Lack of These 4 Crucial Nutrients Is a Common Cause of Cancer

In a world full of toxins, pollution, bad food, and who knows what else, avoiding cancer may seem like more trouble than it’s worth. Every day it seems we’re urged to give up yet another food we love, or we learn of some new substance that causes cancer.

By Lee Euler / May 13, 2018

And, of course, usually it’s something found everywhere, something we’ve been exposed to since infancy.

But don’t give up. There’s one factor you have nearly complete control over. . .

Mounting evidence points to cancer as a disease triggered or at least influenced by vitamin and nutrient deficiencies. Critical nutrients are ‘experts’ at healing your body, protecting your DNA, detoxifying pollutants, and fighting off invaders.

While we should get these nutrients from our diet, all too often we don’t. And if you don’t make up for the shortfall through supplements and/or better food choices, you leave the door wide open for cancer.

Research indicates that the following four vitamins and minerals in particular could be closely tied to cancer risk…

Is this deficiency an incubator for breast cancer?

Vitamin D isn’t just good for your health. It could be essential to your survival. A study published in Endocrinology showed a strong link between breast cancer and vitamin D deficiency.

Brian J. Feldman, M.D., Ph.D. noted, “A number of large studies have looked for an association between vitamin D levels and cancer outcomes, and the findings have been mixed . . . Our study identifies how low levels of vitamin D circulating in the blood may play a mechanistic role in promoting breast cancer growth and metastasis.”¹

In one study, mice were injected with tumor cells, then fed either a standard diet or a diet low in vitamin D… Those with lower vitamin D intake grew larger tumors, and grew them more quickly, than did the others.

The team concluded, “Our results indicate that loss of vitamin D signaling is sufficient to convert the cells from non-metastatic to metastatic.”²

Another small clinical trial of women with early-stage breast cancer showed greater levels of vitamin D in the bloodstream lowered tumor expression. But the trial was stopped early, so final data was not collected.³

Dr. Michael Holick is an endocrinologist who studied vitamin D for more than two decades. In fact, he is the guy responsible for identifying the importance of vitamin D and telling the public about it. He overcame fierce opposition from conventional scientists and doctors.

Now his findings pretty much are conventional science.

Dr. Holick believes that the evidence for vitamin D’s protective effects against cancer (and all other disease) is rock-solid. I strongly recommend his book, The Vitamin D Solution: A 3-Step Strategy to Cure Our Most Common Health Problems.

It’s worth noting that getting sufficient vitamin D requires you to be outside with exposed skin during midday. You can do this without damaging your skin. A small exposure is all that’s required.

You won’t get what you need from drinking “fortified” milk… which is generally not a good idea anyway because of dairy’s other problems.

If you work indoors or live far from the equator, getting enough sun can be a problem, so a supplement may have to suffice, especially during the winter. Make sure it’s vitamin D3 (not D2).

Don’t gyp your DNA of this forgotten nutrient…

Vitamin B12 promotes and protects your nerves, DNA, red blood cells, and more. It plays a key role in DNA synthesis, working together with folate (note: not synthetic folic acid) to help keep your DNA from mutating. Yet it could be one of the most forgotten nutrients.

According to an article published in the Harvard Health Blog, B12 deficiency can lead to many serious symptoms, including but not limited to:

• Numbness
• Loss of breath
• Jaundice
• Joint pain
• Severe depression
• Paranoia
• Delusions
• Memory loss
• Incontinence
• Loss of taste and smell⁴

It’s also linked to cancer risk…

According to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, “Increased intake of B12, folate and B6 may lower the risks for breast and cervical cancers.”

But some research suggests that in male smokers, taking B12 over a long period of time may increase the risk of lung cancer.⁵

A typical adult should get 2.4 micrograms of B12 per day, but many either don’t consume that much through their diet or can’t absorb what they get.⁶

Plants don’t contain B12, so you have to get your daily dose from meat, poultry, dairy, eggs, and other animal foods. If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, you’re at much higher risk of deficiency and should definitely take a supplement.

You’re also more likely to be deficient if you’re over 50, have a serious health condition, or take drugs (Metformin, for example) that interfere with your ability to absorb B12.⁷

This single mineral lowers risk of many cancers

Magnesium is a mineral vital to many aspects of your health. Your brain, heart, muscles, and bones all depend on it. Recent studies also show a link between higher magnesium intake and lower risk of certain cancers.

