Dr. Thomas Levy sent me a case report where vitamin C was used to completely cure a case of swine flu. He says that adequately dosed vitamin C, to his knowledge, has never failed to cure an acute viral syndrome.

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Dr. Thomas E. Levy, M.D., J.D, is the author of several books, including Curing the Incurable: Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases, and Toxins, and Stop America's #1 Killer, a book about vitamin deficiency and heart disease. He’s also written extensively on topics such as dental toxicity issues from mercury amalgams and root canals, vaccine safety, and the clinical uses of vitamin C for infectious diseases.

I’m very pleased to share this case report I recently received from him, where a patient fully recovered from a near-lethal case of the swine flu, using intravenous vitamin C.

The report also illustrates just how difficult it may be to get a conventional hospital to concede to such measures. Fortunately, this man’s family was both resourceful and insistent.

Vitamin C and Infectious Disease

In one of his articles, Dr. Levy describes the mechanics of vitamin C, and how it works to treat infectious diseases such as the flu.

According to Dr. Albert Szent-Gyorgyi (who won the Nobel Prize in 1937 for his discovery of vitamin C), “health” occurs when there is an ample flow and interchange of electrons in your cells. Impaired or poor electron flow and interchange equals “disease,” and when the flow and interchange ceases entirely, your cells die.

Oxidation, caused by free radicals in your body, involves the loss of electrons.

Antioxidants counters the disease process caused by oxidation (loss of electrons) by supplying electrons.

Vitamin C is a major antioxidant, and according to Dr. Levy, perhaps the most important “electron donor” to maintain optimal electron flow in your cells.

Using vitamin C to combat infectious diseases is not new, yet conventional medicine can be quite resistant to the idea, as this case report shows. Even when the man was on his death bed the hospital was still unwilling to give him intravenous vitamin C, despite the fact they had absolutely nothing left in their own toolkit!

In 2005, the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service (a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource), published findings that vitamin C beats bird flu and other viruses:

“High dose vitamin C is a remarkably safe and effective treatment for viral infections. In high doses, vitamin C neutralizes free radicals, helps kill viruses, and strengthens your body's immune system.

Taking supplemental vitamin C routinely helps prevent viral infections.

The Avian Flu (or Bird Flu), so often mentioned by newspapers, magazines and other news sources, is a particularly severe form of influenza. It should probably be called Poultry Flu, since almost all of the 150 or so human infections have come from domestic poultry.

Interestingly, the symptoms of avian flu include hemorrhages under the skin, and bleeding from the nose and gums. These are also classical symptoms of clinical scurvy, which means a critical vitamin C deficiency is present. This means that vitamin C (ascorbate) is needed to treat it.

Severe cases may require 200,000 to 300,000 milligrams of vitamin C or more, given intravenously (IV) by a physician.

This very high dosing may be needed since the Avian Flu appears to consume vitamin C very rapidly, similar to an acute viral hemorrhagic fever, somewhat like an Ebola infection.”

They even stated that vitamin C, at saturation, can replace antiviral drugs.

Here are three other sources discussing the remarkable benefits of vitamin C for infectious diseases such as the flu:

1. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 1999 found that vitamin C in megadoses administered before or after the appearance of cold and flu symptoms relieved and prevented the symptoms in the test population compared with the control group.

2. The Clinical Experiences of Frederick R. Klenner, MD states that cases of influenza, encephalitis, and measles were easily cured with vitamin C injections and oral doses.

3. Orthomed.com – Dr. Robert Cathcart, MD, also offers personal case studies where intravenous administration of vitamin C turned out to be lifesaving in cases of acute flu complications.

   “It is not really a matter of medicine; it is a matter of chemistry. Doses of ascorbate which are massive enough to force a reducing redox potential into tissues affected by the disease will always neutralize the free radicals,” he says.

Alternatives to Dangerous and Poorly Tested Flu Vaccines

It’s nice to know there are at least two viable alternatives to conventional flu treatments, especially now that governments and health officials everywhere are gearing up to inoculate as many as possible with the experimental swine flu vaccine.

And, we already know that the most often used flu drug Tamiflu comes with a laundry list of potential dangers, from blackouts to brain infections, to neuropsychiatric events, and death.

The other alternative, of course, is vitamin D, which I have already mentioned in previous articles.

Although the studies proving vitamin D’s protective powers against the flu do not include the swine flu virus specifically (it’s too new), it’s likely that vitamin D can offer protection against swine flu as well.

Flu viruses mutate each year, yet people with sufficient vitamin D levels appear more or less immune to the seasonal flu without regard for which strain is currently in circulation.

There is so much compelling evidence, that I believe keeping your vitamin D levels optimized year-round is one of the absolute best strategies for avoiding infections of ALL kinds, and vitamin D deficiency is likely the TRUE culprit behind the seasonal flu -- not the flu virus itself.

If you are coming down with flu-like symptoms and have not been on vitamin D you can take doses of 50,000 units a day for three days to treat the acute infection. Some researchers like Dr. Cannell believe the dose could even be as high as 1,000 units per pound of body weight for three days.

That said, there’s always the possibility that if you’ve never been exposed to the antigens, there is a chance that the vitamin D might not work, even in these megadoses.

Ultimately, your best bet is to maintain healthy levels of vitamin D around 60 ng/ml year-round. For more in-depth information about test values, recommended labs, and the treatment of vitamin D deficiency, please review this previous article.

To find out even more important information about vitamin D, I strongly recommend you watch my one-hour free vitamin D lecture along with my video on vitamin D’s role in flu prevention.

A Word of Caution about Vitamin C Supplements

It’s important to remember that every nutrient you ingest raises or lowers up to nine other nutrients in your body.

Every nutrient needs certain synergistic nutrients, and if you are already low in those synergistic nutrients, taking more of one thing will only further deplete the existing deficient levels, worsening any problems relating to that nutrient’s metabolism.

For example, taking large doses of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) on a regular basis lowers your level of copper, so if you are already deficient in copper and take high doses of vitamin C, you can compromise your immune system.

So, whereas temporarily taking megadoses of vitamin C supplements to combat a case of the cold or flu is likely not going to cause a problem, for long-term, daily use, your best bet is to eat an diet that is full of high quality organic vegetables and fruits that are minimally processed. Not only will you get vitamin C, but you will get all the other accessory nutrients and micronutrients that are needed to optimize it.

Related Links:

  Vitamin C Gives Staying Power to Antioxidants
 

  Canada Looks at Vitamin D for Swine Flu Protection
 

  Many Health Workers Won't Take Swine Flu Vaccine
 

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/24/IV-Vitamin-C-Used-to-Recover-Terminal-Swine-Flu-Case.aspx

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