03-06-2020, 05:19 PM
** 06-Mar-2020 World View: Vitamin C and the Common Cold
I have a Vitamin C story similar to yours.
The book that I read was "Vitamin C and the Common Cold" by Linus
Pauling.
Several weeks after reading it, I started developing a bad sore throat.
It was 7 pm and I was working at IBM, and everyone else had gone home,
so I had the mainframe to myself. I decided that I might as well stay
and work as long as possible, since I knew from experience that the
next day I would be staying at home sick in bed.
So I worked until around 1 am and left. But on the way home, I
stopped off at the Philips Drugstore which, at that time, was the only
all-night drugstore in Boston. I bought a bottle of Vitamin C, drove
home, took five grams of Vitamin C and went to bed.
When I work up the next morning, I was truly shocked. I had no sore
throat, no sniffles, no nothing. I felt as good as ever.
According to the book, when you start feeling the first symptoms of a
cold -- the sniffles or a scratchy throat -- then you should
immediately take 5 grams of Vitamin C, and continue, taking about 20
grams a day for several days. So I did that, and stopped having
colds.
Then, around five years later, I decided that it would be easier to
prevent even the initial symptoms, by taking 5 grams of Vitamin C
every day. I got three colds that year. I remember the secretary
where I worked mocking me. "Hahaha. You're taking vitamin C but you
got a cold. Hahaha."
Well, anyway, I learned my lesson. For Vitamin C to work, at least
for me, you have to take very little on a daily basis, but then take
massive amounts at the first symptoms. That's worked pretty reliably
every since.
Yeah, this is Linus Pauling the conspiracy theorist speaking, but I
don't buy this.
There are very good reasons why the medical field doesn't advocate
this -- it's way too complicated. You have to take a lot of vitamin C
some days, and very little other days. 99.9% of the people could
never cope with that. The FDA wouldn't like this because they simply
want to issue a minimum daily requirement. The vitamin manufacturers
don't like this because you're not taking vitamin C every day.
So this Vitamin C therapy has absolutely no constituency, except for
Pauling acolytes. And that's why the medical field doesn't advocate
this.
Having said that, I've said to many doctors over the years that I take
vitamin C for a cold, and they always ask me if it works. When I say
that it does, they don't seem surprised.
Navigator Wrote:> Like John, I also use massive quantities of Vitamin C on a daily
> basis. I take 6-8 Grams per day. That's 6000-8000mg.
> I started doing this after reading a book by Linus Pauling on
> Vitamin C. The title was "How to Live Longer and Feel Better".
> Linus Pauling was a renowned chemist, the Albert Einstein of his
> field. You can get a copy of this book for about $5.
> He pointed out all of the reasons for taking large amounts of
> Vitamin C. He also got into why the medical field doesn't want
> you to do this, and it basically came down to "they want you to
> visit the doctor, need medical care, and take over the counter
> drugs - this generates a lot of income for them".
> Pauling's father died in his 30's. Linus lived well into his 90s
> and was healthy and mentally active up until the very end.
> Since I have been taking the large doses, I don't get colds but
> maybe once every 2-3 years. I also don't get the flu every year
> like most people.
> One word of advice here - it works best as a PREVENTIVE action.
> Once you get sick, it can reduce the severity, but there I would
> recommend Zinc melts as well.
I have a Vitamin C story similar to yours.
The book that I read was "Vitamin C and the Common Cold" by Linus
Pauling.
Several weeks after reading it, I started developing a bad sore throat.
It was 7 pm and I was working at IBM, and everyone else had gone home,
so I had the mainframe to myself. I decided that I might as well stay
and work as long as possible, since I knew from experience that the
next day I would be staying at home sick in bed.
So I worked until around 1 am and left. But on the way home, I
stopped off at the Philips Drugstore which, at that time, was the only
all-night drugstore in Boston. I bought a bottle of Vitamin C, drove
home, took five grams of Vitamin C and went to bed.
When I work up the next morning, I was truly shocked. I had no sore
throat, no sniffles, no nothing. I felt as good as ever.
According to the book, when you start feeling the first symptoms of a
cold -- the sniffles or a scratchy throat -- then you should
immediately take 5 grams of Vitamin C, and continue, taking about 20
grams a day for several days. So I did that, and stopped having
colds.
Then, around five years later, I decided that it would be easier to
prevent even the initial symptoms, by taking 5 grams of Vitamin C
every day. I got three colds that year. I remember the secretary
where I worked mocking me. "Hahaha. You're taking vitamin C but you
got a cold. Hahaha."
Well, anyway, I learned my lesson. For Vitamin C to work, at least
for me, you have to take very little on a daily basis, but then take
massive amounts at the first symptoms. That's worked pretty reliably
every since.
Quote:> "He pointed out all of the reasons for taking large
> amounts of Vitamin C. He also got into why the medical field
> doesn't want you to do this, and it basically came down to "they
> want you to visit the doctor, need medical care, and take over the
> counter drugs - this generates a lot of income for
> them."
Yeah, this is Linus Pauling the conspiracy theorist speaking, but I
don't buy this.
There are very good reasons why the medical field doesn't advocate
this -- it's way too complicated. You have to take a lot of vitamin C
some days, and very little other days. 99.9% of the people could
never cope with that. The FDA wouldn't like this because they simply
want to issue a minimum daily requirement. The vitamin manufacturers
don't like this because you're not taking vitamin C every day.
So this Vitamin C therapy has absolutely no constituency, except for
Pauling acolytes. And that's why the medical field doesn't advocate
this.
Having said that, I've said to many doctors over the years that I take
vitamin C for a cold, and they always ask me if it works. When I say
that it does, they don't seem surprised.