The Swedish Mammography Cohort conducted a study of 61,433 women. They found that the one-fifth of these women who ingested the most magnesium had a much lower risk of colorectal cancer (CRC).⁸

A large study of 66,806 people found that those who consume less than the recommended amount of magnesium had higher rates of pancreatic cancer – especially those who consumed below 75 percent of the recommended amount.

A mere 100 mg per day decrease in magnesium intake corresponded to a 24 percent increase in cancer risk.⁹

Daniel Dibaba, the Ph.D. student who led the study, stated, “For those at a higher risk of pancreatic cancer, adding a magnesium supplement to their diet may prove beneficial in preventing this disease. While more study is needed, people should strive to get the daily recommendations of magnesium through diet, such as dark, leafy greens or nuts, to prevent any risk of pancreatic cancer.”¹⁰

Popular against the common cold, could it help prevent cancer too?

There’s no doubt other nutrients play a role in cancer development too, even if the research is somewhat sketchy. We know, for example, that some cancers are caused by pathogens. So wouldn’t it make sense that vitamin C and possibly other anti-viral nutrients would help protect your body from these pathogens?

There is, in fact, some evidence that vitamin C may protect against certain cancers. Research is ongoing in some of them. Here’s what we know so far…

Research suggests that vitamin C may be useful in eradicating H. pyloriand thus reduce risk of ulcers and stomach cancer.¹¹

Vitamin C also seems to protect against breast cancer, especially for premenopausal women with a family history of breast cancer. Those who consumed an average of 205 mg/day lowered their risk 63 percent versus those who got just 70 mg/day.¹²

And eight-ounce serving of orange juice from a carton has only 65 milligrams. Freshly squeezed orange juice has more – 96. After a carton is opened the amount of vitamin C begins to decline.

The no-brainer way to find your weak points and fix them

Most of these vitamin and mineral levels can be assessed. Ask your doctor to order a blood analysis. Find out where you’re low, adjust your diet and lifestyle, and take supplements as needed.

A “rainbow” diet of organic, pesticide-free whole foods and organic grass-fed meats is a terrific defense against all disease.

Real food gives you vitamins and minerals in balance and in their natural forms – including not-yet-discovered compounds. So you can’t go wrong with getting your nutrients from food.

But because the soil your food grows in may be nutrient-poor, and because we all have dietary indiscretions from time to time and possibly even cumulative deficiencies, supplementing with vitamins and minerals is a key part of a smart prevention strategy. Plus, it’ll give you more energy and vitality to boot.

It’s very unlikely you’ll ever overdose on vitamin C. At something like 10,000 milligrams a day – a huge dose – you may get diarrhea. It won’t kill you. Merely cut back and you’ll be fine. I take two or three thousand milligrams a day.

Similarly, you’re super-unlikely to take in too much vitamin D; nearly everyone can safely take 5,000 i.u. per day. But longtime readers of this newsletter know I recommend getting a blood test to determine how much vitamin D you need. Some people may need as much as 20,000 i.u. for a time, until their blood levels are adequate.

Magnesium likewise is quite safe. Just check the directions on the bottle.

For B12, you need a blood test to be sure, but a thousand units a day is safe for all but a tiny number of people.

https://www.cancerdefeated.com/lack-of-these-4-crucial-nutrients-is-a-common-cause-of-cancer/6889/

Vitamin C Doubles Effectiveness of Chemotherapy and Radiation

Each day, more than 1,600 people prematurely die from cancer in the United States. Worldwide, an estimated 20,000 succumb to cancer on a daily basis. For a time, the war on cancer initially waged by Richard Nixon in the '60s, and the promise of targeted cancer drugs, gave hope.

April 17, 2017

Story at-a-glance-

• Vitamin C is selectively toxic to cancer cells, especially when administered intravenously (IV) or in liposomal form in high doses. Administering it with chemo and radiation also significantly improves the effectiveness of these treatments
• Vitamin C in combination with nutritional ketosis and fasting prior to administering chemo radically improves the effectiveness of chemotherapy
• For general health, an important but often overlooked aspect of nutritional ketosis is “feast and famine cycling.” The real magic happens during the refeeding phase, so one or two days a week, increase your carb and protein intake, and then cycle back into nutritional ketosis again

Succulent Vanilla Chia Custard

Can This Banned Condiment Boost Brain Function?

