Thomas Levy, MD authored a book in 2002 which provided a breakthrough in Integrative Oncology and Holistic Medicine via his extensive documentation of the benefits of Vitamin C with the title:
VITAMIN C, INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND TOXINS- Curing the Incurable
Dr Levy’s book ends with a bibliography that is 40 pages long, documenting the scientific references that reveal the long history of scientific literature from both studies to clinical observations that has grown the body of knowledge regarding the evidence of the many benefits of Vitamin C. It is clear that Vitamin Cis not only important for the maintenance of one’s health, but can be utilized for the prevention of disease and its treatment.
It is especially timely to acknowledge this groundbreaking text in light of the recent news that a research team at the University of Iowa composed of oncologists and researchers has now published the results of what could be a game changer in modern Clinical Oncology.
IV Vitamin C Doubles Pancreatic Cancer Patient Survival Time According to New Study
STUDY REVIEW
The results from this randomized, phase 2 clinical trial were that high-dose, Intravenous vitamin C, given along with chemotherapy doubled the overall survival of patients with late-stage metastatic pancreatic cancer from eight to sixteen months. University of Iowa professor of surgery, and radiation oncology Joe Cullen, MD says, “This is a deadly disease with very poor outcomes for patients. The median survival is eight months with treatment, probably less without treatment, and the five-year survival is tiny. When we started the trial, we thought it would be a success if we got to 12 months survival, but we doubled overall survival from 8 to 16 months. The results were so strong in showing the benefit of this therapy for patient survival that we were able to stop the trial early.” He added the statement that ” not only does it increase overall survival, but the patients seem to feel better with the treatment. They have less side effects, and appear to be able to tolerate more treatment, and we’ve seen that in other trials, too.”
THE SAFETY OF HIGH DOSES OF VITAMIN C
Dr Levy begins his review of this topic with the statement, “Along with its numerous and substantial clinical benefits, Vitamin C is one of the safest and least toxic therapies that can be administered to a patient, regardless of diagnosis.
Long Term Safety- Ongoing treatments. Researcher Casciari et al. (2001) studied the treatments given to cancer patients who were administered 50,000 mg (50 grams) of Intravenous Vitamin C daily for up to eight weeks. They found that blood chemistries and other blood parameters which were monitored revealed “no evidence of toxicity or side effects”. Australian researcher Kalikerinos et.al (1982) wrote that in Australia alone some 100 physicians had been administering Intravenous vitamin C to their patients and that “in most cases the results have been spectacular- the only side effect is chronic good health”
Vitamin C can act as an antioxidant as well as a prooxidant. Vitamin C’s antioxidant activity is what is generally regarded as the underlying mechanism which gives it its health benefits. But when you administer high doses of Intravenous Vitamin C , as explained by Dr Cullen in the University of Iowa study referenced above, its proxidant effect is what is needed for it to produce its cancer killing ability in that situation.
After testing vitamin C in the lab, the researchers at the U. of Iowa found that using vitamin C in high doses “worked great” in killing cancer cells.
Dr Cullen says, “we found that at these high doses, ascorbate [vitamin C] actually generates hydrogen peroxide. And the hydrogen peroxide is what kills the cancer cells. Not only did it extend disease progression free time, and extend survival time, but the cancer patients who received vitamin C also tolerated their chemotherapy treatments with less side effects and felt generally better than those who did not receive the Vitamin C.”
Their study is the result of 20 years of research on vitamin C and its healing potential.
Adjunctive oral Vitamin C
In between high dose intravenous Vitamin C treatments patients can maintain higher blood levels of vitamin C by oral administration, preferable via a high quality powder supplementation. An especially good technique to achieve this is called taking Vitamin C to “bowel tolerance”. The idea here is that since vitamin C causes enhancement of bowel acitivity (excellent to prevent and treat constipation), a patient will start with a lower amount of the supplement and then gradually increase it until they notice a loosening of the stool. They stop increasing the dose at this point, avoiding taking an amount that would cause diarrhea, and yet taking an amount that is as large as one can tolerate (bowel tolerance) to achieve a blood level which although nowhere near what is achieved through the IV treatment, is nevertheless a very effective adjunct to the intermittently administered IVs.
The “myth” of kidney stones as a side effect
Based on a biochemical pathway which shows that increased vitamin C intake can increase the urinary excretion of calcium oxalate, which is a component of kidney stones, it has been published in various sources that high vitamin C intake could cause an increased risk of kidney stones. However, despite this caution being repeated in print ad nauseum over the years, it has never been shown that there is indeed a risk of kidney stones as a result of vitamin C intake.
