STORY AT-A-GLANCE
Vitamins C and D are finally being adopted in the conventional treatment of novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. This fortunate turn of events is likely to save thousands of lives, while keeping health care costs down
Seriously ill coronavirus patients in New York state’s largest hospital system receive 1,500 milligrams of intravenous vitamin C three to four times a day, in conjunction with other conventional treatments
Vitamin C at extremely high doses acts as an antiviral drug, actually killing viruses
In recent articles, former CDC chief Dr. Tom Frieden and Dr. John C. Umhau, a public health specialist at NIH, highlight the usefulness of sun exposure and/or vitamin D supplementation to reduce your risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection
Although vitamin D does not appear to have a direct effect on viruses, it does strengthen immune function, thus allowing the host body to combat the virus more effectively. It also suppresses inflammatory processes
Remember last year when Washington Post reporters were boldly declaring that vitamins C and D could not (and should not) be used against respiratory infections? The information I was sharing about their use was deemed so dangerous to public health that I was branded as a “fake news” site by self-appointed, pharma-owned arbiters of truth like NewsGuard.
How times have changed. After having defamatory lies published about me, vitamins C and D are now (finally) being adopted in the conventional treatment of novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.
That just goes to show that when push comes to shove, the truth eventually prevails. When the medicine cabinet is empty, and doctors have limited options, suddenly the basics become viable again, and that is good news indeed, as it’s likely to save thousands of lives, while keeping health care costs down.
Vitamin C Treatment Implemented for Coronavirus Infection
As reported by the New York Post, March 24, 2020:1
“Seriously sick coronavirus patients in New York state’s largest hospital system are being given massive doses of vitamin C … Dr. Andrew G. Weber, a pulmonologist and critical-care specialist affiliated with two Northwell Health facilities on Long Island, said his intensive-care patients with the coronavirus immediately receive 1,500 milligrams of intravenous vitamin C.
Identical amounts of the powerful antioxidant are then re-administered three or four times a day, he said … The regimen is based on experimental treatments administered to people with the coronavirus in Shanghai, China …
‘The patients who received vitamin C did significantly better than those who did not get vitamin C,’ he said. ‘It helps a tremendous amount, but it is not highlighted because it’s not a sexy drug’ …
Weber … said vitamin C levels in coronavirus patients drop dramatically when they suffer sepsis, an inflammatory response that occurs when their bodies overreact to the infection. ‘It makes all the sense in the world to try and maintain this level of vitamin C,’ he said.”
A Northwell Health spokesperson has reportedly confirmed that vitamin C treatment is being “widely used” against coronavirus within the 23-hospital system. According to Weber, vitamin C is being used in conjunction with the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin, which have also shown promise in coronavirus treatment.
Public Health Specialist Weighs in on Vitamin D
Similarly, in a March 25, 2020, MedPage Today article,13 Dr. John C. Umhau writes:
“As a public health specialist at the National Institutes of Health, I outlined how a lack of sun-induced vitamin D in the winter and early spring leads to epidemic acute respiratory infections (and this probably includes viruses like COVID-19).
That review, cited almost a thousand times, argued that groups with low vitamin D levels — the obese and the elderly and those with dark skin — may require 5,000 IU of vitamin D each day to obtain the 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels of 50 ng/mL that appear to protect against viral respiratory infection.
A government-sponsored research strategy to address this issue has not been developed, as officials explained that there was no mandate to explore an alternative to the existing vaccination program.
However, other researchers picked up the ball and provided convincing evidence that vitamin D could reduce the incidence of acute respiratory infection.”
While Umhau specifies a daily dosage, it’s crucial to remember that required dosages can vary widely from one person to another, and that the most important factor here is your blood level. You simply must adjust the vitamin D dose based on your specific recently measured vitamin D level.
I haven’t swallowed oral vitamin D for over a decade and my D level is over 70 ng/mL, as I walk in the sun nearly every day for one hour with my shirt off. I take no supplemental vitamin D. For those who are unable to get sun exposure and have low levels, doses of vitamin D3 may be 10,000 units a day or even higher, but the only way to know is to measure your blood levels.
For that, you must get tested, and then take whatever dosage required to get into the ideal range. While 50 ng/mL may be sufficient, I recommend a vitamin D level between 60 ng/mL and 80 ng/mL for optimal health and disease prevention. GrassrootsHealth’s D*Action research has shown you need at least 40 ng/mL to lower your risk of many diseases.14
In his article Umhau cites a 2017 meta-analysis15 of 25 randomized controlled trials showing vitamin D supplementation helped prevent acute respiratory infections. Those with vitamin D blood levels below 10 ng/mL, which is a serious deficiency state, cut their risk of infection by half, while people with higher vitamin D levels reduced their risk by about 10%.
Importantly, they found that, among those with severe vitamin D deficiency at baseline, you only need to treat four individuals in order to prevent one infection. That’s FAR more effective than influenza vaccination, which requires 71 individuals to be vaccinated in order to prevent a single case of influenza.16
According to this international research team, vitamin D supplementation could prevent more than 3.25 million cases of cold and flu each year in the U.K. alone.17 In my view, optimizing your vitamin D levels is one of the absolute best strategies available to prevent respiratory illness of all kinds.
Vitamins C and D Recommendations
Based on the available scientific evidence, there’s no reason to ignore vitamins C and D for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections.
Remember to test your vitamin D level. Do it at home and stay away from hospitals unless you’re already having symptoms of worsening respiratory infection, such as difficulty breathing. The level you’re aiming for is 60 ng/mL.
GrassrootsHealth makes testing easy by offering an inexpensive vitamin D testing kit as part of its consumer-sponsored research. All revenues from these kits go directly to GrassrootsHealth. I make no profit from these kits and only provide them as a service of convenience to my readers.
Vitamin C is also a crucial aid, both for the prevention and treatment of viral illnesses. You can find pertinent reports and research about vitamin C against COVID-19 on the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service website.21 I recommend using liposomal vitamin C, as it allows you to take far higher dosages than regular vitamin C (as regular vitamin C is limited by your bowel tolerance).
Dr. Robert Rowen, whom I recently interviewed about the use of vitamin C and ozone therapy for COVID-19, suggests taking upward of 6 grams (6,000 mg) per hour for acute illness, to simulate intravenous administration levels. Prophylactically, it is not recommended to take such high doses.
The only contraindication to high-dose vitamin C treatment is if you are glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficient, which is a genetic disorder.22 G6PD is required for your body to produce NADPH, which is necessary to transfer reductive potential to keep antioxidants, such as vitamin C, functional.
Because your red blood cells do not contain any mitochondria, the only way it can provide reduced glutathione is through NADPH, and since a deficiency of G6PD eliminates this, it causes red blood cells to rupture due to inability to compensate for oxidative stress.
Fortunately, G6PD deficiency is relatively uncommon, and can be tested for. People of Mediterranean and African decent are at greater risk of being G6PD deficient. Worldwide, G6PD deficiency is thought to affect 400 million individuals, and in the U.S., an estimated 1 in 10 African-American males has it.23 Be sure to read this Thursday’s lead article on one of the most important preventive and therapeutic strategies for COVID-19.
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola
