Scurvy Today

by Reagan Houston, MS, PE

Didn’t scurvy disappear many years ago when British sailors started taking oranges and limes with vitamin C? No, we still have scurvy, but the symptoms are not obvious. We now know that scurvy results from low vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in the body. In high school, I was taught that 10 mg/day of ascorbate prevented scurvy.^1,2 Wrong again. Sometimes 10 mg/day is sufficient, but actually scurvy is a balance of ascorbate input, the amount used by the body, and the amount discarded in the urine.³ Ascorbate in the urine? Sorry, but urine contains ascorbate when the body is healthy.⁴

Is scurvy a problem now? Plasma ascorbate is the measure of scurvy and one measure of the immune system strength.^5,6 With a strong immune system, the white blood cells can kill or remove infections, bacteria, viruses, dead or damaged cells, toxins, and cancer.⁷ Lymphocytes and macrophages can often destroy cancer cells if one has a strong immune system. Weak white blood cells can be strengthened by increased ascorbate intake.

Ascorbate not only strengthens our white blood cells, it helps our bodies in many other ways. Ascorbate neutralizes free radicals that contribute to aging. Ascorbate can enter cancer cells to kill them.⁸ Ascorbate prevents many heart and stroke problems by protecting cholesterol from oxidation and by making blood vessels strong and flexible.

Wouldn’t I know if I had scurvy? Many symptoms of scurvy, cancer, and other diseases are similar: joint and muscle pain, poor healing, tiredness, diarrhea, fever, and easy bruising. Sometimes symptoms just do not appear even though scurvy or near-scurvy is weakening the immune system. Curing scurvy may eliminate these symptoms. Most of the time, doctors do not expect an “old-fashioned” disease like scurvy. With varied or missing symptoms, doctors first look for other diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular problems, and infections. These diseases may be simultaneous with scurvy.

How much ascorbate should we take? The government recommends about 100 mg/day, a little more for smokers, and 2,000 mg/day as a safe maximum. These amounts are very low compared with those in most animals, who can make ascorbate as they need it. A 150-pound goat can make 13,000 mg/day or even 100,000 mg/day when under stress.^5,11 Thus a dose of 13,000 mg/day may be reasonable for humans with cancer or other high-stress maladies. Normal plasma ascorbate levels are 0.5 to 2.0 mg/dL, and scurvy is defined as zero to 0.2 mg/dL.^9,4 Many people may be near scurvy if in the low part of the normal range, or quite healthy if in the high normal range.¹⁰ A level of around 2.0 mg/dL or higher I would call therapeutic.

Insert Table 1 here.

Who has scurvy now? In one college group, 2% had scurvy (Table 1).⁴ For outpatients at several hospitals, 5 or 6% had scurvy^1,4; for inpatients at a Montreal hospital, 19% had it.¹

A group of cancer patients in a hospice received an estimated 40 mg/day of ascorbate.¹² Tests showed that 30 % had scurvy and lived an average of 29 days, compared with other cancer patients at the same hospice who had normal plasma ascorbate and lived 121 days. In this case, the patients with normal plasma ascorbate lived 4 times as long as those with scurvy, but the two groups may not have been initially similar.

Many oncologists object to ascorbate supplementation. They say that ascorbate might protect the cancer cells that radiation and chemotherapy are trying to kill. But actual tests show that ascorbate greatly extends the life and comfort of patients getting these therapies.^5,6,15,16 Ascorbate helped control my aggressive prostate cancer without surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or pain.⁸

Chronic drug addicts have very poor diets – and almost invariably have scurvy.¹⁷ One doctor gave 30 consecutive chronic addicts sodium ascorbate at 25,000 to 85,000 mg/day dissolved in milk for 4 to 6 days along with other vitamins, minerals, and protein supplements. All 30 patients were apparently cured, with clear thinking, good appetite, good sleeping, no withdrawal pains, and no big desire for a hit. One patient tried a hit shortly after starting the ascorbate but got no high. This temporary cure was maintained while gradually reducing the ascorbate and other supplement dosages and improving diet. In this test, it was not possible to follow the patients longer than a few months.

Plasma Ascorbate Measurement

Blood tests can measure plasma ascorbate, but this is not commonly done. My blood was drawn in North Carolina and analyzed in Utah. The customary white blood cell count measures the number of cells but not their strength. Fortunately, plasma ascorbate can be determined by a urine test.⁹

Healthy patients have significant ascorbate in their urine, while scurvy patients have little or none. Several types of test strips allow doctors or patients to measure urine ascorbate. The strips should distinguish (a) scurvy, (b) normal or (c) high-normal (therapeutic) plasma ascorbate (Table 2).

Insert Table 2 here.

One method is the VitaCheck-C urine dipstick.¹⁸ Urine samples maybe taken at any time unless the patients is taking ascorbate supplements. Oral ascorbate peaks in the blood after 2 or 3 hours.⁵ Then it tapers down to its initial level in about 24 hours. For those taking ascorbate, the test can be run preferably 24 hours after supplementing. The colored patch of the test strip is momentarily dipped in fresh urine, excess is drained off, and color read at exactly 30 seconds (Table 2). If the color changes only a little or not at all, scurvy is present.

