Cholesterol and Lipoprotein (a), Lp(a)
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Jun 25, 2010, 1:00:00 AM6/25/10
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Cholesterol and Lipoprotein (a), Lp(a)
The most abundant amino acids (protein building blocks) in collagen
are lysine and proline, and when collagen strands are damaged lysine
and proline become exposed. A special kind of cholesterol,
lipoprotein(a), is attracted to lysine and proline and will attach
itself to the exposed damaged collagen strands. It is an attempt by
the body to repair damage to the collagen of the artery walls in the
absence of adequate levels of vitamin C. Unfortunately the repair is
not ideal and over many years repeated deposits can cause the artery
to become narrow and inflamed. Heart attack or stroke is likely to
follow (usually caused by a clot forming at the site of the narrowed
artery, or by a piece of plaque breaking off and blocking a smaller
vessel downstream). When vitamin C levels are low, the body
manufactures more cholesterol, especially Lp(a). Conversely, when
vitamin C levels are high the body makes less cholesterol.
If high blood cholesterol were the primary cause of heart disease, all
bears and other hibernating animals would have become extinct long
ago. They naturally have high cholesterol levels. One reason bears are
still with us is simple: they produce large amounts of vitamin C in
their bodies, which stabilises the artery walls, and there is
therefore no tendency to develop cholesterol deposits or plaque.
Taken from
This article may be reprinted free of charge provided 1) that there is
clear attribution to the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, and 2)
that both the OMNS free subscription link http://orthomolecular.org/subscribe.html
and also the OMNS archive link http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/index.shtml
are included.
http://www.orthomed.org/isf/isf.html and may not be reprinted or
otherwise used without ISF's written permission. If you are interested
in using or reprinting this article, please contact ISF at
cen...@orthomed.org or write to International Schizophrenia
Foundation, 16 Florence Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M2N 1E9. Fax
(416) 733-2352. -->
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, June 22, 2010
Vitamin C and Cardiovascular Disease
A Personal Viewpoint by Alan Spencer and Andrew W. Saul
(OMNS, June 22, 2010) Linus Pauling was aware that studies of the
animal kingdom showed that most animals have the ability to
manufacture vitamin C in their bodies. Humans cannot. Furthermore, on
average, mammals make 5,400mg daily when adjusted for body weight, and
make more (often considerably more) when under stress or ill. This is
about 100 times as much as the 50mg we get from a typical modern diet.
It prompts the question, why do animals make so much vitamin C, and
what purpose does it serve in the body?
A small number of animals which are known to share our inability to
make vitamin C include the apes, the guinea pig, the fruit bat, and
some birds, all of which will normally get a lot of vitamin C from
their food. If you deprive a guinea pig of vitamin C it soon develops
a form of cardiovascular disease (damage to its arteries showing
within a few weeks). Similarly, studies of genetically modified mice
have shown that if you switch off the gene that enables a mouse to
produce vitamin C it will also soon show signs of heart disease. Re-
introduction of a high vitamin C diet enables the damage to be
reversed. While heart disease is rare in the animal kingdom, it is
becoming a problem for apes in zoos where their diets are perhaps not
as rich in vitamin C as when they are in the wild.
Collagen
A very important function of vitamin C in the body is its role in the
production of collagen. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the
body, and forms into fibres which are stronger than iron wire of
comparable size. These fibres provide strength and stability to all
body tissues, including the arteries. Vitamin C is absolutely
essential for the production and repair of collagen, and is destroyed
during the process, so a regular supply of vitamin C is necessary to
maintain the strength of body tissues. Severe deficiency of vitamin C
causes the total breakdown of body tissue witnessed in scurvy. Linus
Pauling believed that whilst humans normally obtain sufficient vitamin
C to prevent full-blown scurvy, we do not consume enough to maintain
the strength of the walls of the arteries. He suggested that of all
the structural tissues in the body, the walls of the arteries around
the heart are subject to the greatest continual stress. Every time the
heart beats the arteries are flattened and stretched, and this has
been likened to standing on a garden hose thousands of times a day.
