Popular but Dangerous: 3 Vitamins That Can Hurt You

Linus Pauling received a Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work with Vitamin C. The human body does not produce natural Vitamin C. I do consume fresh juices and greens as well. The human body does not produce its own Vitamin C.

Here is an article written by Dr Hilary Roberts about Linus Pauling and his views on vitamin C. Summary

It is the 10th anniversary of the death of Linus Pauling and his most controversial scientific conjectures about the health benefits of vitamin C are being confirmed. The weight of evidence may yet force the medical establishment to accept his ideas on nutrition and health.

Linus Pauling's claim, that he knew a cure for heart disease, cancer and infections, was greeted with ridicule. His remarkable health claims concerned the substance we know as vitamin C. Now, ten years after his death on 19th August 1994, his revolutionary ideas are finally on the way to vindication. Given his history, it should not surprise us if Pauling was right all along. He was, after all, the leading chemist of the last century and, arguably, the greatest ever American scientist. He remains the only person to have won two unshared Nobel Prizes, the first for Chemistry (1954) and the second for peace (1962). In addition to being one of the greatest scientists ever, he was a renowned humanitarian.

By the time of his death, the medical establishment had branded Pauling a quack, because he advocated the use of high doses of vitamin C to treat many diseases. Irwin Stone first introduced Pauling to vitamin C, and explained that it wasn't really a vitamin at all, but an essential substance we could no longer manufacture in our bodies. Most animals make their own vitamin C, in large amounts. In humans, the gene for this ability has mutated and no longer works properly. I take 2 grams of Vitamin C daily.

And my doctor just got off the phone to tell me that whatever I am doing, to "keep it up." My recent blood laboratory numbers are excellent and well in line for a man 71 years of age. I take individual vitamins and supplements as part of my daily regimen.

Len Sotsky of FL 1:42PM May 11, 2012

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Gretchen of KS 11:12PM March 24, 2012

Anna Miller:

Your article should have brought to attention the fact that there are at least two forms of Vitamin E being provided as dietary supplements in the United States, and that the differences between them are fundamental and pivotal. One form of vitamin E is found naturally occurring in plants. This Vitamin E consists of a complex of eight distinct but coherent naturally-occurring chemical compounds. Agricultural practices, processing and distribution procedures affecting foods often result in the corruption or removal of this naturally-occurring vitamin E complex from the U.S. food chain. Thus, the natural form of Vitamin E is being extracted from unprocessed produce and then marketed as a dietary supplement in liquid form, either in capsules or in bottles.

The other form of Vitamin E generally available is a synthetic chemical produced in a laboratory. Synthetic Vitamin E contains only one of the eight chemical compounds found in naturally occurring Vitamin E – that is, alpha-tocopherol.

A significant fact to be recognized is that most of the Vitamin E being ingested today by Americans as a dietary supplement is in the natural form containing the full complex found in plants.

Trials conducted with animals and with humans have demonstrated that the synthetic form of Vitamin E actually inhibits the absorption of gamma-tocopherol, one of the eight chemical compounds present in natural Vitamin E obtained from supplements or foods. Published, peer reviewed research papers by physiologists and other scientists have demonstrated that gamma-tocopherol plays a more important role than alpha-tocopherol in providing protection for human organisms against diseases of the heart and against malignant neoplasms.

When the question is posed as to who in the world might be persisting in using the synthetic form of Vitamin E despite this evidence of its profound limitations the answer appears to be that its use today is primarily in clinical trials such as the one mentioned in your article.

Against the backdrop of these readily verifiable facts, U.S. News ought to immediately publish a clarification that reveals the exact kind of Vitamin E that was used in the study referred to. A shoddy piece of work like this should not be allowed to stand uncorrected.

The published work of Lester Packer, Ph.D., a human physiologist at the University of California at Berkeley who has been studying and teaching about Vitamin E and its impacts for over three decades, presents an utterly opposite picture than that painted by your article. Given even the slightest level of serious interest in the subject, it would be hard for any competent reporter to overlook Packer's prolific writings on this subject. You obviously managed to pull off this feat.

Lawrence J. O'Brien of VA 9:33AM March 13, 2012

WELL I HAVE TAKEN V-E FOR ABOUT 42 YRS,A YR AFTER MY HYSTERECTOMY.IT STOP ED THE SORENESS IN MY BREST,I WAS TAKING IT FOR DRY SKIN & ENERGY.IT HELPED THOSE 2 ALSO,IF I QUIT TAKING IT FOR A FEW DAYS TO A WEEK ,MY SORENESS RETURNS.

Bertha m Hart of KY 11:50PM March 12, 2012