Vitamin C for Stroke Prevention by Jeffrey Dach MD www.drdach.com

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May 2, 2007, 3:16:10 PM5/2/07

to Jeffrey Dach MD on Vitamin C and Stroke Prevention

Vitamin C for Stroke Prevention by Jeffrey Dach MD www.drdach.com

Recently, a friend of mine was hospitalized after a sudden paralysis
of the arm and leg which was found to be a stroke on his CAT scan. He
is about my age and was previously healthy with no risk factors such
as high blood pressure, smoking or obesity. Thankfully, he recovered
quickly and back to normal at home. Why did he get a stroke? What is a
stroke and how can it be prevented?

There are two kinds of stroke, the first kind is ischemic which means
the blood flow is blocked off by a clot or plug, and the second kind
is a hemorrhagic stroke which means a small crack in the artery leaks
blood into the surrounding brain. 731,000 strokes occur annually in
the United States. Heart attack and stroke have the same cause, namely
atherosclerotic vascular disease. Stroke prevention by the medical
system usually consists of blood thinners started after the first
stroke in hopes of preventing a second stroke. A more important
preventive measure which is often ignored is the role of Vitamin C in
stroke prevention. Vitamin C is cheap, pennies a day, so there is no
financial incentive to anyone to recommend it.

Here are two of many recent studies published in the medical
literature showing Vitamin C to be beneficial in reducing the risk of
stroke.

This first study was carried out in rural Japan, and blood levels of
Vitamin C were measured in 880 men and 1,241 women ages 40 and older
who were healthy and stroke-free. During the 20-year observation
period, 196 strokes occurred, and the people who had the highest serum
Vitamin C had 70 per cent fewer strokes. (1 )

A second study done in Finland in 2002 showed similar results (2 ).
These researchers tested blood levels of vitamin C in 2,400 Finnish
men aged 42 to 60 to see if blood levels of vitamin C could be
correlated with stroke risk. Results showed men whose blood levels of
vitamin C fell into the lowest quarter had a 2.4 times greater risk of
stroke than those in the highest quarter. Men with high blood pressure
or those who were overweight had even higher risk if they also had low
blood levels of vitamin C.

How does Vitamin C work to make our arteries stronger? The arteries
are made of a connective tissue substance called Collagen, and vitamin
C is the key nutrient for collagen synthesis.

Now that you are convinced that Vitamin C is beneficial in preventing
stroke, perhaps you might think that we all get enough vitamin C in
our diets. Well, a new study published in the American Journal of
Public Health says otherwise. This study included 15,769 participants
ranging in age from 12 to 74 years and found a distressing 10 percent
of women and 14 percent of men to be deficient in Vitamin C. (3 )

Is the Recommended Dietary Allowance for Vitamin C Too Low? How much
Vitamin C is enough?

These are the different recommendations depending on the source:

Daily Vitamin C........Source of Recommendation

60-95 mg................U.S. Government RDA
200 mg...................Levin/NIH
400 mg...................Linus Pauling Institute (7)
2500 mg.................Hickey/Roberts (12)
4000 mg.................Robert Cathcart MD III (4)
6-12 g...................Thomas E Levy, MD, PHD (6)

All animals with the exception of primates (humans), the guinea pig
and the fruit bat make their own vitamin C from glucose. We humans
lack the final enzyme step needed to make our own Vitamin C. However,
on an equivalent-weight basis with animals that can synthesize their
own vitamin C, healthy adult humans would produce about 2 to 4 grams
(2,000 to 4,000 milligrams) of vitamin C daily.

Primates such as gorillas which also cannot make their own vitamin C
consume approximately 3 to 4 grams of vitamin C daily (calculated on a
"human-weight basis"). Determining how much supplemental vitamin C
will meet your individual requirements is fairly easy using a
tolerance-test technique developed by Dr. Cathcart. (4)

The tolerance test starts with a dose of 2 grams of vitamin C per day.
Then, slowly increase your dose each day until you start experiencing
excess gas or loose bowels. At that point, your body isn't absorbing
or able to use that much, so you should scale back to the largest
amount that doesn't produce these symptoms.
There are Two Forms of Vitamin C The (L) is Active and (R) is
Inactive