Many tiny cracks and lesions develop and the artery walls become
inflamed.
Dr. Pauling believed that in the presence of adequate supplies of
vitamin C this damage can be readily repaired and heart disease is
avoided. However, in the absence of adequate levels of vitamin C, the
body attempts to repair the arteries using alternative materials:
cholesterol and other fatty substances, which attach to the artery
wall. (1-8)
Cholesterol and Lipoprotein (a), Lp(a)
The most abundant amino acids (protein building blocks) in collagen
are lysine and proline, and when collagen strands are damaged lysine
and proline become exposed. A special kind of cholesterol,
lipoprotein(a), is attracted to lysine and proline and will attach
itself to the exposed damaged collagen strands. It is an attempt by
the body to repair damage to the collagen of the artery walls in the
absence of adequate levels of vitamin C. Unfortunately the repair is
not ideal and over many years repeated deposits can cause the artery
to become narrow and inflamed. Heart attack or stroke is likely to
follow (usually caused by a clot forming at the site of the narrowed
artery, or by a piece of plaque breaking off and blocking a smaller
vessel downstream). When vitamin C levels are low, the body
manufactures more cholesterol, especially Lp(a). Conversely, when
vitamin C levels are high the body makes less cholesterol.
If high blood cholesterol were the primary cause of heart disease, all
bears and other hibernating animals would have become extinct long
ago. They naturally have high cholesterol levels. One reason bears are
still with us is simple: they produce large amounts of vitamin C in
their bodies, which stabilises the artery walls, and there is
therefore no tendency to develop cholesterol deposits or plaque.
Keeping healthy
The low levels of vitamin C that are available through diet are
inadequate to prevent many people developing arterial plaques, and
over time this may result in cardiovascular disease. Post mortem
examinations showed that 77% of young American soldiers killed in the
Korean war (average age 22) already had well-advanced atherosclerosis
(heart disease), and post mortem studies from the Vietnam war gave
similar results. Heart disease is not just a disease of the elderly,
although it does not usually become life threatening until later in
life.
How can we prevent it? Pauling believed that once we start taking high
levels of vitamin C, the disease process is halted, or at least
slowed, as Lp(a) cholesterol is no longer needed as a repair material.
He also believed that when we take adequate levels of vitamin C,
existing arterial plaques may start to be removed from the arteries.
He found that the removal of plaques is more rapid if the amino acid
lysine is taken along with vitamin C. Lysine appears to attach to the
Lp(a) in existing plaque deposits and helps to loosen them. Linus
Pauling recommended at least 3000mg of vitamin C per day as a
preventive dose, and significantly higher levels of both vitamin C and
lysine for the treatment of existing heart disease. Dosage is a key
factor: low doses are ineffective.
Retention in the body
Another important point is that a single dose of vitamin C is not
retained in the body for very long. This fact has been used for a long
time by those who do not support the use of high doses of vitamin C as
evidence that the body does not need and cannot use large doses. After
a single large dose of vitamin C, the blood level quite soon returns
to a low level. A lot is excreted, the high blood level only remaining
for a few hours.
The key factor here is that the body is not designed to function with
just a single large dose of vitamin C once a day. Animals are able to
manufacture vitamin C in their bodies and do so continuously
throughout the day. They have an enzyme which converts glucose to
vitamin C, and each day they produce on the order of a hundred times
more vitamin C than we are able to get from even a good diet. When
animals are ill they manufacture even more, perhaps thousands of times
more than we can get from our diet.
How much should we take?
For people who are essentially fit and well, the Vitamin C Foundation
recommends perhaps 3,000mg of vitamin C per day, taken in divided
doses as 500mg every four hours, as a protection against the
development of heart disease. The problem with even this protective
dose is that taking a tablet every four hours is not something that
many people would want to adopt as part of their daily routine. But
there is good evidence to suggest that this level of intake will help
maintain the strength of the arteries and prevent the build up of
cholesterol plaques. If everybody were to do this, perhaps heart
disease would become a largely a thing of the past (as might many
other chronic diseases).
