Ascorbic acid (common name Vitamin C)

The missing liver chemical in Humans

By Dr. John Myers

In the past 30 years Dr. Irwin Stone has changed out perspective on nutrition with respect to Vitamin C. Scurvy is a disease produced by the absence of Vitamin C. It is a disease that was recognized in the early Egyptians; it was mentioned in the writings of Hippocrates, and was a disease recognized in the soldiers of the Roman legions. It is a disease that has existed throughout man's entire history. It has killed more individuals, caused more human misery, and changed the course of history more than any other single factor.

It is only within the last few years that we have appreciated the role of Vitamin C as a liver enzyme metabolite rather than a simple dietary deficiency. This NEW PERSPECTIVE changes our entire approach to the understanding of clinical medicine. We are now in a position to understand that we are not using a vitamin but a mammalian liver metabolite in a manner duplicating that which the mammals have found so successful. We also are now in a position by chemical technology to synthesize and to supply this ascorbic acid in quantity sufficient to protect us from the debilitation produced by our defective gene.

We must view all NEW PATIENTS as in a state of subclinical scurvy and correct this need before instituting any other therapy. The addition of the mineral elements to activate the various tissue enzymes adds another fantastic improvement to the degree of metabolic excellence that we can now obtain in clinical medicine.

Until 1907 scurvy was regarded as a disease perculiar to humans only because no other animal was known to develop it. It was in 1907 that guinea pigs were accidentally found to be susceptible to scurvy. Eventually it came to be realized that guinea pigs, some monkeys and some birds, along with man, suffered a biochemical lesion of the liver that prevents them from synthesizing ascorbic acid (common name Vitamin C) from a sugar, glucose. This missing enzyme in the liver is due to a defective gene in the DNA molecule that would govern its synthesis. This makes it necessary for the humans et al to have a continuous outside source of ascorbic acid or vitamin C throughout life in order to survive. Because of this defective gene, scurvy is not a simple dietary liver disturbance but a serious inborn error of carbohydrate metabolism. It is a genetic liver enzyme disease. It exists in 100% of ALL humans.

We have come to understand Vitamin C or ascorbic acid as it is used in the body as a specific for scurvy and that extremely small amounts on the order of a few milligrams a day are adequate to prevent the appearance of the classical signs of frank, clinical scurvy. This has led to a widespread impression in medicine that ascorbic acid is only useful in the prevention and treatment of frank classical scurvy and that these daily small milligram amounts offer COMPLETE PROTECTION. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The few milligrams used to treat the dietary disturbance are adequate only to prevent the classical signs of impending death from scurvy, but are grossly inadequate to full correct our genetic liver enzyme disease in order for us to maintain full vibrant lifelong health.

It is this uncorrected chronic subclinical scurvy that is basically responsible for the high incidence and morbidity of heart disease, cancer, the collagen diseases, and many others.

It is a necessary metabolite that must be supplied daily. Linus Pauling in studying this defect has shown that animals manufacture ascorbic acid in their liver to the extent of 5 to 13 grams a day. The goat produces 13 grams. Irwin Stone has collected the following figures from the literature:

Rat unstressed 2-5 g stressed 15 g

Mouse 19 g

Rabbit 16 g

Goat 13 g

Dog 3 g (Dogs and cats are poor producers and require supplementation for good health.)

Cat 3 g

Human 0 g

Irwin Stone made the first calculation of the need for Vitamin C in 1966 based on rat liver synthesis. When he extrapolated his measurements to a 150 pound adult human it indicated the need for 5 g of ascorbic acid daily in the unstressed condition and 15 g daily under stress. It may be difficult for some of you to believe these figures when the minimum daily allowance of ascorbic acid recommended by the FDA is only 60mg a day. Those of us who have been in clinical medicine for the past 40 years or more have come to realize the need for ascorbic acid in amounts of about 3 g a day and this increased by 3 or 4 times in the states of infection, healing and surgery. Dr. Frederic Klenner uses sodium ascorbate intravenously in amounts of 30-150 g daily for health conditions. He takes 20 g daily himself.

The important thing to realize in this new perspective on Vitamin C is that we can no longer consider it a dietary deficiency. WE MUST REALIZE THAT WE ALL SUFFER SUBCLINICAL SCURVY AND OUR ENTIRE STATE OF METABOLIC EXCELLENCE DEPENDS UPON AN ADEQUATE INTAKE OF VITAMIN C EVERY DAY. Without this base all forms of subclinical illnesses appear, even the development of severe mental symptoms including a constant anxiety state and a persistent desire to commit suicide in chronic states of insufficiency.

In the course of his long-term study of Vitamin C metabolism Emil Ginter discovered a remarkable relationship of Vitamin C and cholesterol. He showed that within the liver cell in the presence of adequate ascorbate cholesterol is modified by the incorporation of an OH group into the cholesterol nucleus. This reaction initiates the transformation of water insoluble cholesterol into bile acids which are readily soluble in water. His experiments showed also that this solubility action prevents the formation of gallstones. It also caused recently formed gallstones to disintegrate. Vitamin C proved effective beyond all expectations in depressing the levels of plasma triglycerides, which are blood fats. High plasma triglycerides play a significant and basic role in the pathogenesis of high blood cholesterol and eventually atherosclerosis.

In the first part of this paper I discussed the health and longevity of groups of people in three isolated areas of the world. They had one thing in common--they lived in valleys a mile high with a river at their back that washed silted wated into their water supply. I believe it was this silted mineral material that was the reason for their good health.

We must now ask how the high longivity people in the three areas of the world studied by Dr. Leaf managed to get their supply of Vitamin C which was absolutely essential to their well-being and longevity. Here again by fortuitous circumstances they consumed large qantities of fresh fruits, peppers, vegetables and grasses. Ascorbic acid is one of the most important protective biochemical substances in all living processes. All multi-cellular organisms both plant and animal either make it within their bodies or get it in their food, or they perish. It is completely by accident that these people obtained an adequate supply of Vitamin C in their primitive living and agricultural existence.

It is only within the last few years that we have appreciated the role of Vitamin C as a liver enzyme metabolite rather than a simple dietary deficiency. This NEW PERSPECTIVE changes our entire approach to the understanding of clinical medicine. We are now in a position to understand that we are not using a vitamin but a mammalian liver metabolite in a manner duplicating that which the mammals have found so successful. We also are now in a position by chemical technology to synthesize and to supply this ascorbic acid in quantity sufficient to protect us from the debilitation produced by our defective gene.

We must view all NEW PATIENTS as in a state of subclinical scurvy and correct this need before instituting any other therapy. The addition of the mineral elements to activate the various tissue enzymes adds another fantastic improvement to the degree of metabolic excellence that we can now obtain in clinical medicine.

And finally one of the most difficult elements to obtain is IODINE. The female can metabolize it from iodine extremely well. The male does better, particularly in later life, by the supplementation of iodine as diiodotyrosine. But in any case both sexes require more iodine than is usually supplied by our diet. Ascorbic acid, trace elements, and iodine are necessary in the promotion and maintenance of metabolic excellence.

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