Vitamin C for Virus Protection and Overall Health

Chiropractic is a 100% natural, drug free branch of the health care professions.  As a practicing chiropractor with loads of experience, I have a distinct viewpoint and philosophy om drugs and medications.  The ultimate goal for health is to completely avoid taking drugs and medications.  That being said, there is always a time and a place for medication.  For instance, certain drugs are designed to support a failed system in the body and without those drugs a person could die (ex. blood pressure, diabetes, etc.)  Other drugs like antibiotics, in the presence of a bacterial infection, can also save your life.  So, my mantra in life has always been medications are there for when it is completely necessary otherwise not.  I have always been anti-over-the-counter medications which basically only provide symptom relief and overuse, overtime can lead to many health conditions like kidney and liver disease.  Even most of my older healthy patients will admit that the one of the reasons they are healthy is that that they avoid taking medications unless it is necessary. 
 
What happens if I start to get symptoms of a cold or virus?  Do I take medications?  The answer is no.  In my medicine cabinet is literally no medicine.  What I have learned over the years is to stock my “medicine” cabinet with certain vitamins and herbal supplements that I know can help my body heal itself naturally.  One such vitamin is vitamin C.  C is the workhorse for getting people healthy. Vitamin C is found in abundance in fruits and vegetables and is absolutely needed to be consumed by the body for health and the prevention of certain diseases.  Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin which means that it doesn’t stick around in the body.  C will get eliminated (peeing).  That is why food must be eaten daily that contains C.
 
So, the question remains, why is vitamin C in my medicine cabinet?   The health benefits are immense concerning preventing or recovering from an illness.  Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant that protects and prevents cell damage to immune system cells.  C also is involved in the promotion of the body producing interferon which has strong ant-viral properties.  Vitamin C’s effects on the common cold have been the most researched and studies show that taking a high enough dosage of vitamin C can reduce the symptoms and duration of  a cold when taken at the onset.
 
Further research shows that vitamin C reduces oxidative damage to the body’s cells which has shown to be helpful in decreasing the risk of neurogenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s diseases and multiple sclerosis.
 
The trick with vitamin C is knowing what kind, how much and when to take it.  Naturally, everyone needs Vitamin C on a daily basis.  The USRDA recommends 60mg a day which is an extremely tiny amount (enough to prevent scurvy) and is easily acquired eating healthy foods.  Most doctors and scientists think the RDA (recommended daily allowance) should be at the very least 200 mg. I take 1000mg daily for health maintenance.  Most vitamin C that people take as supplements is not completely absorbed by the body and it’s nutrient value is wasted.  The best form of vitamin C in fighting an illness or disease and health maintenance is intravenous injections.  When injected, the C  bypasses the stomach and enters the blood stream directly to start doing its job.  IV C is the best way to go, but since it has to be injected, it is not the easiest process to come by.  Though many doctors are now offering vitamin C treatments through IV. 
 
The next best vitamin C option is oral liposomal vitamin C.  Liposomal vitamin C, due to the vitamin being encapsulated in lipids (fats), has an increased bioavailability and absorption rate in the body. Plus, it will not cause gastric issues when taken at higher doses.
 
When I start to not feel well, I head for the “medicine” cabinet and take out liposomal vitamin C, 1000mg capsules.  I typically take four capsules (4000 mg) three to four times a day, every 3-4 hours. Usually one or two days of that and I am all better.  New research is suggesting that in the presence of acute virus attack, not the onset, take 4000mg of liposomal C every hour until symptoms start to improve, decreasing dosage over a few days as you get better.  You cannot do that method of high dose C every hour with regular C as it will cause diarrhea.  Once all better, I go back to my low dose daily vitamin C intake of one capsule a day.
 
I strongly believe, especially during this time of CoVid-19, liposomal vitamin C should be in everyone’s medicine cabinet.

Pregnancy and chiropractic:  The round ligament supports the uterous and baby during pregancy.  If the pelvic bones are out of alignment, the malposition pulls on the round ligaments and can cause tightening which then may restrict the space that the unborn baby has to move in the uterous. The chiropractor realigns the pelvic bones helping to remove tension on the round ligament, further soft tissue work on the round ligament (Webster's Technique) will also loosen the ligament tension.  This is one chiropractic method to help out during pregnancy and to help ensure that the pregnancy is an uncomplicated one. 

Author

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