When treating illness, "bowel tolerance" is the indicator of dosage
level that should be used. This means taking just under the level of
vitamin C (in divided doses) that results in loose stools. Everyone is
different. Note that while a few 1,000mg doses a day might make you
loose when you are fit and well, your "bowel tolerance" might increase
to ten or even a hundred times this when very ill. So, for illness,
the levels suggested by the Vitamin C Foundation are 6,000mg to
18,000mg of vitamin C per day (or up to bowel tolerance) plus 2,000mg
to 6,000mg of lysine. These vitamin C levels may seem high, but are
perhaps not particularly large when compared with levels seen in the
animal kingdom. A substantial amount of lysine may be obtained from
diet. For example, one may obtain 3,000 to 4,000 milligrams of lysine
from about can and a half of beans. Supplementation reduces the need
to consume that much.
Controversy
"Even though some physicians had observed forty or fifty years ago
that amounts of vitamin C a hundred to a thousand times larger (than
the RDA) have value in controlling various diseases, the medical
profession and most scientists ignored this evidence." (Linus Pauling,
How to Live Longer and Feel Better)
In medical circles, Pauling's recommendations remain controversial.
However, his theory seems reasonable, and the implications are so
significant that some major scientific trials should have been
undertaken to assess it. This has not happened. Supporters of high-
dose vitamin C have had their applications for research funding denied
repeatedly, and have had to be content with carrying out small scale
research projects and case studies. These have been very positive.
Over the past fifteen years, Pauling therapy advocates have received
hundreds of reports from heart patients who have self administered the
therapy. It is reported that these people typically recover within 30
days, and the majority experience significant relief within as little
as a week or two. In 1994, Linus Pauling wrote, "I think we can get
almost complete control of cardiovascular disease, heart attacks and
strokes by the proper use of vitamin C and lysine. It can prevent
cardiovascular disease and even cure it. If you are at risk of heart
disease, or if there is a history of heart disease in your family, if
your father or other members of the family died of a heart attack or
stroke or whatever, or if you have a mild heart attack yourself, then
you had better be taking vitamin C and lysine."
References:
(1) Rath M, Pauling L. Immunological evidence for the accumulation of
lipoprotein(a) in the atherosclerotic lesion of the hypoascorbemic
guinea pig. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Dec;87(23):9388-90. PMID:
2147514. Free full text download: http://www.pnas.org/content/87/23/9388.full.pdf
(2) Rath M, Pauling L. Hypothesis: lipoprotein(a) is a surrogate for
ascorbate. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Aug;87(16):6204-7. [Erratum
in: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1991 Dec 5;88(24):11588.] PMID: 2143582.
Free full text download: http://www.pnas.org/content/87/16/6204.full.pdf
(3) Rath M, Pauling L. Solution To the Puzzle of Human Cardiovascular
Disease: Its Primary Cause Is Ascorbate Deficiency Leading to the
Deposition of Lipoprotein(a) and Fibrinogen/Fibrin in the Vascular
Wall. J Orthomolecular Med, Vol 6, 3&4th Quarters, 1991, p 125. Free
full text download: http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1991/pdf/1991-v06n03&04-p125.pdf
(4) Pauling L, Rath M. An Orthomolecular Theory of Human Health and
Disease. J Orthomolecular Med, Vol 6, 3&4th Quarters, 1991, p 135.
