg!

Since finding that I am allergic to corn, I now take Vitamin C in the Palmitate form, as labeled on the bottle. And, I'm taking about 10 grams a day.

I take TwinLabs Allergy C, it is buffered w/calcium and magnesium. An aside, Vitamin C helps you to absorb the cal/mag for your bones. It's a win-win!

Tryingtostayhealthy from Half Moon Bay, Ca, United States writes: "I take 5 grams ascorbic acid powder and 4 grams lysine powder mixed in a glass of water every day (Pauling Protocol). I add a pinch of bicarbonate of soda and drink a little bit throughout the day.

There is research to show that any benifit of a single large dose of vitamin C is significantly reduced in the human blood stream within 5 hours. Split your dose across your day at 4 hour intervals to maximize its benefits. This makes sense since most animals make their own vitamin C and have a continuous flow of it into their bloodstream rather than a big "hit" once a day. They also make even more than normal amounts of vitamin C to cope with stress or injury. Also spreading the supply across time as required allows the body processes that can use the extra vitamin to basically operate their processes continually rather than starting up when adequate vitamin C is available and then shutting down these processes a few hours later when supply is low.

FYI: Doctor Irwin Stone and Doctor Mathias Rath both worked with or corresponded with Doctor Linus Pauling on vitamin C and both of these men have written books on vitamin C and the heart. You can find both books free online.

try taking less.

I take 5 grams ascorbic acid powder and 4 grams lysine powder mixed in a glass of water every day (Pauling Protocol). I add a pinch of bicarbonate of soda and drink a little bit throughout the day. The side effect I have is that I have to urinate every hour. I feel fairly certain the C is the cause because when I stop a day the problem decreases. I know vitamin C is a diuretic but is there anything I can do to lessen this problem?

As background info I am a 56 year old male who had a heart attack 18 months ago and had 2 stents placed at that time. I take simvastatin (Zocor generic statin drug) and 1 full aspirin daily. I cannot be certain what is the major benefit whether it is the stents, drugs, exercise, or the vitamin C and lysine mixture but I am feeling good and not had any problems since. My hunch though is that it's the vitamin C - lysine mixture and exercise that is helping quite a bit.

I plan to keep taking the vitamin C and lysine forever so I would like to find a way to cure the frequent urination problem. Thank you for any suggestions.

Hi Francisca... It's fairly easy to understand buffering which is simply the addition of an alkali or base(like sodium bicarbonate, baking soda) to orange juice -- which consists mainly citric acid and ascorbic acid and which tastes sour.

The rudimentary rule and equation for buffering is here:

Acid plus Base = Salt plus Water

Thus the citric and ascorbic acids are converted to their alkaline salts -- citrates and ascorbates -- which do not taste sour. Because these acids are converted to salts this does not erode your teeth and it tastes less sour when you drink it.

Just add baking soda to the fresh orange juice until the fizzing stops and then drink it -- very similar to the process of adding baking soda to ascorbic acid to just create ascorbates. You will be drinking the citrates and ascorbates in solution and not their acid forms which is far kinder on your digestive system. This method also causes less stomach upset and less diarrhia because its not so acid. It's also been my experience that your intestines can absorb far more ascorbates than ascorbic acid in your intestines for this reason.

This buffering process is exactly the same when you add sufficient sodium bicarbonate to lemon or lime juice(Ted's Alkalizing Remedy). Same result -- alkaline salts which are more easily absorbed in the intestines.

You should also be able to add extra ascorbic acid to the orange juice then just buffer it all as normal with the sodium bicarbonate. Quite safe.

How do I buffer Vitamin C powder? In a book I am reading right now Linus Pauling says that he used to buffer his Vitamin C by dissolving it in orange juice but how does it work given the fact that orange juice is also an acid? Or else he added bicarbonate of soda but he doesn't say how much. Right now I am taking 2g powder and 4g in tablets. I don't want to take more tablets because of the fillings as I am afraid that if you take many a day they will do you more harm than good. Also, in the book he says that he used to take 12g in the morning but I ask myself whether he took them in many glasses of water as I find 2g in a glass of water already quite strong.