Discussion

Immunotherapy is strengthening the immune system to protect the body from disease, infections, toxins, and foreign bodies. When a cancer patient is first diagnosed, he may have normal plasma ascorbate.⁶ Surgery can drop the plasma level in about 6 to 8 hours. Radiation and chemotherapy each drop the ascorbate level considerably, often down to scurvy. Other stresses such as a spider bite can cause scurvy in a few hours.⁶

The urine ascorbate test is especially useful during therapies for cancer, cardiovascular diseases, or major surgery. The urine ascorbate test may even prevent death if a patient thinks that she is cured of cancer and considers stopping ascorbate too soon.^6,8 This test is offered as a guide to help patients get started on the right ascorbate dose.

If a patient’s plasma ascorbate is low, he will have weak white blood cells and may wish to take oral ascorbate supplements. The amount of ascorbate needed for a patient can very widely, from a small amount to 200,000 mg/day.¹⁹ Too much ascorbate causes loose bowels and temporary diarrhea. Preferably, the patient can ask his doctor to recommend a therapy to raise his plasma ascorbate to normal or above. Alternately, the patient could start with 1,000 mg/day in 4 divided doses, preferably with meals. Each day the dose can be increased by 1,000 mg or more. Ascorbate can be taken as pills or powder dissolved in water, milk, or juice. The ascorbate can consist of ascorbic acid, the common vitamin C, or sodium ascorbate. If intravenous ascorbate is needed, medical supervision and certain tests are required.⁸ To attempt obtaining therapeutic amounts of ascorbate from the diet would often be unfeasible – consider taking 12 gallons of orange juice to get 10,000 mg/day of vitamin C!

Knowledge of scurvy and ascorbate level could help doctors treat patients by strengthening their weak immune systems. Patients, if they know their ascorbate levels, can cure their scurvy and might strengthen their immune systems. Companies selling vitamin C may wish to include a few urine test strips with each bottle. Knowledge of plasma ascorbate level might help people improve their health by strengthening their immune systems and thus have fewer sicknesses.

Conclusion

Scurvy is infrequently detected but often present. Stress decreases the ascorbate present in the blood and weakens the immune system. The urine dipstick test allows easy and quick detection of scurvy and low plasma ascorbate levels. Curing scurvy helps control many diseases.

Because ascorbate is so widely useful, patients should know whether their blood ascorbate is high enough to maintain good health. If needed, they can make corrections, often with large doses of ascorbate. Scurvy can develop slowly or quickly and be hidden by other illnesses. Aged or hospitalized patients are particularly at risk. Both patient and doctor should consider testing for scurvy as frequently as warranted. Because a surprising number of people have scurvy or low plasma ascorbate, wider use of vitamin C might improve our general health.

Notes

1. Gan R, Eintracht S, Hoffer J. Vitamin C deficiency in a university teaching hospital. J Am Coll Nutr. 2008;27(3):428–433.

2. Frey JL, Shehan JM. Unknown: cutaneous manifestations of scurvy. Dermatol Online J. http://dermatology.cdlib.org/146/unknown/cutaneous/shehan2.html. Accessed February 28, 2009:14(6).

3. Oeffinger KC. Scurvy: more than historical relevance. Am Fam Physician. 1993;Sept. 15:609–613.

4. Johnston CS, Thompson LL. Vitamin C status of an outpatient population. J Am Coll Nutr. 1998;17(40):366–370.

5. Cameron E, Pauling L. Cancer and Vitamin C. Philadelphia: Camino Books; 1993.

6. Hoffer A. Vitamin C and Cancer, Discover, Recovery, Controversy. Kingston: Quarry Press; 2000.

7. Merck Manual of Medical Information: Second Home Edition. New York: Pocket Books; 2003.

8. Houston R. Understanding cancer and natural therapies. Townsend Lett. 2008;301/302:109–112.

9. Jackson JA, Wong K, Krier C, Riordan HD. Screening for vitamin C in the urine: is it clinically significant? J Orthomol Med. 2005;20(4):259–261.

10. Taylor TV, Rimmer S, Day B, et al. Ascorbic acid supplementation in the treatment of pressure sores. Lancet. 1974; Sept 7;2(7880):544–546.

11. Newbold HL. Vitamin C against Cancer. New York: Stein & Day; 1979

12. Mayland CR, Bennett MI, Allan K. Vitamin C deficiency in cancer patients. Palliat Med. 2006;19:17–20.

13. Hunt C, Charkravorty NK, Annan G, et al. The clinical effects of vitamin C supplementation in elderly hospitalized patients with acute respiratory infections. Internat J Vit Nutr Res. 1994;64:212–219.

14. Singh RB, Niaz MA, Acarwal P, et al. Effect of antioxidant-rich foods on plasma ascorbic acid, cardiac enzyme, and lipid peroxide levels in patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infraction. J Am Diet Assoc. 1995;95:775–780.

15. Lamson DW and Brignall MS. Antioxidants and cancer therapy II: quick reference guide. Altern Med Rev. 2000;5(2):152–163.

16. Stoute JA. The use of vitamin C with chemotherapy in cancer treatment: an annotated bibliography. J Orthomol Med. 2004;19(4):198–245.

17. Libby AF, Stone I. Hypoascorbemia-Kwashiorkor approach to drug addiction therapy: a pilot study. Orthomol Psychiatry. 1977;6(4):300–308.

18. VitaCheck-C dipsticks are available from the Center for the Improvement of Human Functioning International: 3100 N. Hillside Ave., Wichita, KS; 800-447-7276. Cost is about $16, including shipping.

19. Klenner FR. The treatment of poliomyelitis and other virus diseases with vitamin C. South Med Surg. July 1949:; 9–-27.

Reagan Houston, MS, PE

600 Carolina Village Road #165

Hendersonville, NC 28792

828-692-3722

h@cancertherapies.org

www.cancertherapies.org