http://www.vitaminCfoundation.org
April 11, 1998
Mr. Arthur Ochs Sulzberger
The New York Times Company
229 West 43 Street
New York, NY 10036
Dear Mr. Sulzberger:
I am very concerned about the dramatic conclusions
drawn in the April 9 article by Jane Brody STUDY FINDS PERIL
IN TAKING HIGH VITAMIN C SUPPLEMENT. Almost out of habit,
when reports of the possible health benefits of taking vitamin
supplements appear, most news articles quote responsible conservative
doctors and researchers when they say we must be careful not to
jump to conclusions. They always seem to need more studies.
Why the double standard?
In this case, on the basis of a single questionable
6 week study of 30 people, you are prepared to scare Americans
from taking a substance that Linus Pauling, of all people, has
tied to Heart Disease? A substance so important almost all animals
(save humans) make their own in amounts that exceed the RDA by
3 orders of magnitude! May I remind you and Ms. Brody there isn't
a single shred of hard evidence to back up the speculation the
New York Times published, i.e. that high doses of Vitamin C may
be harmful in any way, shape or form. This is tabloid journalism.
The following quote is by one of the study authors
about the reliability of measurements of this sort:
"The extraction of DNA [by these methods]
is an area of much controversy as several workers have suggested
that cell lysis and/or extraction with organic solvents can cause
artefactual generation of 8-OHdC. One must therefore be careful
in interpreting the results of such measurements on the grounds
of suitable method of extraction which does not generate in
vitro artefact" [Abstract: European Standards Committee
on Oxidative DNA Damage, J. Lunec, Q. Zheng, M. Evans, K. Herbert]
Yours truly,
Owen R. Fonorow
PO Box 73172
Houston, Texas 77273
1-888-443-3634 Toll Free in the USA
1-281-443-3634 Everywhere
FAX: 1-630-416-1309 Temporary