Free full text download: http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1991/pdf/1991-v06n03&04-p135.pdf
(5) Rath M, Pauling L. Apoprotein(a) Is An Adhesive Protein. J
Orthomolecular Med, Vol 6, 3&4th Quarters, 1991, p 139. Free full text
download: http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1991/pdf/1991-v06n03&04-p139.pdf
(6) Rath M, Pauling L. Case Report: Lysine/Ascorbate Related
Amelioration of Angina Pectoris. J Orthomolecular Med, Vol 6, 3&4th
Quarters, 1991, p 144. Free full text download:
http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1991/pdf/1991-v06n03&04-p144.pdf
(7) Rath M, Pauling L. A Unified theory of Human Cardiovascular
Disease Leading the Way To the Abolition of This Diseases As A Cause
for Human Mortality. J Orthomolecular Med, Vol 7, First Quarter 1992,
p 5. Free full text download: http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1992/pdf/1992-v07n01-p005.pdf
(8) Rath M, Pauling L. Plasmin-induced Proteolysis and the Role of
Apoprotein(a), Lysine and Synthetic Lysine Analogs. J Orthomolecular
Med, Vol 7, First Quarter 1992, p 17. Free full text download:
http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1992/pdf/1992-v07n01-p017.pdf
For More Information:
Fonorow O. Practicing Medicine Without a License? The Story of the
Linus Pauling Therapy for Heart Disease. 2008. Lulu.com. ISBN-10:
1435712935; ISBN-13: 978-1435712935. Reviewed in J Orthomolecular Med,
2009. Vol 24, No 1, p 51-5.
Hickey S and Roberts H. Ascorbate: The Science of Vitamin C. 2004.
ISBN-10: 1411607244; ISBN-13: 978-1411607248. Lulu.com. This book
contains 575 references, and is reviewed at http://www.doctoryourself.com/ascorbate.html
Hickey S, Saul AW. Vitamin C: The Real Story. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic
Health Publications, 2008. ISBN: 978-1-59120-223-3. This book contains
387 references, and is reviewed at http://www.doctoryourself.com/realstory.html
Levy TE. Stop America's #1 Killer: Reversible vitamin deficiency found
to be the origin of all coronary heart disease. 2006. ISBN-10:
0977952002; ISBN-13: 978-0977952007. (Dr. Levy is a board-certified
cardiologist.) Reviewed in J Orthomolecular Med, 2006. Vol 21, No 3, p
177-178. This book contains 60 pages of references. To download the
review: http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/2006/pdf/2006-v21n03-p175.pdf
Pauling L. How to Live Longer and Feel Better (Revised edition).
Oregon State University Press, 2006. ISBN-10: 0870710966; ISBN-13:
978-0870710964. Reviewed in J Orthomolecular Med, 2006. Vol 21, No 3,
p 175-177. To download the review: http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/2006/pdf/2006-v21n03-p175.pdf
On the Web:
The Vitamin C Foundation http://www.vitamincfoundation.org
AscorbateWeb, a historical compendium of 20th-Century medical and
scientific literature demonstrating the efficacy of vitamin C.
http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/
Putting the "C" in Cure: Quantity and frequency are the keys to
ascorbate therapy. http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v05n11.shtml
Vitamin C Saves Lives. http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v01n02.shtml
RDA for Vitamin C is 10% of USDA Standard for Guinea Pigs.
http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v06n08.shtml
Vitamin C: What Form is Best? http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v05n10.shtml
Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine
Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to
fight illness. For more information: http://www.orthomolecular.org
The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit
and non-commercial informational resource.