By Dr. Mercola

Each day, more than 1,600 people prematurely die from cancer in the United States. Worldwide, an estimated 20,000 succumb to cancer on a daily basis. For a time, the war on cancer initially waged by Richard Nixon in the '60s, and the promise of targeted cancer drugs, gave hope.

Alas, they've all failed to live up to expectations, and have done nothing to improve cancer death rates. Globally, $91 billion was spent on cancer treatments in 2013. In 2014, no cancer drug was approved costing less than $100,000 for a course of treatment.

Yet, despite their exorbitant price tags, they offer little in terms of survival. Tarceva, for example, increases the median survival for pancreatic cancer patients by a mere 10 days. Meanwhile, there are inexpensive, non-patentable therapies available that could be truly game changing.

One such therapy is high-dose vitamin C. Another is nutritional ketosis — and oncologists in Turkey have presented evidence showing the combination of these two strategies have the ability to "turbo charge" conventional chemo protocols, making them incredibly effective, and far safer to boot.

Vitamin C Improves Effectiveness of Chemo and Radiation

Research has shown vitamin C is selectively cytotoxic to cancer cells when administered intravenously (IV) or in liposomal form in high doses. The mechanism behind vitamin C's ability to selectively target cancer cells has to do with the generation of hydrogen peroxide, which is ultimately what kills the cancer cells.1

Normal tissues remain unharmed by the high levels of hydrogen peroxide generated because healthy cells have several ways to remove it, thereby preventing buildup to toxic levels.2

One of the primary pathways of removal is the enzyme catalase, and cells with reduced catalase activity — such as cancer cells — are more prone to die from excess reactive oxygen species and secondary free radicals when exposed to high amounts of vitamin C.3,4,5

Recent research6 also shows high-dose vitamin C administration in combination with chemotherapy and radiation significantly improves the effectiveness of these treatments.

Cancer cells have unstable iron particles (also known as redox active iron molecules), which makes them more vulnerable to oxidative damage caused by high-dose vitamin C.

When redox active iron reacts with vitamin C, hydrogen peroxide and associated free radicals are generated, which damage the cancer cells' DNA and weaken them, thereby making them more vulnerable to the effects of chemo and radiation. As noted by one of the study's co-authors, Garry Buettner, Ph.D.:7

"This paper reveals a metabolic frailty in cancer cells that is based on their own production of oxidizing agents that allows us to utilize existing redox active compounds, like vitamin C, to sensitize cancer cells to radiation [therapy] and chemotherapy."

Vitamin C Doubles Survival Rate of Brain Cancer Patients Treated With Radiation

To evaluate the safety of vitamin C, 11 patients with glioblastoma (a highly malignant and aggressive type of brain cancer) received high-dose vitamin C IV treatments three times a week for two months while undergoing radiation therapy, followed by two weekly infusions for another seven months. As reported by Time Magazine:8

"[S]o far, half of the people in the study were alive nearly two years later. The average survival for the disease is generally around a year.

In a separate study designed to get an early sense of the vitamin's effectiveness, the researchers also tested the high-dose vitamin C in a group of 14 people with non-small cell lung cancer.

So far, 93 percent of the people receiving the vitamin C infusions are responding to chemotherapy and radiation, compared to 40 percent who usually do.

In an encouraging finding, more than 30 percent of the people getting the vitamin C also showed signs of their tumors shrinking. Usually, only 15 percent to 19 percent of people receiving chemo and radiation see their tumors get smaller."

In the second phase of the trial, the researchers will investigate vitamin C's effects on patients with stage 4 lung cancer and other aggressive cancers.

Other Ways Vitamin C Benefits Cancer Patients

Aside from the mechanisms already mentioned, vitamin C also benefits cancer by lowering inflammation.9,10,11

As a general rule, chronic inflammation is a hallmark of cancer, and research shows IV vitamin C treatment lowers pro-inflammatory cytokines and C-reactive protein, and that these improvements correlate with a reduction in tumor size.

It also lowers the risk of metastasis. A study done by scientists at the Riordan Clinic (the successor to Linus Pauling and his work on vitamin C) noted a positive response in 75 percent of patients.

