By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

November 4, 2020

Are you sick of COVID news yet?

It certainly is an important topic to cover.  But sometimes I crave some more lighthearted stories to brighten my day.

For instance, one of the women I work with just got a brand new puppy. It’s a black doodle of some kind… pretty cute, I have to say.

She’s been going on and on about the puppy’s cute antics as it learns how to play and behave. Apparently, this pup has stolen my friend’s heart hook, line and sinker.

It got me to thinking… in terms of COVID, there’s one major advantage her pup has over you and me. And it has to do with vitamin C and immunity.

Her dog’s body has a remarkable ability. When it’s feeling sick, the pooch can go lie in a corner somewhere while its body converts blood glucose into vitamin C.[1] Just like that, it will have an important nutrient to combat illness.

Humans – on the other hand – are entirely reliant on outside sources of vitamin C. Our bodies can’t perform this little miracle.

And that’s a big deal when you think about the hugely important role vitamin C can play in helping us fend off viral infections.

Lately, more and more headlines are picking up on the fact that very large “megadoses” of vitamin C can be an effective treatment for COVID-19.

The only problem here is accessibility… not everyone is given the privilege of receiving this life-saving treatment. And, since we can’t make our own vitamin C like dogs, the result is more bad news on the TV.

Does Vitamin C Really Make a Difference Against COVID?

To understand how vitamin C can help fight viral infections like COVID-19, let’s look at the basics.

First off, humans need vitamin C because it’s an antioxidant.  It helps your body fight off viral infections and works by donating electrons to enzymes in your body that need it to function.[2]

Even basic over-the-counter vitamin C can help you stay healthier.  For instance, we know that people who take vitamin C can shorten the severity of their colds.[3]

Throughout history, vitamin C was known to protect against illness.  The Royal British Navy in 1867 used to load barrels of limes onto their ships so their sailors wouldn’t come down with scurvy – a disease due to vitamin C deficiency.[4] When enough sugar was added to cut the bitter taste it was palatable enough to add to their daily ration of rum…hence the word “limeys” to describe British sailors of that time.

(Think “tooth loss, hemorrhaging and death” and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what scurvy can do.)

Next, we know that vitamin C is critical in making collagen. Without it, your skin will be thinner and your joints weaker.

Vitamin C also plays an important role in your body’s energy production.  It helps product L-carnitine – a substance that moves fat into your body’s mitochondria to produce energy.

Without this, you’d feel tired all the time and your body would have more trouble burning fat for weight loss.

Now, in terms of COVID, vitamin C chewables from the drugstore aren’t going to cut it.  Instead, you’d need that megadose I mentioned earlier.  This usually comes in the form of an IV drip.

Doctors have even used these high doses of vitamin C to reverse sepsis in COVID patients even after antibiotics have failed.

Many people in the medical community recognize that the early use of large dose antioxidants like vitamin C can help COVID-19 patients. Since there are no major side effects to trying this treatment, there’s absolutely NO reason why this shouldn’t be included in treatment for all COVID-19 patients.[5]

Well, no logical reason anyway.  There is a reason why it’s not given to more people… but first, let’s talk about the success stories.

In China, one study talked about how megadoses of vitamin C successfully cured 50 moderate to severe cases of COVID-19.  Each patient was given between 10g and 20g per day over the course of 8 to 10 hours.[6]

Then, we have decades of records showing how megadoses of vitamin C have been successfully used in clinics without any major side effects.[7]

And finally, we have thousands and thousands of cases of anecdotal evidence.  These are individual patients who were dying and given intravenous high doses of vitamin C to help with their illness.  Usually, they recovered and were healthy after just 24 hours.

So, why isn’t this standard practice in all hospitals across our country? Sadly, it comes down to money…

The only reason we don’t hear more about this treatment in the news is because of the way our medical system works.  In order for a treatment to be used over a wide swath of the population, it needs to be FDA approved.

Getting this approval requires hundreds millions of dollars in research trials and testing to make sure it passes all safety regulations.  Any company that goes to the trouble of testing is hoping they can patent the treatment at the end of the process.  This way, they can make up their money and start earning a profit.

But with vitamin C, a patent is impossible.

So no companies go to the trouble of expensive testing.  High doses of vitamin C never become FDA approved and thousands of patients go without the treatment.

It has nothing to do with safety or efficacy.  It’s all about the money.  How sad.

What’s the result for you?  It means these types of treatments are much harder to get.  Often, you have to know the right person on the inside who can pull the right strings.

This might be a physician you know personally or an upper level administrator who can help get you access to the treatment.