Re Vitamin C: I saw Linus Pauling on the Les Brown (Toronto) tv show back in the 1980's He said just get the cheapest stuff - pure ascorbic acid powder. He would take about 18 grams a day. I have only taken up to 18 grams when I have been sick (flu, exhausted, colds). Hey he lived to be 94!

His recipe was put one teaspoon ascorbic acid powder in glass of water, and add one quarter teaspoon baking soda - that's it - makes it fizz - the baking soda buffers the tummy coz straight vitamin C is just way too acidic. On the show he said it was great for cancer patients going through clinical trials, (helps with immune system). (helps build white blood cells, with wound healing, building collagen - you don't get wrinkles! ).

I drink my drink through a straw and then have more water afterward.. Slight sour fizzy taste. Really nice actually. Since that show I have used the ascorbic acid powder - making my C fizzies as I call them - first of all to help with hay fever allergies (the ones where I sneeze 17 times and want to rip my itchy eyes out, and put cold washcloths over my face to sleep) - I got to the point where I only took the vitamin C and also eye drops for itchy eyes - got off all the over the counter drugstore medications (in my early teens used to get needles for hayfever, man I hate needles - that used to knock me out- didn't help much then either)Also very good for allergic reactions like hives (like when I've had shrimp and have broken out in welts, arargh)... A C fizzy or two takes it all down, calms everything back to normal. If I think I need a lot, I will space out the drinks about half hour or so. You can tell when you reach your tolerance limit, when your bowels start to get loose (the gut just can't process anymore).

In last few years I discovered that Pauling figured that heart disease is a subclinical form of scurvy - ie not enough Vitamin C!!! Check out paulingtherapy, and I think there is a youtube of him saying that as well. After I found that out I started buying it by the kilo from nutrabio because I would go through my little bottles from the health food store so fast. I plan to live to be 90 as well!

Another new discovery is ______ vitamin c where they have encapsulated the vitamin c with nano technology (think a grain of sand on a football field - very small) - with this the C bypasses the digestive system and goes straight to where it is needed. I have just started taking these last month. I will have my C fizzy drink before breakfast to start the day, and sometimes one in afternoon, and a pkt of the lypo-c in juice in between times (you won't feel the difference when you take the lypo-c coz it goes straight to your cells - also see tomlevyMd. Apparently this is the closest one can get to having Vitamin C intravenously. Check levy's video of gentleman in new zealand who was pretty much on death's door, and his family rallied around refusing to let the docs take him off life support - with much ado, they got him on IV vitamin c - and he recovered!

Also just listening to Dr Hal Huggins radio interview, he said if you take 4-5 pkts of the Lypospheric C, it is like getting a shot of IV C. I am so trying this..

One more thing, people would ask me why do I take the Vitamin C fizzies - I said the only way I can explain it is that it feels like it turns on the electricity in the body. And from what I have read about the heart and brain's electrical fields, I can speak from personal experience that the vitamin C I take helps bring everything back to 'normal' for me. And yes, (oh vanity) - a lady at work guessed my age to be 14 years younger.

For over a decade I have been using large amounts of Vit C on an almost daily basis.

The amount tends to vary a little depending on my needs, but always taken in smaller doses throughout the day.

I have used many expensive brands, including Ester C & Acerola but have not heard of nor used lypho-spheric vitamin C, and now only buy the inexpensive powder form of sodium ascorbate. If you use a lemon for something, instead of throughing out the peel, eat the pith (white part) and this way you are getting your bioflavanoids. If the lemon is organic you can also eat some of the yellow rind (not a great taste) as it contains limonene.

Having the pith most days and the sodium ascorbate, I have found this to work as well as any brands I've tried and better than most. I am very fortunate to have access to meyer lemons as the pith tastes quite nice.