Robert Cathcart, a groundbreaking physician researcher has published numerous papers on the topic of Vitamin C’s health effects both intravenously and orally. Dr Levy in his book states that Dr Cathcarts extensive clinical experience as a physician treating thousands of patients with Vitamin C leads him to “comment on the incidence of a few possible side effects that some authors feel may be associated with Vitamin C therapy.
Dr Cahcart noted in the high doses of Vitamin C he administered oxalate kidney stones did not occur, and patients who had them previously tended not to get them again.”
A Study by Moertel et al. (1985) published in the internationally renowned medical journal The New England Journal of Medicine 312(3): 137-141
High Dose Vitamin C Versus Placebo in the Treatment of Patients with Advanced Cancer … This was a study in which 100 patients with advanced colorectal cancer were given 10,000 mg of Vitamin C orally versus a placebo. Even these quite ill patients did not exhibit any significant side effects or kidney stone formation from vitamin C administration given for up to 15.6 months.
This groundbreaking book also offers these sections:
CURING, REVERSING AND PROTECTING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
The clinical experience of utilizing HIgh Dose vitamin C for a wide variety of infectious disease including viruses, bacteria, and numerous other parasites.This groundbreaking text is particularly the book’s text which is divided into the following sections.sites and pathogens.
THE ULTIMATE ANTIDOTE- SPECIFIC TOXINS AND VITAMIN C TREATMENT
Mercury
Dr Levy says, “early investigators established that Vitamin C was highly clinically protective against the toxicity of mercury”- study Carroll et al. (1965).
DR Levy explains the difference between excretion and removal of mercury, and interfering wiht its negative effects. Vitamin C by itself is not a major chelating substance which can be relied upon to cause significant excretion of excess mercury from the body, but it protects against mercury’s toxicity by turning certain mercury containing compounds in the body into a more benign form. A number of scientific studies have documented this benefit using animals and tracking the biochemistry involved after Vitamin C administration was used after toxic mercury exposure in a laboratory setting. In animal studies
The antioxidant effect of vitamin C also plays a part in its protective effect against mercury. Another potent antioxidant Lipoic acid has alos been shown to protect against the toxic effects of mercury in the study by Grunert (1960)-Archives of Biochemistry 86:190-194.
Lead
Lead poisoning is generally encountered as a buildup of lead in the body after chronic low level exposure. A study was published in 1939 (Holmes et al.) with a population of workers exposed at an industrial plant. Seventeen workers who were diagnosed with chronic lead poisoning were administered relatively low doses of Intravenous Vitamin C and were able to be relieved of symptoms they had been suffering from including tremors, loss of appetite and insomnia in a short period of time. Lead toxicity is also able to be treated by chelation therapy with EDTA to remove lead from the body
As explained on this website https://drsobo.com/chelation-therapy/ chelation therapy is administered as an intravenous injection of the amino acid called EDTA, utilizing an IV bag with other nutrients including B vitamins, Magnesium, and Vitamin C given together and infused at the same time. It is effective in removing toxic metals from the blood stream such as lead and cadmium, and to reduce excess iron or calcium deposits.
The term chelation comes from the Greek “chele” which means claw-The EDTA grasps metals biochemically, as a claw-like binding of the EDTA to the metal. The EDTA-metal complex then travels through the bloodstream, and is excreted in the urine, lowering the body’s level of that metal.
Arsenic
Animal studies from decades ago showed that vitamin C can counter the effects of arsenic poisoning. Human clinical observations were also made by a number of investigators who observed the positive effects on patients with the side effects of arsenic after the administration of Vitamin C. Dainow (1935) Desensitizing Action of Vitamin C Ann DErmat et Syph. 6:830 and Bundesen (1941) The Detoxifying Action of Vitamin C in Arsenical therapy.
Cadmium
Multiple animal studies were done documenting the protective effect of Vitamin C on cadmium toxicity. Kadrabova (1992) et al. showed that Vitamin C was effective in preventing the accumulation of cadmium in the brain, heart and testes. Experientia 48(10):989-991
Aluminum
Exposure to aluminum can come through drinking water, aluminum containers and cookware and antiperspirants. Vitamin C promotes the elimination of aluminum from the body as well as countering its toxic effects. Fulton and Jeffrey 1990. Absorption and retention of Aluminum from drinking water Dhir et al. (1990) Modification of clastogencity of lead and aluminum… and Roy et al. (1992) Modification of metal-induced micronuclei formation.