A Little Loophole When it Comes to Megadoses of Vitamin C

Just because megadoses of vitamin C aren’t given regularly in hospitals doesn’t mean you’re completely out of options.  There is a way for you to gain access to a vitamin C megadose.

First off, they have vitamin C in pharmacies for intravenous use, but they’re not the mega-doses needed to actually blow apart viruses or bacteria.

My best recommendation is to get in touch with your functional medicine doctor. When viruses are going around, my patients and I will go in for a vitamin C drip given by one of these docs.  It’s just amazing from one day to the next.

I have had this work for patients with the flu. Yes, they receive other treatments, but vitamin C was the cornerstone.  People just feel better with it.

High doses of vitamin C don’t hurt you.  In my almost 40 years of practicing medicine and hundreds of IV vitamin C nutritional drips that we’ve given, there’s never been one adverse effect.  Not one… ever!

A vitamin C nutritional drip will come in several different forms.  You should look for one called the Myers IV cocktail.  I usually ask for a “modified” Myers.  This one will contain between 10-25 g (10,000-25,000 mg) of vitamin C with B complex vitamins, calcium and magnesium.

I have just one caveat before you try this.  You must take a quick blood test called the G6PD (glucose-6 phosphate dehydrogenase).  This is a test to see whether you have the genes that make it safe to have megadoses of the vitamin C .

Also, be sure to go to a reputable place for your treatment.  You should see a real doctor who knows to do this G6PD testing.  Otherwise, find a different facility.

Sources:

[1] Guy Drouin, Jean-Rémi Godin, and Benoît Pagé. “The Genetics of Vitamin C Loss in Vertebrates.” Curr Genomics 12(5): 371–378. (2011) doi:  10.2174/138920211796429736

[2] Wintergerst, Eva S., Silvia Maggini, and Dietrich H. Hornig. “Immune-enhancing role of vitamin C and zinc and effect on clinical conditions.” Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism 50.2 (2006): 85-94.

[3] Hemilä, H. Vitamin C and Infections. Nutrients 2017, 9, 339.

[4] Cook, G. C. “Scurvy in the British Mercantile Marine in the 19th century, and the contribution of the Seamen’s Hospital Society.” Postgraduate medical journal 80.942 (2004): 224-229.

[5] Cheng, Richard Z. “Can early and high intravenous dose of vitamin C prevent and treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)?.” Medicine in drug discovery vol. 5 (2020): 100028. doi:10.1016/j.medidd.2020.100028

[6] Shanghai Expert Panel, cited on Mar 23 2020. http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzA3Nzk5Mzc5MQ==&mid=2653620168&idx=1&sn=2352823b79a3cc42e48229a0c38f65e0&chksm=84962598b3e1ac8effb763e3ddb4858435dc7aa947a8f41790e8df2bca34c20e6ffea64cd191#rd

[7] High-dose vitamin C (PDQ®)–Health professional version. National Cancer Institute, cited on Feb 9 2020 (https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/hp/vitamin-c-pdq).

[1] Guy Drouin, Jean-Rémi Godin, and Benoît Pagé. “The Genetics of Vitamin C Loss in Vertebrates.” Curr Genomics 12(5): 371–378. (2011) doi:  10.2174/138920211796429736

[2] Wintergerst, Eva S., Silvia Maggini, and Dietrich H. Hornig. “Immune-enhancing role of vitamin C and zinc and effect on clinical conditions.” Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism 50.2 (2006): 85-94.

[3] Hemilä, H. Vitamin C and Infections. Nutrients 2017, 9, 339.

[4] Cook, G. C. “Scurvy in the British Mercantile Marine in the 19th century, and the contribution of the Seamen’s Hospital Society.” Postgraduate medical journal 80.942 (2004): 224-229.

[5] Cheng, Richard Z. “Can early and high intravenous dose of vitamin C prevent and treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)?.” Medicine in drug discovery vol. 5 (2020): 100028. doi:10.1016/j.medidd.2020.100028

[6] Shanghai Expert Panel, cited on Mar 23 2020. http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzA3Nzk5Mzc5MQ==&mid=2653620168&idx=1&sn=2352823b79a3cc42e48229a0c38f65e0&chksm=84962598b3e1ac8effb763e3ddb4858435dc7aa947a8f41790e8df2bca34c20e6ffea64cd191#rd

[7] High-dose vitamin C (PDQ®)–Health professional version. National Cancer Institute, cited on Feb 9 2020 (https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/hp/vitamin-c-pdq).