Other research12,13 done by scientists at the Lewis Cantley of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York found high doses of vitamin C help kill and eliminate colorectal cancer cells with certain genetic mutations. Other studies14 have shown high-dose vitamin C can help slow the growth of prostate, pancreatic, liver and colon cancer cells.

Human studies also show IV vitamin C can help improve symptoms associated with cancer and cancer treatment, such as fatigue, nausea, vomiting, pain, loss of appetite and overall quality of life.

While the above studies and most protocols use IV vitamin C, there is compelling research and anecdotal clinical evidence to support the use of liposomal vitamin C. It may be nearly as effective, or even more effective, than IV vitamin C.

It certainly is far easier and less expensive to administer. I personally think liposomal C should be in everyone's medicine cabinet and travel kit, as high doses (such as 2 to 5 grams every hour) can obliterate most infections.

Vitamin C and Nutritional Ketosis Is a Winning Combination

Download Interview Transcript

While the featured research is certainly on the right track, an oncology center in Turkey has taken it a step further, showing that vitamin C in combination with nutritional ketosis improves the effectiveness of chemotherapy to such a degree that a minimal dose can be used to treat even the most aggressive and advanced cancers.

I recently interviewed Dr. Abdul Kadir Slocum from the ChemoThermia Oncology Center in Turkey about this research. If you missed it, you'd be well advised to watch it now, because this metabolically supported therapy is truly groundbreaking, offering hope where previously there was none.

In summary, metabolically supported chemotherapy involves applying chemotherapy with a variety of interventions to support its effectiveness. This includes the use of high-dose vitamin C, a ketogenic diet, hyperthermia, glycolytic inhibitors and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, just to name a few.

All oncology patients at the center are put on a ketogenic diet, which creates metabolic stress on the cancer cells.

Then, prior to administering the chemo, the patient will do a minimum 14-hour fast (Slocum recommends fasting as long as possible, but a minimum of 14 hours is required), which further increases the metabolic stress on the cancer cells.

At this point, the patients will typically have a blood glucose level around 80 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). They then apply glycolytic  inhibitors to inhibit the glycolysis pathway in the cancer cells, which creates a terrific amount of metabolic stress, as the cancer cells are already starved of glucose.

Insulin is then applied to lower the blood glucose levels to around 50 or 60 mg/dL, inducing mild hypoglycemia. At that point, when the cancer cells are maximally stressed and weakened, the chemotherapy drug is applied. An added boon of this metabolic approach is that a far lower dose of chemotherapy can be effectively used, thereby lowering the risk of side effects.

In the days following chemotherapy, hyperthermia and hyperbaric oxygen therapy is applied, plus a daily infusion of glycolytic inhibitor therapies with high-dose vitamin C (50 grams) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO).

Metabolically Supported Chemotherapy Successfully Treats Aggressive Cancers

Two years ago, Slocum's oncology team published its first paper,15 reporting complete response for stage 3 rectal cancer. The standard of care for rectal cancer and the only curative option has been surgery or chemo-radiotherapy followed by surgery. In this case, they used metabolically supported chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hyperthermia. No surgery was necessary.

Their second paper,16 published in January 2016, was a case series of 33 patients with stage 3 and 4 pancreatic cancer — one of the most aggressive and deadly cancers known. Eighty-one percent of these patients had stage 4 disease when the treatment began, and many of them also had large scale liver metastasis. The typical life expectancy of someone with stage 4 pancreatic cancer is six to 10 months. Most die within weeks or months once they have large-scale liver metastasis.

The center treated them with a standard conventional protocol using chemotherapy applied in a metabolically supported fashion (which included the ketogenic diet, fasting prior to chemo administration, high-dose vitamin C, plus hyperthermia, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, supplements and glycolysis inhibitors).

The expected median survival time for the conventional chemotherapy protocol alone is between six and 11 months, depending on the drug used. But when given in combination with these other metabolic supports, the median survival time shot up to 20 months, and over 50 percent of the patients are still alive today!

Nutritional Ketosis Appears to Be a Key Component of Successful Cancer Treatment

Maintaining nutritional ketosis and fasting for a minimum of 14 hours before the chemotherapy treatment appears to be key for the overwhelming success rate achieved by ChemoThermia Oncology Center. A number of other researchers have verified the remarkable ability of a ketogenic diet to prevent and suppress cancer, and when you combine that with fasting and high-dose vitamin C, you end up creating a very hostile environment for cancer cells.

