The Ins and Outs of Vitamin C IV
If you are in the Chicago or Wheaton area you may be interested to learn more about Vitamin C therapy and its use for various health issues and diseases. Perhaps you wonder about IV vitamin therapy for pain management, for use in cancer treatment, or in treatment of autoimmune diseases such as lupus or fibromyalgia. Our naturopathic doctor will explain more about the benefits of this type of therapy to enlighten you.
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid or ascorbate is a naturally made vitamin synthesized in most animals. The only animals that are unable to make Vitamin C are humans, primates, fruit bats, guinea pigs, and some birds. Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin that is absorbed in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. A person's ability to absorb Vitamin C depends on the dosage and saturation (upper limits of ingestion) of Vitamin C. As a result, the amount of Vitamin C that is actually is taken into the blood stream from the GI tract can be variable and nearly impossible to control for.
Do you have heart disease or are you under the care of a cardiovascular disease doctor? Vitamin C therapy is beneficial for those who may have cholesterol issues, high triglycerides, or other problems that lend to heart disease.
Cancer is a disease no one wants, but unfortunately many get diagnosed with. If you are undergoing cancer treatment you may want to consider Vitamin C therapy, as it has several proven benefits but does not interfere with other treatment such as radiation, chemotherapy, etc.
Many people with autoimmune diseases such as fibromyalgia or lupus experience chronic pain. IV vitamin therapy should be considered for reducing or alleviating pain, whether used on its own or as a complementary therapy.
​Vitamin C is a very powerful antioxidant that works together with other antioxidants such as glutathione and Vitamin E. Glutathione is necessary for the metabolism and utilization of Vitamin C. Vitamin C has had many uses, dating back to ancient Rome, Egypt and Greece. Scurvy was treated with Vitamin C long before it was ever isolated from adrenal glands in 1928. In 1865, the British adopted precautions against scurvy by providing lemons to sea merchants. While 30,000 cases of scurvy were reported during the American Civil War in 1865, the US government did not adopt precautions until 1895. Some things never change!
The different uses of Vitamin C to treat various conditions is dependent on the actual concentration of Vitamin C that can be achieved in the bloodstream in any given patient. As the oral dose of Vitamin C is progressively increased, the serum concentration of Vitamin C tends to approach an upper limit due to both saturation in the GI tract and the increased excretion of Vitamin C by the kidney. In example, if the daily intake of Vitamin C is increased from 200 mg per day to 2500 mg per day, the concentration in the bloodstream only increases 25%. The highest serum Vitamin C level ever recorded after oral administration is 9.3 mg/dl. A dose of 50 grams of Vitamin C given intravenously can achieve levels of 80 mg/dl. Many conditions, especially infectious disease and cancer, need higher concentrations of Vitamin C to be effective that cannot be achieved by oral intake.
Conditions treated at Oaktree Wellness Center by Intravenous Vitamin C:
Viral and bacterial infections: colds, influenza, hepatitis, mononucleosis, viral pneumonia, herpes simplex and zoster, as well as candida and Lyme disease
Atherosclerosis treatment and prevention: decreases triglycerides, lowers platelet adhesion, raises HDL cholesterol, help reduce oxidation of bad cholesterol, and prevents endothelial dysfunction
Asthma: reduces reactivity of the airways
Allergies: antihistamine effect as well as mast cell membrane stabilization, increases epinephrine levels
Wound healing: necessary for fibroblasts to lay down scar tissue used in wound repair, used in surgery protocols, and can be used to heal internal wounds such as ulcers of the intestine; helps heal periodontal disease, macular degeneration, gingivitis, canker sores and ulcerative colitis Chronic pain: spinal disc degeneration, fibromyalgia
Decreases soreness after physical activity
Diabetes Mellitus: retard the development of end organ damage
Hypertension
Gout
Glaucoma
Infertility
Cancer: In high doses can increase survival time, increased tumor response to conventional therapies including radiation and some chemotherapy, decreases treatment toxicities of conventional therapies including radiation and chemotherapy; antioxidants along with chemotherapy can be safely administered and recommended for metastatic cancers and palliative care patients; no trials report a significant decrease in treatment efficacy (suggesting no interference).