Editorial Review Board:
Ralph K. Campbell, M.D. (USA)
Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D. (Canada)
Damien Downing, M.D. (United Kingdom)
Michael Ellis, M.D. (Australia)
Michael Gonzalez, D.Sc., Ph.D. (Puerto Rico)
Steve Hickey, Ph.D. (United Kingdom)
James A. Jackson, Ph.D. (USA)
Bo H. Jonsson, M.D., Ph.D. (Sweden)
Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D. (USA)
Jorge R. Miranda-Massari, Pharm.D. (Puerto Rico)
Erik Paterson, M.D. (Canada)
Gert E. Shuitemaker, Ph.D. (Netherlands)
Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D. (USA), Editor and contact person. Email:
om...@orthomolecular.org
To Subscribe at no charge: http://www.orthomolecular.org/subscribe.html
The most abundant amino acids (protein building blocks) in collagen
are lysine and proline, and when collagen strands are damaged lysine
and proline become exposed. A special kind of cholesterol,
lipoprotein(a), is attracted to lysine and proline and will attach
itself to the exposed damaged collagen strands. It is an attempt by
the body to repair damage to the collagen of the artery walls in the
absence of adequate levels of vitamin C. Unfortunately the repair is
not ideal and over many years repeated deposits can cause the artery
to become narrow and inflamed. Heart attack or stroke is likely to
follow (usually caused by a clot forming at the site of the narrowed
artery, or by a piece of plaque breaking off and blocking a smaller
vessel downstream). When vitamin C levels are low, the body
manufactures more cholesterol, especially Lp(a). Conversely, when
vitamin C levels are high the body makes less cholesterol.
If high blood cholesterol were the primary cause of heart disease, all
bears and other hibernating animals would have become extinct long
ago. They naturally have high cholesterol levels. One reason bears are
still with us is simple: they produce large amounts of vitamin C in
their bodies, which stabilises the artery walls, and there is
therefore no tendency to develop cholesterol deposits or plaque.
Taken from
This article may be reprinted free of charge provided 1) that there is
clear attribution to the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, and 2)
that both the OMNS free subscription link http://orthomolecular.org/subscribe.html
and also the OMNS archive link http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/index.shtml
are included.
http://www.orthomed.org/isf/isf.html and may not be reprinted or
otherwise used without ISF's written permission. If you are interested
in using or reprinting this article, please contact ISF at
cen...@orthomed.org or write to International Schizophrenia
Foundation, 16 Florence Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M2N 1E9. Fax
(416) 733-2352. -->
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, June 22, 2010
Vitamin C and Cardiovascular Disease
A Personal Viewpoint by Alan Spencer and Andrew W. Saul
(OMNS, June 22, 2010) Linus Pauling was aware that studies of the
animal kingdom showed that most animals have the ability to
manufacture vitamin C in their bodies. Humans cannot. Furthermore, on
average, mammals make 5,400mg daily when adjusted for body weight, and
make more (often considerably more) when under stress or ill. This is
about 100 times as much as the 50mg we get from a typical modern diet.
It prompts the question, why do animals make so much vitamin C, and
what purpose does it serve in the body?
A small number of animals which are known to share our inability to
make vitamin C include the apes, the guinea pig, the fruit bat, and
some birds, all of which will normally get a lot of vitamin C from
their food. If you deprive a guinea pig of vitamin C it soon develops
a form of cardiovascular disease (damage to its arteries showing
within a few weeks). Similarly, studies of genetically modified mice
have shown that if you switch off the gene that enables a mouse to
produce vitamin C it will also soon show signs of heart disease. Re-
introduction of a high vitamin C diet enables the damage to be
reversed. While heart disease is rare in the animal kingdom, it is
becoming a problem for apes in zoos where their diets are perhaps not
as rich in vitamin C as when they are in the wild.
Collagen
A very important function of vitamin C in the body is its role in the
production of collagen. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the
body, and forms into fibres which are stronger than iron wire of
comparable size. These fibres provide strength and stability to all
body tissues, including the arteries. Vitamin C is absolutely
essential for the production and repair of collagen, and is destroyed
during the process, so a regular supply of vitamin C is necessary to
maintain the strength of body tissues. Severe deficiency of vitamin C
causes the total breakdown of body tissue witnessed in scurvy. Linus
Pauling believed that whilst humans normally obtain sufficient vitamin
C to prevent full-blown scurvy, we do not consume enough to maintain
the strength of the walls of the arteries. He suggested that of all
the structural tissues in the body, the walls of the arteries around
the heart are subject to the greatest continual stress. Every time the
heart beats the arteries are flattened and stretched, and this has
been likened to standing on a garden hose thousands of times a day.