My new book, "Fat for Fuel" — which has been peer-reviewed by over two dozen  medical and scientific experts — details how to implement nutritional ketosis for optimal health and disease prevention. Besides the information presented in "Fat for Fuel," you'll also find many collaborative supports, including a nine-hour-long free video series that we hope to launch in early May.

Credentialed nutrition professional Miriam Kalamian is also developing a certification course to go along with it through the American College of Nutrition.

This certification will teach any qualified clinician — primarily certified clinical nutritionists but also physicians — how to practically implement nutritional ketosis. Eventually, I expect there will be a virtual army of clinicians available to assist patients with this kind of protocol. Hopefully, at that point we'll finally start making a dent in cancer statistics.

An important but often overlooked aspect of nutritional ketosis is "feast and famine cycling." Meaning, you don't actually want to stay in ketosis indefinitely. The real magic actually happens during the refeeding phase, so one or two days a week, you'll want to increase your carb and protein intake, and then cycle back into nutritional ketosis again.

ChemoThermia Oncology Center uses this kind of cycling as well, although under far stricter conditions. When you're dealing with late-stage cancer, you cannot break your ketosis that frequently. However, on the days patients receive chemotherapy, which is once every two or three weeks, they're allowed to eat as many carbohydrates as they want.

To Learn More, Join Me at My Upcoming Live Lecture

There are many professionals or others who would like to dive deep into the details and if you fall in that category, I want to offer you some opportunities to learn more. On June 14 and 15, 2017, I will be in Colorado Springs for the SopMed's third medical ozone and ultraviolet light therapy training. The 14th I will be giving a three-hour course that goes into many of the details that are not discussed in my new book "Fat for Fuel," either because I learned of them later or there was not room to fit them in the book.

I am also speaking in Florida in November. If you are a physician and are interested in learning about how you can use the ketogenic diet and other therapies for cancer, heart disease, Lyme and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, please be sure and come to our ACIM conference in Orlando, Florida, on November 2 through 4 at the wonderful Florida Conference and Hotel Center.

If you are a patient, there will be a separate and less expensive track on the same date and location. However, you will need to come back to this page in a few days as the registration page for the event is still not up.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/04/17/vitamin-c-improves-effectiveness-chemo-radiation.aspx

Vitamin C May Be a Potent Adjunct to Cancer Treatment

Vitamin C is one of the most well-established traditional antioxidants known and its potent health benefits have been clearly demonstrated over time — especially for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases.


March 06, 2017


Story at-a-glance -

• Research shows vitamin C is selectively cytotoxic to cancer cells when administered intravenously in high doses, and has a number of heart and cardiovascular benefits
• When given intravenously at high doses, vitamin C produces a pro-oxidant effect, thereby generating hydrogen peroxide, which is ultimately what kills the cancer cells
• Normal tissues are not harmed by the high levels of hydrogen peroxide generated because healthy cells have several ways of effectively removing it, thereby preventing buildup to toxic levels. Cancer cells lack this ability

---

By Dr. Mercola

Vitamin C is one of the most well-established traditional antioxidants known and its potent health benefits have been clearly demonstrated over time — especially for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases.

Research has also shown that vitamin C is selectively cytotoxic to cancer cells when administered intravenously (IV) in high doses, and has a number of heart- and cardiovascular benefits.

From my perspective, vitamin C is a very useful supplement that should be part of most cancer treatment protocols. Vitamin D is another crucial anti-cancer component I’ve written about on numerous occasions.

How Vitamin C Kills Cancer Cells

In order for vitamin C to effectively kill cancer cells, you need to have a very high concentration of vitamin C in your blood, and the only way to obtain these extreme levels is through IV administration, although using oral liposomal vitamin C can approach effectiveness at a fraction of the price, improved convenience and cost.

By bypassing the digestive tract, IV administration results in blood levels up to 500 times higher than what you can achieve through the oral route.

