HIV is a Virus
Vitamin C is the Best Defense We Have Against Viral Infections
“If I were to undertake new studies on the silkworm disease, I would concern myself with the ways of increasing their general vigor…I am convinced that it would be possible to discover techniques for giving worms a higher level of robustness and thereby rendering them more resistent to infection.”
– Louis Pasteur
This quote from the man that discovered the germ theory shows his understanding of the value of promoting the health and vitality of the organism to resist and overcome disease.
Our immune systems require Vitamin C. The more stress we are under (physical things like infection or exposure to cold, emotional problems, etc. all produce stress to our systems) the more Vitamin C we need to produce homeostasis (see Primer). Dr. Cathcart refers to disease by the amount of daily vitamin C required to reach bowel tolerance limit. He says mononucleosis or viral pneumonia may require 200 grams or more per day! He discusses this on the web at Vitamin C Dosage in Disease.
HIV and AIDS are infections that can be positively effected by Vitamin C. I refer you to The AIDS Fighters by Ian Brighthope. He explains his nutrition work with AIDS patients. While his nutritional program is quite comprehensive, its foundation is vitamin C.
Cathcart’s Work
Dr. Cathcart has treated AIDS patients with Vitamin C with success. He believes massive amounts of ascorbate (Vitamin C) can suppress the symptoms of the disease AND minimize the likelihood and severity of secondary infections. His write-up covering this is on the web. Cathcart on AIDS Also, in 1994 Dr. Cathcart wrote a letter to the editor of the Lancet, a premier British medical publication, detailing his experiences with AIDS and vitamin C. Read Dr. Cathcart’s Lancet Letter.
Early Research
A reader in the business of Nutritional Anti-Aging Stress Relief, Martin Hodes, Boca Raton, Florida sent me a reprint of an article discussing some basic AIDS research from 1983! In it an article in American Health, May-June 1983 by Jeffrey Laurence, M.D. at Rockefeller University reviews his experience with AIDS. His research led him to investigate if anything would block the viruses suppression of the immune system. About his results with L-alanine, vitamin C and vitamin E he says
“put…these in high enough doses in a test tube and they block the suppressor factor so that cells have a normal immune response.” (emphasis his). Dosage to attain this Laurence states “The vitamin C equivalent in man of the dose that works in the test tube is 10 to 20 grams a day”. Then he adds “…far too toxic”!
Of course, as we well know, 10 to 20 grams per day is not an unreasonable dose for most anyone and anything but toxic! So where have the studies been to try this? Why hasn’t everyone with HIV or AIDS been told to take large doses of C on the chance that it may help and certainly won’t hurt? I don’t have satisfactory answers to these questions, but you now have the information to make a decision yourself.
If you have AIDS or know someone you can refer, we want to help. Also, we need your experience with Vitamin C to educate others. Please contact us via the experiences form or directly via the e-mail link at the bottom of the page. Thank you.