The vitamin C at the health food store is only half real vitamin C.
There are two types of Vitamin C, the (L) isomer is biologically
active, and the R isomer is Not active. The Vitamin C you buy at the
health food store is a mixture of half (L) and half (R), so half of it
is biologically inactive!!!. Maybe that's why some of the Vitamin C
studies show poor results: they used the wrong isomer (R) that is
inactive!!! (5)

To avoid the inactive Vitamin C (R) Isomer problem, you can get all of
your Vitamin C from citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons and limes,
etc. And if you wish to use a Vitamin C supplement, I would recommend
a buffered, 100% pure (L) isomer of Vitamin C (ascorbate). This is
exactly what our office provides to all our clients, and the cost is
about 5 cents a day. In terms of medical prevention bang for the buck,
you can't beat it.

References

1) Stroke. 2000;31:2287. Serum Vitamin C Concentration Was Inversely
Associated With Subsequent 20-Year Incidence of Stroke in a Japanese
Rural Community The Shibata Study Full text
http://stroke.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/31/10/2287

2) Plasma Vitamin C Modifies the Association Between Hypertension and
Risk of Stroke. Stroke, 2002;33:1568-1573 S. Kurl, MD; T.P. Tuomainen,
MD; J.A. Laukkanen, MD; K. Nyyssönen, PhD;
http://stroke.ahajournals.org/cgi/reprint/33/6/1568.pdf

3) Hampl JS, Taylor CA, Johnston CS. "Vitamin C deficiency and
depletion in the United States: the Third National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988 to 1994." Am J Public Health
2004; 94(5): 870-875
http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/full/94/5/870

4) Cathcart RF. Vitamin C, Titrating To Bowel Tolerance, Anascorbemia,
and Acute Induced Scurvy. Medical Hypotheses 1981; 7: 1,359-1,376

http://www.orthomed.com/titrate.htm

5) Vitamin C, the L and R isomers: Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C#_note-UKFSA_Risk

6) Thomas Levy MD on Vitamin C
http://tomlevymd.com/vcone.htm

7) Linus Pauling Institute References for Vitamin C
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/vitamins/vitaminC/crefs.html

8) Knekt P, et al. "Antioxidant vitamins and coronary heart disease
risk: a pooled analysis of 9 cohorts." Am J Clin Nutr 2004; 80(6):
1,508-1,520.
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/80/6/1508

9) Klenner FR. "The Treatment of Poliomyelitis and Other Virus
Diseases with Vitamin C." Southern Medicine & Surgery 1949: 209
http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/194x/klenner-fr-southern_med_surg-1949-v111-n7-p209.htm

10) Ascorbic Acid and Some Other Modern Analogs of the Germ Theory.
Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, 1999; Vol 14 (3): 143-56. John T.
A. Ely, Ph.D.Radiation Studies, Box 351310 University of
WashingtonSeattle, WA 98195
http://faculty.washington.edu/ely/JOM4.html

11) Publications by Robert F. Cathcart MD
http://www.orthomed.com/publications1.html

12) Dr. Hickey and Roberts, Vitamin C Intake Recommendations
http://www.lewrockwell.com/sardi/sardi29.html

Jeffrey Dach MD Catalog of Newsletter Articles:

1 ) My Vitamins Are Killing Me by Jeffrey Dach MD !!!
http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/view_newsletter.php?newsletter_id=1409593470

2) Stroke Prevention and Vitamin C by Jeffrey Dach MD
http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/view_newsletter.php?newsletter_id=1409595876

3) Testosterone Risks and Benefits by Jeffrey Dach MD
http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/view_newsletter.php?newsletter_id=1409593796

4) Medical School Days and SSRI Research by Jeffrey Dach MD
http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/view_newsletter.php?newsletter_id=1409591731

5) Iodine and Breast Cancer Prevention by Jeffrey Dach MD
http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/view_newsletter.php?newsletter_id=1409596706

6) Hypothyroidism Part One by Jeffrey Dach MD
http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/view_newsletter.php?newsletter_id=1409592680

7) Hypothyroidism Part Two Thryroflex by Jeffrey Dach MD
http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/view_newsletter.php?newsletter_id=1409597633

8) Guard Your Daughter from Gardisil, Virginia Tech Rampage Seung-Hui
Cho by Jeffrey Dach MD
http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/view_newsletter.php?newsletter_id=1409598898

