CHAPTER 5

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS

"I've been guilty myself, in many instances, of thinking, when
some new exciting idea comes along, 'This can't be right.'"

Paul Greengard
Awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize
in Physiology or Medicine

Balancing Antioxidant Supplementation

While the evidence clearly demonstrates that vitamin C is the premier antioxidant and arguably the premier nutrient in the body, a supplementation regimen that features exclusively vitamin C is certainly not being recommended. However, the importance of vitamin C is such that taking it alone may well be of greater benefit than taking any other combination of supplements that completely excluded vitamin C. The recommendations in this chapter should be regarded as my opinions and general guidelines only, and the reader is advised to obtain the guidance of a qualified health care professional before adopting any long-term supplementation regimens.

A good supplementation program, in addition to vitamin C as ascorbic acid or sodium ascorbate, should include vitamin A (as beta carotene), vitamin E, and the B vitamins. However, B12 supplementation should be limited to documented states of deficiency, and hydroxycobalamin should be taken rather than cyanocobalamin to gradually restore B12 levels. Important antioxidants that can be added include alpha lipoic acid, coenzyme Q10, silibinin or silymarin, glutathione, and N-acetyl cysteine. Taking a variety of the important antioxidants has certain direct benefits in addition to keeping vitamin C levels up by continuously converting oxidized vitamin C back to the metabolically active reduced form. Flavonoids, such as quercetin and rutin, are also important supporters of vitamin C's metabolic functions.
There is no magic dosage for any of the supplements. Like vitamin C, much higher doses of a given supplement might be indicated for a given medical condition versus a much lower maintenance dose to support and maintain good health. Cost is a consideration, as well as the decision on how many pills one is willing to take each day.

Vitamin C Optidosing

For the average healthy adult, taking a daily dose of vitamin C ranging between 6,000 and 12,000 mg will generally meet the body's metabolic needs. Most adults will need a dosage closer to 12,000 mg than to 6,000 mg. Taking less than 6,000 mg of vitamin C a day would be an optidose for only a few individuals. It should be taken into consideration, however, that the only real chance of encountering a prooxidant effect with vitamin C occurs in the context of lower dose ranges (see Chapter 4). A prooxidant effect is rare at any dose, but doses of 500 mg or less will increase the chance of its occurrence. The practical determination of a vitamin C optidose for an individual is best calculated after determining one's bowel tolerance as described by Cathcart (1981). Depending upon one's underlying medical diseases or daily toxin exposure, this bowel tolerance can vary widely from person to person. Chronic cancer patients and chronic infection patients like those with AIDS can have bowel tolerances of 100,000 mg of vitamin C or higher. However, most healthy individuals with an average body size will demonstrate a bowel tolerance effect between 10,000 and 15,000 mg of vitamin C.

Once the bowel tolerance has been determined, taking approximately the same dose of vitamin C in three or four divided doses throughout the day will meet the body's daily need for vitamin C without causing the bowel tolerance "flushing" effect. If diarrhea or loosened bowels are experienced even with the divided dosing regimen, then the dose should be adjusted downward until the effect is no longer present. Remember, however, that vitamin C-induced diarrhea is a good thing to periodically undergo since it cleans out the bowels and detoxifies pockets of toxicity that are harbored in the gut. Therefore, if the bowel tolerance symptoms are not an inconvenience it is likely even better for long-term health to keep vitamin C doses at levels inducing these symptoms. Generally, if one's baseline health remains stable, and new infections or new medical conditions do not develop, the vitamin C bowel tolerance dosage should remain stable. Sometimes you may be able to infer that your body has encountered a new infective challenge when your vitamin C bowel tolerance rather suddenly increases. This generally indicates that the body's requirement for vitamin C has acutely increased. If you notice this, increase your vitamin C dosing accordingly. As you maintain your vitamin C doses near your bowel tolerance, you should also gradually develop a greater health "intuition." Unless there is exposure to a very high titer of infectious microorganisms all at once, you should remain common cold- and flu-free. However, you will sometimes notice days where you are not clearly sick, but you are also not completely well. Your energy level might be off a bit, but it probably will not prevent you from doing whatever you need to do. The end result is that when you maintain a regular optidose of vitamin C, just being a bit "off" will usually be as sick as you get when faced with even the biggest of infectious and toxic challenges.

Your vitamin C optidose must be taken on a daily basis. If there are colds and flu "going around" at the office, you can quickly contract such an infection if you miss your vitamin C for even one day. Also, even though you may be more resistant to the common viruses infecting your friends for a day or two away from vitamin C due to the superior vitamin C stores in your body, the rebound effect discussed in Chapter 4 can temporarily increase your chances of contracting a virus for several days after suddenly stopping long-term high-dose supplementation.