My partner woke up with a very heavy cold and so we decided, following an article we had read to take 6 grams of vit c every 20 mins until he hit near diararea. At that point you back off and just take around 20 grams every 3 hours. It totally worked. It was incredable to see. There he was sneezing and coughing, runny nose and then it all stopped. Like turning off a tap. But make sure you keep with it for at least another 3 days. Look up cold on the vit c website for more info. I also felt one coming on and did the same thing. No cold.

That was an old rumor. Sodium ascorbate (the alkaline form of vitamin C) is made by mixing two parts sodium ascorbate (an acidic form of vitamin C) with one part baking soda (aka sodium bicarbonate -- which neutralizes the acidity). "*One mole of sodium bicarbonate is 84 grams, and one mole of ascorbic acid is 176 grams. So, the correct (stoichiometric) ratio of sodium bicarbonate to ascorbic acid is 84/176 = 0. 477. For example, it would take 477 milligrams of sodium bicarbonate to neutralize 1000 milligrams of ascorbic acid. "
Source: www.quantumbalancing.com/liposomalC.html

I have seen some places use more baking soda and that's fine.

Vitamin C in the form of sodium ascorbate, especially the powdered form free of fillers. But you can also crush tablets with a pill grinder. This form is recommended because its alkaline. I can take a 1/4 teaspoon of mine in one cup of water and got about 500 mg vitamin C (on an empty stomach). I might take this twice a day and much more if I am ill (several grams maximum but divided in hourly doses each day I feel ill).

Hi Francisca, I bought Vitamin C as ascorbic powder from Trader Joe's. I mix one fourth of the powder with equal amount of baking soda in a little water. Once it stops fizzing, I add more water and drink it up. This is according to recipes posted here in EC. I started this three weeks ago. I didn't buy Vitamin C in pill form because of fillers, additives, etc. I'm planning to continue having a glass of this all through winter to keep colds, sinus and flu attacks away!

Which is the best kind of vitamin C one can take? Is it normal one, is it Ester-C or something else? Pills, powder, solvable? And although many books advise quite high doses of Vitamin C there are experts, including my homeopathic doctor who believe that it can help cancer develop. Is this true?

Stacey: NO, ascorbic acid is not the patented form of Vitamin C! Ascorbic acid is the chemical name for plain ol' Vitamin C, first identified generations ago. You maybe meant ESTER-C, which is a patented form of Vitamin C.

But look what The Vitamin C Foundation says about it:

It is true that Ester-C reaches cells and enters them faster. An anonymous informant with ties to the U. S. Biological weapons program told us:

"Ester-C is not an ester. My late friend was a former scientist involved in biochemical warfare with a high security clearance. He dissected the patent and had several meetings with Dr. Virlangieri, one of the researchers that touted its virtues. My friend favored good old ascorbic acid or sodium ascorbate. He told me quite literally that ester-C was "two pounds of 'dung' in a one pound bag. " He was an avid Pauling devotee and was concerned that under certain conditions, ester-C was dangerous and contraindicated. The prevailing propaganda changed from its being an ester to its providing threonine metabolites. He told me that Pauling would have laughed the ester-C boys back to chemistry class! " R. L. As for citric acid, it also is the chemical name for that one specific molecule, and so if buying a bottle of it, that had better be all that's in that bottle! There will be no other molecules of any kind in there, certainly no minerals or any antioxidants (reducers).

Ascorbic acid is a patented form of vitamin C. There are actually several patents for producing ascorbic acid. The health claim is that it is more digestible and there is more bioactive vitamin and antioxidant content. Citric acid is an acid used primarily for food preservation. It does contain some vitamins and antioxidants, but not enough to make it valuable to health.

Can anyone tell me if citric acid and ascorbic acid are the same vitamin c supplement. I know one has one more molecule of oxygen. Can citric be used as a vitamin c supplement just like ascorbic acid?

Hi Kate...Although I don't doubt the instance of the boy suffering copper depletion and its unfortunate effects, the research in the area of the relationship between copper and vitamin c is still quite sadly lacking. However, it has been known for some time that animals such as dogs, cattle and horses can all internally generate their own vitamin c as ascorbates from their own livers, and the amounts generated -- compared to our own recommended RDA -- 75 mgs -- is relatively huge. These animals generate upwards of 8 grams of vitamin c a day for themselves seemingly without harm.