9) Highlights of Orthomolecular Medicine Meeting in Toronto 2007 by
Jeffrey Dach MD
http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/view_newsletter.php?newsletter_id=1409599672

Links to Dr. Dach's Articles on Hank Barnes You Bet Your Life Blog

1) Jeffrey Dach on Lipitor and "The Dracula of Modern Technology"
http://barnesworld.blogs.com/barnes_world/2007/01/jeffrey_dach_on.html

2) Jeffrey Dach on Osteoporosis, Bisphosphonate Drugs and Toulouse
Lautrec
http://barnesworld.blogs.com/barnes_world/2006/11/jeffrey_dach_sa_1.html

3) Jeffrey Dach on Prozac, Paxil and SSRI Drugs - Part One
http://barnesworld.blogs.com/barnes_world/2007/02/jeffrey_dach_it.html

4) Jeffrey Dach on Prozac, Paxil and SSRI Drugs - Part Two
http://barnesworld.blogs.com/barnes_world/2007/02/i_started_medic.html

5) Jeffrey Dach on Max Essex and Virological Failure in the NEJM
http://barnesworld.blogs.com/barnes_world/2007/01/jeffrey_dach_on_1.html

6) Jeffrey Dach on The Origins of HIV
http://barnesworld.blogs.com/barnes_world/2006/11/jeffrey_dach_on.html

7) Jeffrey Dach medical article that Published in 1980 in American
Journal of Radiology AJR:
Dach J, Patel N, Patel S, Petasnick J. Peritoneal mesothelioma: CT,
sonography, and gallium-67 scan. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1980 Sep;135(3):
614
http://www.ajronline.org/cgi/reprint/135/3/614.pdf

8) Knotted swan ganz catheter letter by Jeffrey Dach MD
http://www.ajronline.org/cgi/reprint/138/5/982.pdf

9) Jeffrey Dach old radiology web page:
http://www.rahradiology.com/phys/r-dach.htm

10) Jeffrey Dach MD listing at American Academy of Aging Medicine A4M
http://www.worldhealth.net/p/directory-detail;catalogdirectory,6238.html

11) Jeffrey Dach MD listing at American Academy for the Advancement of
Medicine ACAM
http://www.acamnet.org/site/apps/kb/cs/contactdisplay.asp?
c=ltJWJ4MPIwE&b=2242497&sid=dhJOJWNBJaJOJ6NDKlE

12) Jeffrey Dach Lipitor Article on Mark Schauss Blog
http://www.markschauss.com/?p=149

13) Jeffrey Dach MD Medical License listing at State of Florida Dept
of Regulation
http://ww2.doh.state.fl.us/irm00Profiling/profile.asp?LicId=28599&ProfNBR=1501&External=TRUE

Don't forget to visit http://www.drdach.com/ http://www.drdach.com/
http://www.drdach.com/

Jeffrey Dach, M.D.
4700 Sheridan Suite T.
Hollywood, Fl 33021
954-983-1443

Other Links:

Conflict of Interest Disclaimer: We receive no money from the
pharmaceutical industry or from the NIH. We do not sell any products
to the public at large. We do however, make available selected
nutritional supplements to our office clients at a small markup to
cover our costs. Disclaimer: The information sent in this mesage is
not intended to diagnose or treat any existing disease or ailment.
These comments and/or products have not been evaluated by the FDA and
are for nutritional supplement use only. Please note that the contents
of this message, including any advice, suggestions, and/or
recommendations have NOT been generated as part of any professional
evaluation. No patient has been examined prior to making these
comments; no professional fee has been charged by or paid to myself.
The reader is advised to discuss these comments with his/her personal
physicians and to only act upon the advice of his/her personal
physician. Also note that concerning an answer which appears as an
electronically posted question, I am NOT creating a physician --
patient relationship. Although
identities will remain confidential as much as possible, as I can not
control the media, I can not take responsibility for any breaches of
confidentiality that may occur. Finally, the material produced by
myself
may be reproduced for personal use, provided that appropriate credit
is given; but this material may not be reprinted or reproduced in any
format for any other purpose. © 2007 Jeffrey Dach MD All Rights
Reserved
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