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Coronavirus Ultimate Guide

Nutritional Treatment of Coronavirus

by Andrew W. Saul, Editor

“(OMNS January 30, 2020) Abundant clinical evidence confirms vitamin C’s powerful antiviral effect when used in sufficient quantity. Treating influenza with very large amounts of vitamin C is not a new idea at all. Frederick R. Klenner, MD, and Robert F. Cathcart, MD, successfully used this approach for decades. Frequent oral dosing with vitamin C sufficient to reach a daily bowel tolerance limit will work for most persons. Intravenous vitamin C is indicated for the most serious cases.”

This is an example of treating influenza, which is a virus with vitamin C. You will see how it took high does for him to completely recover

Dr. Robert Cathcart advocated treating influenza with up to 150,000 milligrams of vitamin C daily, often intravenously. You and I can, to some extent, simulate a 24 hour IV of vitamin C by taking it by mouth very, very often. When I had pneumonia, it took 2,000 mg of vitamin C every six minutes, by the clock, to get me to saturation. My oral daily dose was over 100,000 mg. Fever, cough and other symptoms were reduced in hours; complete recovery took just a few days. That is performance at least as good as any pharmaceutical will give, and the vitamin is both safer and cheaper. 

“Many physicians consider high doses of vitamin C to be so powerful an antiviral that it may be ranked as a functional immunization for a variety influenza strains. [1]”

“The common cold is a coronavirus, and SARS is a coronavirus, so they are the same viral type.” (David Jenkins, MD, Professor of Medicine and Nutritional Science, University of Toronto)

SO HERE ARE ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS OTHER THAN WASHING YOUR HANDS. THESE VITAMINES WILL HELP BOOST YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM.

What dosage?

“Vitamin C fights all types of viruses.” Although the dose should truly be high, even a low supplemental amount of vitamin C saves lives. This is very important for those with low incomes and few treatment options. “For example, in one well-controlled, randomized study, just 200 mg/day vitamin C given to the elderly resulted in improvement in respiratory symptoms in the most severely ill, hospitalized patients. And there were 80% fewer deaths in the vitamin C group. [7]”

But to best build up our immune systems, we need to employ large, orthomolecular doses of several vital nutrients.  “The physicians on the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service review board specifically recommend at least 3,000 milligrams (or more) of vitamin C daily, in divided doses. Vitamin C empowers the immune system and can directly denature many viruses. It can be taken as ascorbic acid (which is sour like vinegar), either in capsules or as crystals dissolved in water or juice. It can also be taken as sodium ascorbate, which is non-acidic. To be most effective, it should be taken to bowel tolerance. This means taking high doses several (or many) times each day. See the references below for more information.”

5 Additional recommended nutrients

Magnesium: 400 mg

daily (in citrate, malate, chelate, or chloride form). Many people are deficient in magnesium, because modern agriculture often does not supply adequate magnesium in the soil, and food processing removes magnesium. 

Vitamin D3:

2,000 International Units daily. (Start with 5,000 IU/day for two weeks, then reduce to 2,000). Vitamin D is stored in the body for long periods but takes a long time to reach an effective level. If you are deficient (e.g. if you haven’t taken vitamin D and it’s near the end of winter when the sun is low in the sky) you can start by taking larger than normal doses for 2 weeks to build up the level quickly. The maintenance dose varies with body weight, 400-1000 IU/day for children and 2000-5000 IU/day for adults.

William Grant, PhD, says: “Coronaviruses cause pneumonia as does influenza. A study of the case-fatality rate from the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic in the United States showed that most deaths were due to pneumonia. The SARS-coronavirus and the current China coronavirus were both most common in winter, when vitamin D status is lowest.” [15-19]

“I have found the value of bolstering immune function with Vitamin D to be incredibly powerful.” (Dr. Jeffrey Allyn Ruterbusch)

Zinc

“Zinc is a powerful antioxidant and is essential for many biochemical pathways. It has been shown to be effective in helping the body fight infections. [20,21] A recommended dose is 20-40 mg/day for adults.”

Selenium:

100 mcg (micrograms) daily. Selenium is an essential nutrient and an important antioxidant that can help to fight infections.

B-complex vitamins and vitamin A:

A multivitamin tablet with each meal will supply these conveniently and economically.

Nutritional supplements are not just a good idea. For fighting viruses, they are absolutely essential

References, Additional Reading, and Dosing.