I also admit that the research in this area is sadly lacking and not well understood, but here is an extract on this subject from a research site:

"Although vitamin C supplements have produced copper deficiency in guinea pigs (7), animals requiring dietary vitamin C, the effect of vitamin C supplements on copper nutritional status in humans is less clear. Two small studies in healthy young adult men indicate that the oxidase activity of ceruloplasmin may be impaired by relatively high doses of supplemental vitamin C. In one study, vitamin C supplementation of 1,500 mg/day for two months resulted in a significant decline in ceruloplasmin oxidase activity (8). In the other study, supplements of 605 mg of vitamin C/day for three weeks resulted in decreased ceruloplasmin oxidase activity, although copper absorption did not decline (9). Neither of these studies found vitamin C supplementation to adversely affect copper nutritional status. "
From The Linus Pauling Institute Website

Perhaps the lesson here is to ensure proper daily mineral intake -- including copper -- as a safe dietary regimen with all vitamins, since minerals tend to play such a crucial part -- as enzymes -- in the metabolism and activity of vitamins in our body.

Concerning copper intake, liver is far and away the largest natural source of this mineral and can be taken as cooked liver or simply as dessicated liver tablets.

Re: side effects vitamin C. I've read that excessive doses can cause copper deficiency. On one website I read:

"In another chronic copper deficiency / high Vitamin C example, a young boy was brought into my office to investigate the reason why his leg bones were soft and becoming increasingly malformed. It turned out that his father was giving him 2,000 mg of Vitamin C a day, starting shortly after he was born, which resulted in a severe, long-term copper deficiency. Reducing the Vitamin C to more reasonable levels, and recommending some copper-rich foods for the boy, corrected the condition."

This makes me very cautious about megadoses over a long period, though the website also says that taking the ascorbate version is a good protection against some side effects. Views?

I've written quite a bit about Vitamin C on EC, and just thought that I would put down some other thoughts, which will, hopefully, be helpful.

First, Vitamin C is not just a simple supplement. Most people regard Vitamin C as just a vitamin supplement called Ascorbic Acid. This is also not strictly true. Vitamin C actually consists of a group of natural chemicals -- usually found together in varying amounts in fruits/veg -- that work together in a synergistic way with Ascorbic acid/ascorbates to benefit our bodies. Some of the other substances involved in Vitamin C's effectiveness are:

Biovflavenoids
Ascorbinogens
rutin
P-factor
K-factor
J-Factor

And as far as I can understand, these additional compounds or co-factors are all required in quite small amounts(probably used as catalysts, enzymes, coenzymes etc.), along with the ascorbic acid and this is what really constitutes Vitamin C. Also, since Vitamin C itself is so poorly researched, there are probably alot of these co-factors that haven't even been researched or discovered yet.

From the above, and logically, it would therefore make great sense to both eat fruit and vegetables high in these Vit C co-factors whilst also supplementing with ascorbates or ascorbic acid since these co-factors are bound to enhance and improve the overall effect of taking Vitamin C supplements as well.

Here are some other facts about Vitamin C, some of which equally apply to the supplementing of any other vitamin or mineral:

* Always take Vitamin C as sodium ascorbate (more alkaline form) and not as ascorbic acid. If you take the ascorbic acid form, then you must always take it at mealtimes, so that it can be converted by the bicarbonates produced in the duodenum during digestion to ascorbate and then it will be absorbed. So why not convert the Ascorbic Acid to ascorbate first, then there would be no need for conversion from acid to salt form during digestion and you could also take even more ascorbates outside mealtimes?

* If you take Vitamin C during mealtimes, then a third of this vitamin will be excreted and lost after digestion by the intestines. So, if you are taking, say, 900 mgms of Vitamin C then 300 mgms will be excreted and lost. By the way, this is not all bad, because taking Vitamin C also provokes a healthy intestine.

