CrowPie:

i must respectfully disagree with some of your statements on Vitamin C, with the knowledge that you do have a professional medical background:

>Some medical conditions make one more prone to retain too much vitamin c. Simple conditions such as muscle sprains or bruises can make a person predisposed to absorbing too much vitamin c, but so can taking iron supplements.

there is simply no such thing as “retaining too much vitamin C.” vitamin C is literally less toxic than water, since drinking too much water can actually cause an electrolyte imbalance and lead to death. excess vitamin C is simply egested through loose stools. as for the iron consideration, this is only a concern is cases of hemochromatosis, and even then there is debate as to whether megadoses of vitamin C can actually help chelate excess iron from the body in cases of HC, since it facilitates transport of iron in both directions.

>Someone who has taken too much vitamin c may start to show signs that confirm vitamin c overdose. Minor symptoms include a strong smell during urination, bloating or gas, nausea, and an upset stomach. One might also experience sores on the inside of their mouth. Diarrhea could also occur, but it’s harder to use this as a symptom of vitamin overdose as diarrhea can be caused by so many other foods or issues.

once again, there is simply no such thing as a “Vitamin C overdose.” the only effects that could be seen as negative are the loose stools and gas that you’ve mentioned, but this can hardly be termed an “overdose,” since in this case the differential tonicity of the ascorbate levels in the blood and the ascorbate levels in the digestive tract effectively causes an osmosis of water into the digestive tract, creating the loose stools. in other words, in such a case the excess Vitamin C is NOT EVEN ABSORBED, so it cannot *possibly* be termed an overdose of any sort. vitamin C is also a water soluble vitamin. the only vitamins one might have a chance at “overdosing” on would be FAT soluble vitamins (D, E, A, and K). vitamin C is regularly used in I.V. doses of 100 grams or more. if “overdosing” were AT ALL POSSIBLE, i would think this amount would do it. also, these patients never get kidney stones – a point i shall address in a second. as another example, vitamin B3 (niacin) – another water soluble vitamin – has been used in ludicrously high doses for the treatment of such diseases as schizophrenia. again, no “overdoses.”

>In a more severe case of overdose one might notice the following symptoms: the development of kidney stones, a greater need for oxygen, and deficiencies in B vitamins as well as copper. These symptoms usually only show up in more severe cases in which at least 6,000mg of vitamin c has been consumed, or when someone takes a large amount of vitamin c and other vitamins or minerals.

not to sound like a broken record, but there is simply no such thing as a vitamin C “overdose.” at worst, you would get loose stools and gas, but this is because the vitamin C is remaining harmlessly in the digestive tract, drawing out water into the intestines through osmosis, not being absorbed into the body, and hence no “overdose” is even possible. it’s never happened in the 70+ years of vitamin C megadosing therapy.

>If vitamin c overdose is left too long, it can lead to many long term complications, such as kidney disease, diabetes, and hypoglycemia. Many of these complications are irreversible or difficult to treat, so don’t let any suspected overdose go untreated.

NONE of those conditions are irreversible, even IF they were caused by high doses of Vitamin C – and they’re not. the “kidney stones” myth has proven quite a durable one, but it is a myth, and nothing more. the kidney stones are actually the products on excess oxalic acid, and the reason it gets blamed on Vitamin C is because oxalate is an end result of Vitamin C metabolism. allow me to quote from an article at orthomolecular.org:

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Does vitamin C cause kidney stones?
No. The myth of the vitamin C-caused kidney stone is rivaled in popularity only by the Loch Ness Monster. A factoid-crazy medical media often overlooks the fact that William J. McCormick, M.D., demonstrated that vitamin C actually prevents the formation of kidney stones. He did so in 1946, when he published a paper on the subject. (8) His work was confirmed by University of Alabama professor of medicine Emanuel Cheraskin, M.D.. Dr. Cheraskin showed that vitamin C inhibits the formation of oxalate stones. (9)

Other research reports that: “Even though a certain part of oxalate in the urine derives from metabolized ascorbic acid, the intake of high doses of vitamin C does not increase the risk of calcium oxalate kidney stones. . . (I)n the large- scale Harvard Prospective Health Professional Follow-Up Study, those groups in the highest quintile of vitamin C intake (greater than 1,500 mg/day) had a lower risk of kidney stones than the groups in the lowest quintiles.” (10)

Dr. Robert F. Cathcart said, “I started using vitamin C in massive doses in patients in 1969. By the time I read that ascorbate should cause kidney stones, I had clinical evidence that it did not cause kidney stones, so I continued prescribing massive doses to patients. Up to 2006, I estimate that I have put 25,000 patients on massive doses of vitamin C and none have developed kidney stones. Two patients who had dropped their doses to 500 mg a day developed calcium oxalate kidney stones. I raised their doses back up to the more massive doses and added magnesium and B-6 to their program and no more kidney stones. I think they developed the kidney stones because they were not taking enough vitamin C.”
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i have also been taking very high doses of oral ascorbate for quite a while now, and NEVER had issues with kidney stones, or any other of the maladies you’ve named.

the reason there is so much disinformation about vitamin C in the allopathic medical community is because it is a non-patentable, simple, natural, God-given medicine that is endlessly versatile in its uses to heal people. THAT is a good reason to circulate false info discouraging people from using it to heal themselves.

here’s a simple, short article that deals with some of the objections to vitamin C megadosing therapy:

http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v06n24.shtml