The mechanism behind vitamin C’s ability to selectively target cancer cells has to do with the generation of hydrogen peroxide, which is ultimately what kills the cancer cells. As reported by the University of Iowa:1


“In a new study2,3 … Buettner and his colleagues have homed in on the biological details of how high-dose vitamin C kills cancer cells. The study shows that vitamin C breaks down easily, generating hydrogen peroxide, a so-called reactive oxygen species that can damage tissue and DNA.


The study also shows that tumor cells are much less capable of removing the damaging hydrogen peroxide than normal cells …


‘Thus, cancer cells are much more prone to damage and death from a high amount of hydrogen peroxide,’ says Buettner, a professor of radiation oncology and a member of Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa.


‘This explains how the very, very high levels of vitamin C used in our clinical trials do not affect normal tissue, but can be damaging to tumor tissue.’”

The reason normal tissues are not harmed by the high levels of hydrogen peroxide generated is that healthy cells have several ways of effectively removing it, thereby preventing buildup to toxic levels.

One of the primary pathways of removal is the enzyme catalase, and the study found that cells with reduced catalase activity were indeed more prone to die when exposed to high amounts of vitamin C.

This provides a hint at which cancers are likely the best candidates for high-dose vitamin C therapy — tumors with low catalase levels are likely to be the most responsive, whereas tumors with high catalase levels would be the least responsive. Next, the research team wants to develop methods to measure catalase in tumors.

Vitamin C Lowers Inflammation in Cancer Patients, and More

Another way vitamin C benefits cancer is by lowering inflammation in your body, as shown in a 2012 study.4,5,6

As a general rule, chronic inflammation is a hallmark of cancer, and here they found that IV vitamin C treatment helps lower pro-inflammatory cytokines and C-reactive protein — two inflammatory markers — and that these improvements correlate with a reduction in tumor size.

It also helps lower the risk of metastasis. A positive response was noted in 75 percent of patients. This study was done by scientist at the Riordan Clinic, which is the successor to Linus Pauling and his work on vitamin C. There is likely no clinic in the world with as much experience with vitamin C as the Riordan Clinic.

Riordan carried out a 15-year-long research project called RECNAC (cancer spelled backwards), which showed vitamin C was selectively cytotoxic against cancer cells.

Other research7,8 done by scientists at the Lewis Cantley of Weill Cornel Medicine in New York found high doses of vitamin C helps kill and eliminate colorectal cancer cells with certain genetic mutations. Other studies9 have shown high-dose vitamin C can help slow the growth of prostate-, pancreatic-, liver- and colon cancer cells.

Human studies also show IV vitamin C can help improve symptoms associated with cancer and cancer treatment, such as fatigue, nausea, vomiting, pain and loss of appetite, and improve overall quality of life.

Vitamin C for Infectious Diseases

Vitamin C may be best known for its ability to combat infectious disease. Dr. Thomas Levy’s book, “Curing the Incurable,” details these benefits.

A perfect real-world example is the dramatic case of Allan Smith, who contracted a serious case of swine flu and was brought back from the brink of death using a combination of IV and oral vitamin C.

The case report was sent to me by Levy, who noted that, to his knowledge, vitamin C “has never failed to cure an acute viral syndrome.” According to Albert Szent-Gyorgyi (who won the Nobel Prize in 1937 for his discovery of vitamin C), “health” occurs when there is an ample flow and interchange of electrons in your cells.

Impaired or poor electron flow and interchange equals “disease,” and when the flow and interchange ceases entirely, your cells die. Oxidation, caused by free radicals in your body, involves the loss of electrons.

Antioxidants, both from your diet and endogenously produced, counter the disease process caused by oxidation (loss of electrons) by supplying electrons. Vitamin C is a major antioxidant, and according to Levy, perhaps the most important electron donor to maintain optimal electron flow in your cells.

In 2005, the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service (a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource), published findings that vitamin C is an effective treatment against the dreaded bird flu and other viruses.10

As with cancer, extremely high doses are needed though — upwards of 200,000 to 300,000 milligrams (mg) of vitamin C, given intravenously. The reason for this is because the avian flu appears to “consume vitamin C very rapidly, similar to an acute viral hemorrhagic fever, somewhat like an Ebola infection.”