* Linus Pauling, during his own Vit C research wanted to know how much vitamin c was excreted in a 24 hr period, so he took 10 grams of vitamin C and collected and checked all his own urine during a 24 hr period. He found that 15% of the Vit C taken was lost through his kidneys over this 24 hour period.

* It is always best practice, as Ted from Bangkok has said on this site numerous times, to take all water soluble vitamins, minerals and amino acid supplements in their powdered or capsule forms and not as tablets. I was forced to use the tablet form of Ascorbic Acid(I couldn't find the powder form here in the Philippines where I live) and convert this to ascorbates using Baking Soda, but the resulting solution always looked cloudy, dirty and tasted funny because of all the adhesive fillers such as Calcium Triphosphate, Magnesium Sterate, Stearic Acid, Microcellulose, Starch etc. But, on my recent trip to Bangkok, I managed to purchase pure chemical grade Ascorbic Acid powder fairly cheaply and after I convert my powder dose to ascorbates using BS, the solution is now always crystal clear with no more unnecessary impurities and has a far nicer taste.

I've also stated that I believe that there is no such thing as a rigid RDA concerning vitamins, minerals and amino acid supplementation. As evidence and proof of this, here is an extract from a significant essay by Dr Frederick Klenner on Vitamin C which lists all the reasons why dosing is so difficult:

1. The age of the individual;
2. Habits -- such as smoking, the use of alcohol, playing habits;
3. Sleep, especially when induced artificially;
4. Trauma.-- trauma caused by a pathogen, the trauma of work, the traumaof surgery, the trauma to the body produced accidentally or intentionally;
5. Kidney threshold;
6. Environment;
7. Physiological stress;
8. Season of the year;
9. Loss in the stool;
10. Variations in individual absorption;
11. Variations in "binders" in commercial tablets;
12. Body chemistry;
13. Drugs;
14. Pesticides;
15. Body weight;
16. Inadequate storage.

Extract from Dr Klenner on Vitamin C -- This is also well worth a read !!

In my own protocol of vitamins and minerals, I now just take mega-doses of Vitamin C as ascorbate (about 5 grams/day in split doses) outside mealtimes as well as dessicated liver and kelp tablets at mealtimes every day. I also take Ted's alkalizing remedies regularly and now supplement magnesium chloride and iodine(both in larger amounts than recommended by the FDA or WHO) either transdermally or orally on a weekly basis. I also have a body friendly diet as Ted recommends. On a monthly basis, I regularly detox heavy metals using sodium thiosulfate as well as taking my own tri-herbal anti-stone or anti-calcium protocol consisting of a decoction of chanca piedra, heart vine, tumeric and neem leaves. I also take Ted's anti-fungal borax remedy once or twice a month as a preventative. That is essentially my protocol, but I have extra backup in the form of lysine, aspirin, methylene blue, zinc gluconate, betaine HCL, protease enzymes, cayenne, clove oil etc. that are all taken on an "as needed" basis if any illness does occur.

vitamin C solution for complexion

I have sensitive skin that reacts badly to most products, even herbal/organic ones. I have had success with making vitamin C solution using the powdered L-ascorbic acid that is often recommended here on Earthclinic.

In a small container, mix 1/4 teaspoon of the powder in 1 teaspoon of water -- watch out, it will fizz! -- and then add 1 teaspoon of vegetable glycerin (available at any health food store.) Keep this in a small brown glass bottle, or at least make sure it is away from light and heat. The smaller the bottle, the better, since air in the bottle will destroy its potency. Once it turns yellowish, it is no longer effective, so you'll need to remake it (a few days or even over a week later, depending on storage conditions). Just smooth it onto your face. It has reduced wrinkles and pore size, and seems to have helped the rosacea as well.

Hi Tina Marie...I usually take this form of Vitamin C (Ascorbate) at least 1 hour before or 2 hours after meals on its own, but you can also take it with meals without problems. This form of Vitamin C -- sodium ascorbate -- is more alkaline than Ascorbic Acid.