Many tiny cracks and lesions develop and the artery walls become
inflamed.
Dr. Pauling believed that in the presence of adequate supplies of
vitamin C this damage can be readily repaired and heart disease is
avoided. However, in the absence of adequate levels of vitamin C, the
body attempts to repair the arteries using alternative materials:
cholesterol and other fatty substances, which attach to the artery
wall. (1-8)
Cholesterol and Lipoprotein (a), Lp(a)
The most abundant amino acids (protein building blocks) in collagen
are lysine and proline, and when collagen strands are damaged lysine
and proline become exposed. A special kind of cholesterol,
lipoprotein(a), is attracted to lysine and proline and will attach
itself to the exposed damaged collagen strands. It is an attempt by
the body to repair damage to the collagen of the artery walls in the
absence of adequate levels of vitamin C. Unfortunately the repair is
not ideal and over many years repeated deposits can cause the artery
to become narrow and inflamed. Heart attack or stroke is likely to
follow (usually caused by a clot forming at the site of the narrowed
artery, or by a piece of plaque breaking off and blocking a smaller
vessel downstream). When vitamin C levels are low, the body
manufactures more cholesterol, especially Lp(a). Conversely, when
vitamin C levels are high the body makes less cholesterol.
If high blood cholesterol were the primary cause of heart disease, all
bears and other hibernating animals would have become extinct long
ago. They naturally have high cholesterol levels. One reason bears are
still with us is simple: they produce large amounts of vitamin C in
their bodies, which stabilises the artery walls, and there is
therefore no tendency to develop cholesterol deposits or plaque.
Keeping healthy
The low levels of vitamin C that are available through diet are
inadequate to prevent many people developing arterial plaques, and
over time this may result in cardiovascular disease. Post mortem
examinations showed that 77% of young American soldiers killed in the
Korean war (average age 22) already had well-advanced atherosclerosis
(heart disease), and post mortem studies from the Vietnam war gave
similar results. Heart disease is not just a disease of the elderly,
although it does not usually become life threatening until later in
life.
How can we prevent it? Pauling believed that once we start taking high
levels of vitamin C, the disease process is halted, or at least
slowed, as Lp(a) cholesterol is no longer needed as a repair material.
He also believed that when we take adequate levels of vitamin C,
existing arterial plaques may start to be removed from the arteries.
He found that the removal of plaques is more rapid if the amino acid
lysine is taken along with vitamin C. Lysine appears to attach to the
Lp(a) in existing plaque deposits and helps to loosen them. Linus
Pauling recommended at least 3000mg of vitamin C per day as a
preventive dose, and significantly higher levels of both vitamin C and
lysine for the treatment of existing heart disease. Dosage is a key
factor: low doses are ineffective.
Retention in the body
Another important point is that a single dose of vitamin C is not
retained in the body for very long. This fact has been used for a long
time by those who do not support the use of high doses of vitamin C as
evidence that the body does not need and cannot use large doses. After
a single large dose of vitamin C, the blood level quite soon returns
to a low level. A lot is excreted, the high blood level only remaining
for a few hours.
The key factor here is that the body is not designed to function with
just a single large dose of vitamin C once a day. Animals are able to
manufacture vitamin C in their bodies and do so continuously
throughout the day. They have an enzyme which converts glucose to
vitamin C, and each day they produce on the order of a hundred times
more vitamin C than we are able to get from even a good diet. When
animals are ill they manufacture even more, perhaps thousands of times
more than we can get from our diet.
How much should we take?
For people who are essentially fit and well, the Vitamin C Foundation
recommends perhaps 3,000mg of vitamin C per day, taken in divided
doses as 500mg every four hours, as a protection against the
development of heart disease. The problem with even this protective
dose is that taking a tablet every four hours is not something that
many people would want to adopt as part of their daily routine. But
there is good evidence to suggest that this level of intake will help
maintain the strength of the arteries and prevent the build up of
cholesterol plaques. If everybody were to do this, perhaps heart
disease would become a largely a thing of the past (as might many
other chronic diseases).
