A Vitamin-C Story

[Eddie_T]

Before the days of cell phones I was sitting in a clinic while my wife was getting a chelation drip. A doctor who was head of a testing lab associated with the clinic was getting a Vitamin-C drip. He told of a conference he attended in MI and afterwards was driving up the peninsula to spend Thanksgiving with family.

As he drove he felt cold or flu symptoms and started taking Vitamin-C capsules at the recommended regimen of 500 mg every 30 minutes until bowel tolerance is reached. He said he had not reached bowel tolerance by the time he reached his destination. When he arrived there was a message for him to call one of the doctors from the conference. He was told that one of the doctors sitting at his table had died of legionnaires disease. He asked "how he would know if he had it" and the reply was you "would be dead".

 

[Guzzle]

FWIW, Wikipedia views this therapy
"with an attitude or look of suspicion or disapproval"

 

[Eddie_T]

Yup, but FWIW I don't experience the common cold.

 

[Guzzle]

Anecdotal evidence, availability heuristic.

It may help some conditions & make others worse, in which case each person should decide for him/her self, assuming the likelihoods of each are known.

Me do it? No.

 

[Eddie_T]

Do you experience colds? When I told my wife's internist how I avoided colds and regulated my BP he laughed. I thought at me but he came back with a huge book entitled Alternative Medicine for me to peruse. He opined try it if works fine, if not move on.

 

[Guzzle]

I hardly ever get sick, so I'm biased.
My wife is into alternative stuff but also has some other docs. I hope the alt stuff doesn't harm her but I let her docs advise her.

 

[Spicoli43]

FWIW, Wikipedia views this therapy
"with an attitude or look of suspicion or disapproval"

FWIW, Wikipedia is absolutely worthless unless you agree with their world view 100% of the time. They aren't "Independent".

 

[Guzzle]

FWIW, Wikipedia is absolutely worthless unless you agree with their world view 100% of the time. They aren't "Independent".

I don't know how much credibility to give to Wikipedia. In principle, over time, it may zero in on some truth.

The www is constantly mutating. Following the money, I guess.

My paper dictionary & my Encyclopedia Brittanica are my main sources.
The Brits have biases but almost certainly they're not the same as in "the land of the free & the home of the brave."

In one of her several books, Ms. Vos Savant said the best info source is books & the worst is radio/tv. The www wasn't yet prominent when she wrote this but I think it's below radio/tv.

 

[Spicoli43]

Wikipedia is Far Left and against natural medicine, as they are bought and influenced by Pharma, which is true of all major media, Left or Right.

https://www.newsmax.com/us/wikipedia-liberal-activist-website/2020/11/29/id/999156/

 

[Guzzle]

Then what are we to do?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideological_bias_on_Wikipedia

 

[Spicoli43]

Well, I completely ignore Wikipedia. They Cherry pick everything, and since the subject is Vitamin C...

"There is no effect of taking vitamin C in doses up to 8 grams per day after a cold has already begun."... Yeah there is, for me, 4.5 grams, or a TSP of Ascorbic Acid, kills off any hint of a cold, did it as recently as this week. They formed their opinion on a few cases or people reporting no effect, if they didn't completely fabricate the entire article.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C_and_the_common_cold

 

[Guzzle]

After skim-reading these massive articles, I think I don't know what the truth is.
But I sure know what BS is.


“When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it.”

How biased is Wiki, 1% to 99%, in some direction?
Are they biased in more than one direction at the same time so they are never "neutral"?

Now we're getting somewhere.

 

[Eddie_T]

I usually go to NCBI to see what they say but in the end go with what works for me as that's what's relevant. I noticed with respect to Vitamin-C and the common cold the cited NCBI studies didn't use the proper dosage which makes me suspicious.

 

[Guzzle]

As long as you don't eventually come down with some awful illness that the plaintiff's attorneys of the future will be talking about on your TV .

BTW, IIRC, these types of lawyers are looked down upon by other lawyers.

 

[Eddie_T]

I just use my IQ to separate fact from fiction. One can't paint either side with a broad brush. Anecdotal is at times brandished as a weapon however sometimes anecdotal has a larger sample than trials. Years ago I heard that coconut oil guarded against dementia now the MSM is touting olive oil. Be wary and well read.

My BP control with hawthorn berry was somewhat of a blind trial. Someone who had just had the roto rooter procedure performed on one carotid artery and the other was a candidate was asked if he had started taking any medications. He answered just a hawthorn berry supplement. His doctor said keep on taking it. My thought was it can't hurt so I started taking it. Quite some time later I found that my BP was that of a teen so I reviewed my supplement intake to see what might have affected BP finding it to be hawthorn berry. A couple of times over the decades I have adjusted the dosage upward as needed.

Then there's Dr. Smith, did he beast legionnaires disease or was it a fluke?

 

[Guzzle]

If an info source A tells me not to listen to info source B then I no longer listen to info source A.

BTW, don't read posts other than mine! Seriously, I have to get a day job. . .

 

[Guzzle]

https://lib.calpoly.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Evaluating-Credibility-Fall-2017.pdf

 

[Eddie_T]

That tracks pretty well with my approach. I especially check for hidden agenda and the money trail. But for me the bottom line always is does it work for me and are there any hidden risks?

I shy away from infomercials such as for Nopalea where they infer that their doctor discovered the benefits of the nopal cactus. If I decide to try it I would look for a more economical product with no TV presence.

I may bake some artisan bread and try dipping it in olive oil to see if it improves my short term memory. I can't envision taking it by the tbsp but if there's a way to enjoy its intake (salads, subs, bread) maybe it's worth a try. NASA recommended mixing butter and olive oil 50/50 for a bread spread.

 

[Guzzle]

Well, I guess you have it under control, but watch out for the placebo effect.

My memory used to be taken care of automatically but now I do tricks to compensate for short time memory lapses.
I ask myself, Where did I put X? and I wait for a non-verbal answer. More & more it works. Think of this problem as a clever adversary to be outwitted.

Good luck.

 

[Spicoli43]

I may bake some artisan bread and try dipping it in olive oil to see if it improves my short term memory. I can't envision taking it by the tbsp but if there's a way to enjoy its intake (salads, subs, bread) maybe it's worth a try. NASA recommended mixing butter and olive oil 50/50 for a bread spread.

Well, you take vitamins, right? I take my vitamins with a shot of EV Olive Oil because of the fat soluble need, and because I like the taste.