The best way to take ACV is combined with Baking Soda (Arm and Hammer brand), recipe given here:

Ted's ACV Acid Reflux Remedy

It seems that you might also have certain food intolerances -- read Ted's remedy suggestions here:

Food Intolerance Remedies

To Bill from San Fernando, I'm new to this website and loving it. Just wanted to know if you drink this on an empty stomach or with food. I have horrible reflux that I'm trying the ACV fix for, and I don't take vitamins because it really flares the reflux. Hoping to fix my stomach and trying to get some new ways that may help me to take vitamins.Thanks so much

Taking Vitamin C in Solution

Hi Everyone...With good reason, Ted has long advised that Vit C in the form of Ascorbic Acid should be converted to its Ascorbate form because this form is more alkaline, more absorbable and uses up less bicarbonates from your body's digestive system.

This means getting out your mortar and pestal, crunching up your Ascorbic acid tablets then adding water and finally adding the baking soda(sodium bicarbonate) -- let it finish fizzing -- then drinking it down.

I take Vit C most days with lysine and discovered something useful.

Today, I just filled a glass full of water and plopped in 4 X 500 gm tablets of ascorbic acid. Then I just added 1/4 to 1/2 teasoon of baking soda to it. It fizzed away and dissolved for about three minutes and then the tablets simply disappeared into solution as Sodium Ascorbate -- a bit like Alka-Seltzer !!

Then I just scraped off the residue of bubbles off the top of the solution (which contains all the insoluble binder additives like mag stearate, calcium Trihosphate, micro-cellulose, starch etc.) and drank it down.

So, no tablet crunching necessary really.

It is easy to make alkaline vitamin C, also known as Sodium Ascorbate. Simply buy vitamin C powder (usually as Ascorbic Acid). About 1/4 teaspoon of this is equal to 1gram. So to make it sodium ascorbate mix with this about 1/4 of Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda), and half a cup, or so, of water. Stir it around until the crystals dissolve and the fizzing stops. And, now you have 1gram of Sodium Ascorbate; and alkaline form of Vitamin C.

YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN VITAMIN C POWDER!!!! Do this at home and you will know you are taking a high quality supplement straight from the source. Organic citrus fruits have all the good stuff in their pulp and peel.

-Cut the peels into thin strips and lay them out on cheesecloth, or use a dehydrator to dry out the peels. After a few days, or when fully dry, put the dried peels into a coffee grinder to make into a powder. One spoonfull is said to be all you need for a whole day. Add the powder to your food or drinks, store in an airtight container.

You can use organic grapefruit, tangerines, oranges, lemons or limes. :-)

Hi,

This is only the second time that I have posted, and I wanted to thank you for your kind words regarding my first post.

I promised that I would update everyone IF I was able to finally conquer sciatica. Well, I DID IT! I said that I was going to try Magnesium as suggested on your site. Didn't seem to help me.

What finally did the trick was "flooding" with Vitamin C per Dr. Frederick Klenner's web site, Doctor Yourself. Please check out the testimonal under Back Pain (at the bottom of that page). Unlike the testimonial, I was not completely out of pain on the fourth day; it took me six days.

I took two grams (2,000 milligrams) every hour I was awake. What I finally figured out was that the man that wrote the testimonial was taking a teaspoon every hour (that's four grams).

Just in case you are concerned at the high level of Vitamin C, it is a water soluble vitamin which the body will throw off if it can't use it. There is no known Vitamin C toxicity to humans.

The reason it worked is very simple. I had a Vitamin C deficiency severe enough to cause sciatica. Wish I had known that before!

What I also didn't realize was that the intermittent backaches that I have had in the last five years or so were also a Vitamin C deficiency and a precursor to the more severe sciatica! I have not had even a hint of a backache since I began treating the sciatica.

I am now on a maintenance dosage of Vitamin C of about 10 grams per day (still working out exact amount) which I will remain on for the rest of my life. You know when the body cannot use the level of Vitamin C that you are taking. You get diarrhea and just cut back a bit until you have the right level for you.

