Hello Owen,
The Vitamin C Foundation gave me your e-mail in hopes that you could help me with some info. I just ordered the powder form that they sell and should receive it in a few days. My first question is does it work on a bacterial infection. I read that it works for viral infections.I've had a serious bacterial infection in my sinus for almost three years now. I've had three operations and done 14 rounds of anti-biotics but nothing got rid of it. Meso-silver in my sinuses combined with taking it internally seemed to make it better for quite a few months. But just in the past 12 days it is back pretty bad again. 12 days ago I caught a cold and at this time I doubled my dose of vitamin c from 1000mg.a day to 2000mg.a day. I'm not sure if it was the cold or vitamin c that made the infection come back.The cold has been gone for about 5 days now but the infection is still just as bad. If vitamin c doesn't work on a bacterial infection do you have any ideas on what will. I also have Irritable Bowel Syndrom, so my immune system is always weak. I need to find a way to build my immune system back up to be strong. How do I go about finding a naturalpath in my area that could help me with these nagging problems.Like any doctor I'm sure there are good ones and poor ones.Anything you could tell me to try would be a big help.Thanks,Dan
I'll share what I know.
Certainly vitamin C at a correct, sustained high dose (bowel tolerance) is crucial. See http://www.orthomed.com/titrate.htm for information on determining the amount of vitamin C for your illness. You will note that for bacterial infections, the tolerance can be as high as 150
grams (150,000 mg) daily, versus the 1 or 2 grams you mentioned.
Vitamin C does not have the same kind of "knock out" ability that it has with viral infections, but it has been found effective against several bacterial infections, and it has been known for a while that vitamin C can enhance the effect of antibiotics. So in my opinion, it is a good idea to find and go to your bowel tolerance of vitamin C.
Furthermore, as described in the above reference Cathcart paper, when you are fighting infection, vitamin C levels are depleted, causing all sort of secondary problems, so taking vitamin C simply to replenish the tissues is very important.
You can also put sodium ascorbate mixed in saline up your nostrils, as Pauling's cited research showing that the concentration of vitamin C in the sinus can this way be made 1000 times higher than by taking vitamin C orally. See the bottom of this link: http://www.vitamincfoundation.org/surefire.shtml
I have discovered that vitamin D is even more important for treating/preventing infections than vitamin C! Long story, but try to get 30 minutes of sunlight on as much exposed skin as possible between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. every day (during the summer) and take at least 5000 iu of vitamin D orally. (But the sunshine (uv/b light) is key.)
Linus Pauling in his book provides a basic supplement regimen - (How To Live Longer and Feel Better pg. 14) that in my opinion is a minimum regimen for everyone. Especially the VItamin A (25,000 iu). Another long story, but the WHO saves the lives of kids in the 3rd world with a 500,000 iu shot of vitamin A. (This keeps these kids from going blind before they die from infection.)
Now depending on age, something I didn't know until last summer, even doing all this, if your adrenals are "fatigued", you will be prone to infections. Adrenals require vitamin C, and infections deplete vitamin C, etc. The book that explains how cortisol replacement can rest the adrenals is called SAFE USES OF CORTISOL, 3rd Edition, William Mck Jefferies. The problem is finding a knowledgeable doctor. (Where do you live?)