When treating illness, "bowel tolerance" is the indicator of dosage
level that should be used. This means taking just under the level of
vitamin C (in divided doses) that results in loose stools. Everyone is
different. Note that while a few 1,000mg doses a day might make you
loose when you are fit and well, your "bowel tolerance" might increase
to ten or even a hundred times this when very ill. So, for illness,
the levels suggested by the Vitamin C Foundation are 6,000mg to
18,000mg of vitamin C per day (or up to bowel tolerance) plus 2,000mg
to 6,000mg of lysine. These vitamin C levels may seem high, but are
perhaps not particularly large when compared with levels seen in the
animal kingdom. A substantial amount of lysine may be obtained from
diet. For example, one may obtain 3,000 to 4,000 milligrams of lysine
from about can and a half of beans. Supplementation reduces the need
to consume that much.
Controversy
"Even though some physicians had observed forty or fifty years ago
that amounts of vitamin C a hundred to a thousand times larger (than
the RDA) have value in controlling various diseases, the medical
profession and most scientists ignored this evidence." (Linus Pauling,
How to Live Longer and Feel Better)
In medical circles, Pauling's recommendations remain controversial.
However, his theory seems reasonable, and the implications are so
significant that some major scientific trials should have been
undertaken to assess it. This has not happened. Supporters of high-
dose vitamin C have had their applications for research funding denied
repeatedly, and have had to be content with carrying out small scale
research projects and case studies. These have been very positive.
Over the past fifteen years, Pauling therapy advocates have received
hundreds of reports from heart patients who have self administered the
therapy. It is reported that these people typically recover within 30
days, and the majority experience significant relief within as little
as a week or two. In 1994, Linus Pauling wrote, "I think we can get
almost complete control of cardiovascular disease, heart attacks and
strokes by the proper use of vitamin C and lysine. It can prevent
cardiovascular disease and even cure it. If you are at risk of heart
disease, or if there is a history of heart disease in your family, if
your father or other members of the family died of a heart attack or
stroke or whatever, or if you have a mild heart attack yourself, then
you had better be taking vitamin C and lysine."
References:
(1) Rath M, Pauling L. Immunological evidence for the accumulation of
lipoprotein(a) in the atherosclerotic lesion of the hypoascorbemic
guinea pig. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Dec;87(23):9388-90. PMID:
2147514. Free full text download: http://www.pnas.org/content/87/23/9388.full.pdf
(2) Rath M, Pauling L. Hypothesis: lipoprotein(a) is a surrogate for
ascorbate. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Aug;87(16):6204-7. [Erratum
in: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1991 Dec 5;88(24):11588.] PMID: 2143582.
Free full text download: http://www.pnas.org/content/87/16/6204.full.pdf
(3) Rath M, Pauling L. Solution To the Puzzle of Human Cardiovascular
Disease: Its Primary Cause Is Ascorbate Deficiency Leading to the
Deposition of Lipoprotein(a) and Fibrinogen/Fibrin in the Vascular
Wall. J Orthomolecular Med, Vol 6, 3&4th Quarters, 1991, p 125. Free
full text download: http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1991/pdf/1991-v06n03&04-p125.pdf
(4) Pauling L, Rath M. An Orthomolecular Theory of Human Health and
Disease. J Orthomolecular Med, Vol 6, 3&4th Quarters, 1991, p 135.