A number of other studies and clinical experiences also attest to vitamin C as a potent treatment strategy against all sorts of infectious diseases, including influenza,11 encephalitis and measles.12

 Vitamin C for Sepsis

Vitamin C in combination with thiamine (B1) and hydrocortisone has also been shown to be dramatically helpful in the treatment of severe sepsis and septic shock. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition triggered by a systemic infection, caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites that ultimately affects the function of vital organs. Hospital-acquired infections that progress to sepsis is a significant cause of death.

As many as half of all in-hospital deaths are related to sepsis,13 and recent research published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal proposes sepsis should be recognized as a distinct cause of death in hospitals around the world.14 The cost of treating sepsis is high, topping $24 billion in 2014, with nearly 25 percent of all hospital charges attributed to the treatment of sepsis. As reported by Dr. Malcolm Kendrick, the study in question:15


“… demonstrates that if you give vitamin C (along with hydrocortisone and thiamine) for just over two days in patients admitted with sepsis (blood poisoning) the mortality rate falls from 40 percent to 8.5 percent. The mortality rate in low income countries is normally around 60 percent. Now, this was a small study, but it seems robust. It represents an almost five-fold reduction in mortality … ”

Vitamin C Is Also Good for Your Heart, Blood Vessels, Lungs and Eyes

Other studies focused on vitamin C shows it helps:

Decrease risk of post-operative atrial fibrillation after heart surgery, thereby reducing the risk of stroke and heart failure. It also reduced the length of hospitalization after heart surgery. Oral administration reduced the length of hospital stay by 7 percent (less than half a day), whereas IV shortened it by 16 percent (1.5 days)16,17

Reduce high blood pressure — likely by protecting your body's supply of nitric oxide (NO), a molecule that relaxes blood vessels. In one study,18 both the systolic and diastolic (top and bottom) readings were inversely associated with ascorbic acid levels. Specifically, women with the highest levels of ascorbic acid had about 4.6 mm Hg lower systolic and just over 6 mm Hg lower diastolic blood pressure compared to those with the lowest ascorbic acid levels

Reduce your risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), especially among smokers. In one study, heavy smokers with the highest vitamin C intake had a 77 percent lower risk of COPD than those with the lowest intake.19 The mechanism for this effect is thought to be related to vitamin C’s ability to improve levels of vascular endothelial growth factor, and boost proliferation of alveolar cells in your lungs

Prevent heart attacks, primarily by reducing inflammation20

Protect your vision by improving the function of your retinal cells, and reduce your risk for cataracts by fighting oxidative stress

Important Contraindication for IV Vitamin C TreatmentWhile the evidence strongly supports the use of IV vitamin C in high doses for infections, inflammation and even cancer, it’s important to get your glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) checked beforehand. G6PD is an enzyme your red blood cells need to maintain membrane integrity. High-dose IV vitamin C is actually a strong PRO-oxidant, and giving a pro-oxidant to a G6PD-deficient individual can cause hemolysis (rupturing) of their red blood cells.

So, administering IV vitamin C is not for the novice! I strongly recommend getting it done by an experienced practitioner who uses the Riordan protocol or some other protocol that ensures its done in a safe manner. Fortunately, G6PC deficiency is relatively uncommon.

People of Mediterranean- and African decent are at greater risk, but it’s rare even in those groups. Still, while it’s not a great concern that will prevent its use in most people, should you happen to be that rare person with a G6PC deficiency, the ramifications of barreling ahead with high dose IV vitamin C could be disastrous.

General Vitamin C Dosage Suggestions

Dr. Ronald Hunninghake — chief medical officer at the Riordan Clinic who has supervised 60,000 IV administrations of vitamin C — discusses the use of vitamin C for health and cancer protocols in the featured video. For cancer, research by the Riordan Clinic suggests you need a vitamin C blood level of around 300 to 400 mg/dl to achieve selective cytotoxicity against cancer cells.

To reach that post-IV saturation level, you’d need to administer somewhere between 25 to 50 grams of vitamin C intravenously. That’s up to 300 times the normal amount of vitamin C you’d get from eating a healthy diet. It’s important to understand that these extremely high levels are really only indicated for the treatment of cancers and infectious diseases, not for everyday, general health.

