"Submit your vitamin C anecdotes. We will post the best."
I have tried the ascorbate nasal spray with good results. I have had significantly less nasal congestion during sinusitis outbreaks and once with a cold it greatly helped shorten the duration (about 5 days versus my usual ten days with symptoms) and none of the ugly thick nasal discharge at the end of my cold.
The nasal ascorbate seemed to really help break down the flem in my nose and keep my nasal passages clear. I used it as often as 3 sprays each nostril every fifteen minutes to every half hour as needed to keep my nostrils clear of flem during the peak of my cold.
One other benefit I have noticed is that at work I have far less nasal clogging from chemical exposure than I did before I started using the ascorbate nasal spray.( I work in a hospital and just about everywhere I go I'm being exposed to cleaning fumes from housekeepers cleaning the rooms and floors and carpet,ect.) I think I have enjoyed that benefit the most, I take three sprays each nostril in the morning and at night before bed.
NOTE: I USED A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FORMULA , I MIXED C SALTS POWDER 3/4 TEASPOON (ABOUT THREE GRAMS VITAMIN C) WITH THREE TABLESPOONS OF SALINE . THEN ADDED 1/4 TEASPOON OF MSM . PUT ALL THIS IN A STERILE EMPTY NASAL SPRAY BOTTLE(LOCAL PHARMACY) I ADDED MSM BECAUSE I FELT LIKE I HAD SOME CANDIDA INFECTION IN MY NOSE, SINUSES. ANYWAY SO FAR THIS HAS HELPED ME.
THANKYOU VITAMIN C FOUNDATION FOR ALL YOUR VITAMIN C RESEARCH!!!!
Dear Dr. [Deleted]
I've been a fan and customer of yours now for about a year. I also use info from you and several other internet MD's to corroborate my own doctor's ideas.
I've noticed now that you have published a warning in at least two of your newsletters against taking too much vitamin C because of thickening of arteries. The only evidence that I can find to corroborate your thinking is a study which, according to the following link, was incomplete at best.
http://www.lef.org/featured-articles/may2000_vitamin_c_03.html
Dr. Cathcart's response is of particular interest.
Also see http://www.internetwks.com/pauling/tale.html
Also, the Life Extension Foundation did a followup with some of their members who had been "mega-dosing" VC for up to 20+ years. They found only healthy carotids, and good flow - something that the aforementioned study didn't even check (hmm). I would venture to guess that, if the LEF group were compared to the other test group, we would find lower blood pressure and fewer incidences of stroke, heart attack, etc. in the LEF group.
As a mechanical engineer, I can see the logic that a group of patients who have taken little or no VC for 50+ years would have worn, thinning plumbing. It is equally as logical that increasing VC, a key player in collagen production, would naturally result in thicker vessels all over the body, including the carotids.
I, myself, have been on bowel-tolerance VC, at my new doctor's orders, for almost a year. In that time I've been able to cut my BP medication in half. Prior to that, I had increased dosage. I found this doctor, a DO, after fighting daily drowsiness, having my family doctor declare that "you're just getting old" (I was 48 at the time and about to lose my job for falling asleep at work, fighting dementia, loss of concentration), and having a stent installed...
I had been taking 3g/day of VC with no apparent benefit when, feeling a cold coming on, I took 9g in one day. BAM! Next day I worked like a beaver all day and went home and did research on my computer until 10. I even had that "spring" in my step that I'd heard of but had never experienced. Since then I have only had a handful of short (5-10 minutes) drowsy spells. Up to that point my normal day was: drag out of bed after 9-10 hours, doze for about 2 of the 8 working hours, do about 2 hours actual work all day due to lack of concentration, drag myself home and fall asleep by 8-8:30 - take two naps on Saturday and Sunday after 12 hours sleep... This went on, steadily worsening, for about two years.
This revelation prompted me to find a doctor who knew something about vitamins! During the physical he surmised that, given the 19 mercury fillings in my mouth, the sudden recovery was possibly due to the large dose of VC removing some mercury from my brain. Testing revealed that my mercury level was off the chart. He also found a half dozen other things wrong with me, most of which are being treated by vitamins, minerals, and amino acids - doses hundreds of times higher than any supplement found at Wal-Mart or CVS, and thousands of times greater than the RDA's.
And I can honestly say that, on several occasions, I have felt better after the first dose, almost always by the third day. The other supplements are treating problems which have no overt symptoms. This doctor tests, then attacks with substances which should be in my body - my previous MD guessed and re-guessed, using prescription drugs only and scoffing vitamins - if there was no prescription solution, then his response was "you're just getting old", or just no response at all.
Another personal experience: last Christmas I caught the worst cold I've had in decades. After fighting a losing battle, on the 4th day I decided to try Dr. Pauling's "cure". I pumped 3g every 30-45 minutes all day (about 40-50 grams total) without getting diarrhea. About 3 AM next morning I awoke, wet from head to toe, with that feeling of relief you get when your fever "breaks". Arising at 7:00, I decided to continue the dosage, just to be sure. Before my second dose I was on the John. Battle over, strike the tents.=20
Given the massive evidence of other benefits of optimum VC intake (which is different person-to-person and even day-to-day based on a person's health status), I hope that a professional such as you are not basing your decision for this warning on this one study. If you have some other compelling info, would you share it with me and your other readers? I'm afraid that your statement may scare many away from the treatment they need the most for their short and long-term health, and your arbitrary 500mg may not be sufficient to keep a good many from getting heart disease and other problems - certainly not enough to repair 50+ years of nutritional inadequacy, or for therapeutic treatment.
As Dr. Saul of www.doctoryourself.com is fond of saying: "Vitamins can be used as drugs, but drugs can never be used as vitamins".
Have a good day,
George
georuff@earthlink.net