Free full text download: http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1991/pdf/1991-v06n03&04-p135.pdf
(5) Rath M, Pauling L. Apoprotein(a) Is An Adhesive Protein. J
Orthomolecular Med, Vol 6, 3&4th Quarters, 1991, p 139. Free full text
download: http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1991/pdf/1991-v06n03&04-p139.pdf
(6) Rath M, Pauling L. Case Report: Lysine/Ascorbate Related
Amelioration of Angina Pectoris. J Orthomolecular Med, Vol 6, 3&4th
Quarters, 1991, p 144. Free full text download:
http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1991/pdf/1991-v06n03&04-p144.pdf
(7) Rath M, Pauling L. A Unified theory of Human Cardiovascular
Disease Leading the Way To the Abolition of This Diseases As A Cause
for Human Mortality. J Orthomolecular Med, Vol 7, First Quarter 1992,
p 5. Free full text download: http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1992/pdf/1992-v07n01-p005.pdf
(8) Rath M, Pauling L. Plasmin-induced Proteolysis and the Role of
Apoprotein(a), Lysine and Synthetic Lysine Analogs. J Orthomolecular
Med, Vol 7, First Quarter 1992, p 17. Free full text download:
http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1992/pdf/1992-v07n01-p017.pdf
For More Information:
Fonorow O. Practicing Medicine Without a License? The Story of the
Linus Pauling Therapy for Heart Disease. 2008. Lulu.com. ISBN-10:
1435712935; ISBN-13: 978-1435712935. Reviewed in J Orthomolecular Med,
2009. Vol 24, No 1, p 51-5.
Hickey S and Roberts H. Ascorbate: The Science of Vitamin C. 2004.
ISBN-10: 1411607244; ISBN-13: 978-1411607248. Lulu.com. This book
contains 575 references, and is reviewed at http://www.doctoryourself.com/ascorbate.html
Hickey S, Saul AW. Vitamin C: The Real Story. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic
Health Publications, 2008. ISBN: 978-1-59120-223-3. This book contains
387 references, and is reviewed at http://www.doctoryourself.com/realstory.html
Levy TE. Stop America's #1 Killer: Reversible vitamin deficiency found
to be the origin of all coronary heart disease. 2006. ISBN-10:
0977952002; ISBN-13: 978-0977952007. (Dr. Levy is a board-certified
cardiologist.) Reviewed in J Orthomolecular Med, 2006. Vol 21, No 3, p
177-178. This book contains 60 pages of references. To download the
review: http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/2006/pdf/2006-v21n03-p175.pdf
Pauling L. How to Live Longer and Feel Better (Revised edition).
Oregon State University Press, 2006. ISBN-10: 0870710966; ISBN-13:
978-0870710964. Reviewed in J Orthomolecular Med, 2006. Vol 21, No 3,
p 175-177. To download the review: http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/2006/pdf/2006-v21n03-p175.pdf
On the Web:
The Vitamin C Foundation http://www.vitamincfoundation.org
AscorbateWeb, a historical compendium of 20th-Century medical and
scientific literature demonstrating the efficacy of vitamin C.
http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/
Putting the "C" in Cure: Quantity and frequency are the keys to
ascorbate therapy. http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v05n11.shtml
Vitamin C Saves Lives. http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v01n02.shtml
RDA for Vitamin C is 10% of USDA Standard for Guinea Pigs.
http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v06n08.shtml
Vitamin C: What Form is Best? http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v05n10.shtml
Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine
Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to
fight illness. For more information: http://www.orthomolecular.org
The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit
and non-commercial informational resource.
Editorial Review Board:
Ralph K. Campbell, M.D. (USA)
Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D. (Canada)
Damien Downing, M.D. (United Kingdom)
Michael Ellis, M.D. (Australia)
Michael Gonzalez, D.Sc., Ph.D. (Puerto Rico)
Steve Hickey, Ph.D. (United Kingdom)
James A. Jackson, Ph.D. (USA)
Bo H. Jonsson, M.D., Ph.D. (Sweden)
Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D. (USA)
Jorge R. Miranda-Massari, Pharm.D. (Puerto Rico)
Erik Paterson, M.D. (Canada)
Gert E. Shuitemaker, Ph.D. (Netherlands)
Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D. (USA), Editor and contact person. Email:
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