Vitamin C May Enhance Radiation Therapy for Aggressive Brain Tumours

Recent research by the University of Otago, Wellington has shown that giving brain cancer cells high dose vitamin C makes them much more susceptible to radiation therapy. The study, carried out in association with Wellington’s Malaghan Institute was recently published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine. Lead author Dr Patries Herst together with Dr Melanie McConnell investigated …

Vitamin C Prevents Vaccination Side Effects; Increases Effectiveness

by Thomas E Levy, MD, JD The routine administration of vaccinations continues to be a subject of controversy in the United States, as well as throughout the world. Parents who want the best for their babies and children continue to be faced with decisions that they fear could harm their children if made incorrectly. The …

Two Vitamin C Tablets Every Day Could Save 200,000 American Lives Every Year

Ascorbate Supplementation Reduces Heart Failure New research has reported that risk of heart failure decreases with increasing blood levels of vitamin C [1]. Persons with the lowest plasma levels of ascorbate had the highest risk of heart failure, and persons with the highest levels of vitamin C had the lowest risk of heart failure. According …

Vitamins Decrease Lung Cancer Risk by 50%

by Robert G. Smith, PhD.  A recent study [1] of the effect of B vitamins on a large group of participants reported an inverse relationship between blood serum levels of vitamin B6, methionine, and folate and the risk of lung cancer. High serum levels of vitamin B6, methionine and folate were associated with a 50% or …

Low Vitamin C Levels May Raise Heart Failure Patients’ Risk

Low levels of vitamin C were associated with higher levels of high sensitivity C-Reactive protein (hsCRP) and shorter intervals without major cardiac issues or death for heart failure patients, in research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2011. Compared to those with high vitamin C intake from food, heart failure patients in the …

Nutraceuticals and Headache: The Biological Basis

Headaches are a common and debilitating ailment from which most people suffer at one time or another. Common types of headaches include tension headaches, migraines, cluster headaches and sinus headaches. Headaches can have many causes, but serious causes of headaches are rare.  This review discusses the biological basis for non-conventional or non-mainstream approaches to the treatment of …

Study Adds Weight to Link Between Calcium Supplements and Heart Problems

Research: Calcium supplements with or without vitamin D and risk of cardiovascular events: Reanalysis of the Women’s Health Initiative limited access dataset and meta-analysis Research published in BMJ (British Medical Journal) in April 2011 adds to mounting evidence that calcium supplements increase the risk of cardiovascular events, particularly heart attacks, in older women. The findings suggest that their …

“Anticonvulsant Action” of Vitamin D in Epileptic Patients? A Controlled Pilot Study

This pilot study by Christiansen, Rødbro, and Sjö was published in 1974 in the British Medical Journal. The frequency of epileptic seizures was observed in a controlled therapeutic trial on 23 epileptic inpatients before and after treatment with vitamin D2 or placebo in addition to anticonvulsant drugs. The number of seizures was reduced during treatment with vitamin D2 but not with placebo. The effect was unrelated to changes in serum …

Nutritional Support for Wound Healing

Nutrition plays a crucial role in wound healing. Nutritional status of patients at the time of trauma or surgery influences the biochemical processes necessary for the phases of normal healing to occur. Evidence exists that vitamins A and C, zinc, arginine, glutamine, glucosamine, bromelain, Aloe vera, and Centella asiatica may be beneficial to wounded or …

Additives meant to protect vitamin C actually cause more harm

Anti-caking agents in powdered products may hasten degradation of vitamin C instead of doing what they are supposed to do: protect the nutrient from moisture. Lisa Mauer, a Purdue University professor of food science; Lynne Taylor, a professor of industrial and physical pharmacy; and graduate student Rebecca Lipasek study deliquescence, a reaction in which humidity …