Vitamin C and the Coronavirus

As far as coronavirus updates go, I am trying to lean more towards positive reporting as compared to the sensationalized style of the day.  Meaning, I do not mind the facts presented, but why do reporters insist on starting each sentence with the worst adjectives?  I have taken their sentences and repeated them to myself out loud without the use of the adjective and it still works.  The facts are presented in an honest, serious way, with out the anxiety producing effect of a scary adjective. With all that is going on today, the use of scary adjectives can make the difference in society’s mental health state, tipping it more towards anxiety. 

That being said, here are a couple of reports that I found encouraging.  Korean doctors are using IV vitamin C and Vitamin D in extremely high doses as supportive care treatment on coronavirus patients.  The treatments are having a good effect and patients are getting better  in a few days.  Dr. Andrew Saul the editor of Orthomolecular Medicine News states that studies have shown that even 200 mg of vitamin C a day will reduce the death rate of elderly people who have severe pneumonia.  Pneumonia and SARS (Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome) is what kills people with the coronavirus.  Vitamin C has been shown to be effective against viral pneumonia since the 1940’s.  There were a series of research papers published then that showed vitamin C treatment could reverse viral pneumonia in 72 hours. The papers lead author and researcher was Dr. Frederick Klenner.  He was a board certified chest physician or what we call a pulmonologist today.  I have always been a big proponent on vitamin C and have been reading research papers on the subject for many years.  My recommendation has always been to take 1000mg of liposomal vitamin C daily. Liposomal C prevents loose bowels that can come with taking large doses of Vitamin C. !000mg is not a large dose.  Then if not feeling well, I would take 3000mg of vitamin C, 3-4 times a day for a total of  12000 mg.  The coronavirus treatment in Korea is with 24,000 mg a day.  Experts here in the US think that 50,000 mg would be more appropriate.  As far as Vitamin D goes, the doctors in Korea are using IV with 100,000 units as the dosage.  Compare this to the 8000 units of D that I personally take daily in the winter time.   So, my take away from this report is that I would not try and mimic these types of treatments by taking oral supplements to match those dosages.  I would continue to take what you should take normally each day, 1000-2000mg of vitamin C per day and 35 units per pound of bodyweight of vitamin D3 (winter, no sun dosage).  If feeling ill, upping the vitamin C and dividing 9000 mg  into multiple doses 3 -4 times per day is a good idea.  Now on the other hand, If I or a family member ended up in the hospital with severe viral symptoms and it had attacked our lungs, I would strongly suggest to my doctors that I want IV vitamin C and D treatment in high doses, under medical supervision.  That is my opinion on what I would do.

Another interesting article came from a Stanford University Biology professor who won the 2013 Nobel Prize in chemistry, Michael Levitt.  He has written reports predicting how the virus would peak. He accurately predicted that in china the virus would peak at 80,000 and have 3250 deaths in March.  He almost nailed it with 81,588 cases and 3281 deaths.  The professor feels (and this is educated opinion) that the virus will not wreak months or even years of social disruption or cause millions of deaths.  Levitt focuses on new cases as opposed to overall totals. He says the numbers are still noisy but there are signs of slowed growth. 

If you have not watched my video yet on how to stay healthy during this viral time, go to YouTube and search Rugby Doc and you will find “Immune System Health and CoVid-19.  Here is the link for you as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a58-dOCQJmI

Pregancy care during viral season is extremely important.  It is a priority to remain as healthy as possible during pregnancy.  Chiropractors are a great resource for the pregnant mother-to-be.

Author

Dr J. Zimmerman, Chiropractor Dr. Zimmerman is a practicing chiropractor from Galloway, NJ with 30 years of chiropractic practice.