This is because vitamin C starts to have a pro-oxidant effect at these extreme levels — this is in fact what causes the hydrogen peroxide to be created in the first place. In other words, the hydrogen peroxide is a pro-oxidant effect of the vitamin C, so it needs to be used judiciously. You can learn more about using vitamin C as an adjunct to your cancer protocol on the Riordan Clinic’s website.21

For everyday health, I believe your best bet is to eat a varied whole food diet, rich in vitamin C and other antioxidants, to avoid causing a nutritional imbalance.

For example, taking large doses of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) on a regular basis lowers your copper level, so if you are already deficient in copper and take high doses of vitamin C, you can compromise your immune system. So, while temporarily taking mega-doses of vitamin C supplements to combat a case of the cold or flu is unlikely to cause a problem, for long-term, daily use, you’re probably going to be better off simply squeezing some lemon juice into a glass of water and/or eating a vitamin C-rich diet.

Also remember that vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, so when you do take a supplement, it’s best to divide your daily dose and take it three times a day. Also, if you’re sensitive to vitamin C, you may experience diarrhea. This is an indication that you need to lower your dosage.

Lastly, evidence suggests liposomal vitamin C provides better absorption, so it’s my personal favorite. I always bring some liposomal vitamin C with me when I travel in case I or someone I travel with gets sick, and then I use two to four capsules every hour until better.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/03/06/vitamin-c-cancer-treatment.aspx

Deadly cancers may be easily avoided by eating right

Excluding genetic and behavioural factors, such as smoking and alcohol consumption, what can be done to help prevent cancer? Ahead of World Cancer Day, February 4, here’s some the latest understanding of .....

February 2, 2017 Health, Nutrition, Wellness

By AGENCY

There may be a really close link between diet and cancer, says new research.

Excluding genetic and behavioural factors, such as smoking and alcohol consumption, what can be done to help prevent cancer? Ahead of World Cancer Day, February 4, here’s some the latest understanding of nutritional and environmental factors outlined by Marie-Christine Boutron-Ruault, a research director for the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) at the Gustave-Roussy cancer research institute on the outskirts of Paris, and vice president of the “Human Nutrition” expert committee at the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (Anses).

What links can currently be established between cancer and diet?

We have known for a long time that lifestyle and, in particular, diet can influence cancer risk. 

When Japanese people emigrate to Hawaii and start eating processed products, their cancer risk increases by a third. 

We can affirm that raw, unrefined products like fibre and whole-grain cereals reduce cancer risk by 30 to 35%, especially cancers affecting the digestive system, such as colon cancer, pancreatic cancer and stomach cancer. 

Fat and, in particular, being overweight, are a risk factor for almost all forms of cancer (especially liver and pancreatic cancer), as this has an effect on hormones. For example, after menopause, women who gain weight have a heightened cancer risk.

Fibre can reduce cancer risks by up to 35%, says expert. Photo: AFP/Istock

What foods have a direct impact on cancer risk?

Today, we know that deli meats (charcuterie) and red meat increase the risk of cancer of the intestine and the stomach, as indicated in the latest WHO reports. These should remain treat foods to be eaten in quantities of around 25g per day. We also know that combining antioxidants like fruit and vegetables decreases the aggravating effect.

What is currently known about how the environment impacts cancer?

For the moment, we don’t have any real estimation, apart from people directly exposed to pesticides or toxic substances, such as farmers. However, we can affirm that these products represent a risk factor, which is difficult to measure. Be careful not to throw out the baby with the bathwater, however, by no longer eating fruit and vegetables on the assumption that they could potentially be harmful. The risk can be reduced by choosing good-quality seasonal produce. Studies are underway in France and elsewhere to evaluate these risks.

Can dietary supplements help prevent cancer?

It’s better to get vitamins from food rather than dietary supplements, which can have a counter-productive or even harmful effect in terms of cancer. 

We have shown that there was around 50 to 60% greater risk of breast cancer in women who took 500mg of vitamin C every day, on top of a diet that already contained a sufficient amount. 

The same can be said of vitamin D. We tend to consider deficiency as a level reaching 20ng in the blood. Between 20 and 30ng, the level must be considered normal. There is no reason to supplement intake. 

For people who are overweight, obese or have a BMI lower than 25, I recommend daily drops. At the present time, cancers affecting the digestive system have been linked to vitamin D deficiency. – AFP Relaxnews

http://www.star2.com/health/wellness/2017/02/02/deadly-cancers-may-be-easily-be-avoided-by-eating-right/