My primary reason for advocating natural alternatives for myself is safety. It was a blood pressure generic Lisinopril that triggered my sciatica and my descent into an unfathonable Dante's inferno. I will use SAFE alternatives in the future as often as possible.

Good health to everyone this year!

After reading the rules for posting, I'm sorry I can't put a link here to the website that explains the benefits of Vitamin C but hopefully by just googling Dr. Klenner, you can find this information. He did a study of pregnant women taking Vitamin C and 100% came through without miscarrying. I am 5 weeks pregnant now with my 9th child and have always taken Vitamin C through pregnancies. My mother had 5 children and she used to take high doses of Vitamin C. There are such great benefits so for those that are concerned, please do a little more research and don't stop taking your C.

Hi Chuck,

You can type in "Lipitor co-enzyme Q10" in Google and will get several articles related to muscle pain and the Statins (Lipitor, Sinvastain, Mevacore [lovastatin], etc.).

A brief summary: Lovastatin (and other statins) do lower cholesterol, BUT they also lower Co-enzyme Q10. Without enough Co-enzyme Q10 the muscles in the body weaken (the heart is a muscle).

Merck, the drug company that makes Lovastatin (similar to Lipitor) has had a patent on a combination of Lovastatin and Co-enzyme Q10 since 1989 . K. Folkers is the doctor who has done the most research on Co-enzyme Q10. He was an employee of Merck, working out of the University of Texas. Since Merck has the patent on the Lovastatin/C0-enzyme Q10 drug combo, no one else can market it and for money reasons Merck won't market it, nor have they alerted the public to the benefits of Co-enzyme Q10.

A local friend of mine had been taking Lipitor for a few years and developed severe muscle pain in her legs. She simply stopped taking it and the pain went away. She hasn't taken it since.

If you are worried about your cholesterol, you might look at the Cholesterol section on this web site. At the top of the page, click on Ailments, then C, then Cholesterol. Some good remedies, especially Apple Cider Vinegar.

Here's another paper by Dr. Klenner "Observations On the Dose and Administration of Ascorbic Acid When Employed Beyond the Range Of A Vitamin In Human Pathology" http://yost.com/health/klenner/klenner-1971.pdf

Hi Elaine,

This is the follow up to my last post. I tried 3 grams of vitamin C powder before bed 2 nights ago and my sinuses were very clear for 6 1/2 hours. Last night I tried 6 grams before bed with the same results...6 grams was a little much for me in one dose. Thanks for the tip.

Hi Rahul,

If you are 20 and you've had polio since your were 5, then Dr. Klennar's approach might not help you. In the late 1940s when polio was out of control here in the U.S., Dr. Klennar had success with about 60 cases of Early Stage Polio using high doses of vitamin C. Vitamin C was given by injection and by mouth.

The name of the article where I got this information is: The Origin of the 42-Year Stonewall of Vitamin C by Robert Landwehr

http://www.orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1991/pdf/1991-v06n02-p099.pdf

I did a study a couple years ago for a local friend of mine who is in his 70s and was a polio victim at the age of 20. The only thing I found that might help was Co-enzyme C-10. It is based on this study.

12 patients...7-69 years...all with types of muscle dystrophies...100mg/day for 3 months...a 2nd trial of 15 patients was similar. "Definitely improved physical performance was recorded. In retrospect, a dosage of 100 mg was too low although effective and safe. Patients suffering from these muscle dystrophies and the like, should be treated with vitamin Q10 indefinitely."

(by K. Folkers, the Merck researcher who has done the most research on Q10)

The title of the article:

"Two successful double-blind trials with coenzyme Q10 (vitamin Q10) on muscular dystrophies and
neurogenic atrophies"... Folkers K., Simonsen R....from PubMed

You can type the title of the article into your search engine and the article will come up.

Hi Rupa,

The only thing that has worked for me is 5,000 mcg of Biotin in capsule form once a day. It took a couple weeks for it to stop falling out, but it stopped. I take a minimum of 3,000mg of vitamin C daily, so, for me vitamin C is not a factor. I have never run across data that a lack of iron causes hair loss. Time of the year shouldn't be a factor either.