  1. Orthomolecular Medicine News Service (2005) Vitamin C beats bird flu and other viruses, too. http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v01n12.shtml.
  2. Gardner A (2005) Flu Vaccine Only Mildly Effective in Elderly. HealthDay News. https://consumer.healthday.com/senior-citizen-information-31/misc-aging-news-10/flu-vaccine-only-mildly-effective-in-elderly-528105.html.
  3. Cathcart RF. Avian (bird) flu. https://vitamincfoundation.org/www.orthomed.com/bird.htm.
  4. BBC News (2006) Risk of human flu outbreak ‘low’. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4893366.stm.
  5. Saul AW. Respiratory infections: colds, influenza, and pneumonia. http://www.doctoryourself.com/colds.html.
  6. Saul AW. Notes on Orthomolecular (Megavitamin) Use of Vitamin C.
    http://www.doctoryourself.com/ortho_c.html
    http://www.doctoryourself.com/klenner_table.html
    http://www.doctoryourself.com/klennerpaper.html

Additional free-access, full-text papers by Robert F. Cathcart, M.D.: http://www.doctoryourself.com/biblio_cathcart.html

  1. Hunt C, Chakravorty NK, Annan G, Habibzadeh N, Schorah CJ. (1994) The clinical effects of vitamin C supplementation in elderly hospitalized patients with acute respiratory infections. Int J Vitamin Nutr Res.64:212-219. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7814237.
  2. Gombart AF, Pierre A, Maggini S. A Review of Micronutrients and the Immune System-Working in Harmony to Reduce the Risk of Infection. Nutrients. 2020 Jan 16;12(1). pii: E236. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/1/236.
  3. Case HS (2017) Orthomolecular Nutrition for Everyone: Megavitamins and Your Best Health Ever. Basic Health Pubs. ISBN-13: 978-1681626581.
  4. Levy TE (2019) Reboot your gut. http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v15n16.shtml
  5. Marcial-Vega V, Idxian Gonzalez-Terron G, Levy TE. (2015) Intravenous ascorbic acid and hydrogen peroxide in the management of patients with chikungunya. Bol Asoc Med P R. 107:20-24. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26035980.
  6. Levy TE (2019) Magnesium: Reversing Disease. Medfox Pub. ISBN-13: 978-0998312408
  7. Dean C (2017) Magnesium. http://www.orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v13n22.shtml.
  8. Dean C. (2017) The Magnesium Miracle. 2nd Ed., Ballantine Books. ISBN-13: 978-0399594441.
  9. Cannell JJ, Vieth R, Umhau JC, Holick MF, et al. (2006) Epidemic influenza and vitamin D. Epidemiol Infect. 134:1129-1140. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16959053.
  10. Grant WB, Giovannucci E. (2009) The possible roles of solar ultraviolet-B radiation and vitamin D in reducing case-fatality rates from the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic in the United States. Dermatoendocrinol. 1:215-219. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20592793.
  11. Martineau AR, Jolliffe DA, Hooper RL et al. (2017) Vitamin D supplementation to prevent acute respiratory tract infections: systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data. BMJ. 356:i6583. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28202713.
  12. Yin Y, Wunderink RG. (2018) MERS, SARS and other coronaviruses as causes of pneumonia. Respirology. 2018 Feb;23(2):130-137. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29052924.
  13. Zhu N, Zhang D, Wang W, et al., China Novel Coronavirus Investigating and Research Team. (2020) A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019. N Engl J Med. 2020 Jan 24. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001017. [Epub ahead of print] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31978945.
  14. Fraker PJ, King LE, Laakko T, Vollmer TL. (2000) The dynamic link between the integrity of the immune system and zinc status. J Nutr. 130:1399S-1406S. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10801951.

21.Shankar AH, Prasad AS. (1998) Zinc and immune function: the biological basis of altered resistance to infection. Am J Clin Nutr. 68:447S-463S. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9701160.

  1. Harthill M. (2011) Review: micronutrient selenium deficiency influences evolution of some viral infectious diseases. Biol Trace Elem Res. 143:1325-1336. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21318622.

Recommended reading and notes:

Orthomolecular Medicine News Service (2008) On reducing the duration and severity of influenza. http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v04n04.shtml

Levy TE. (2020) Vaccinations, Vitamin C, Politics, and the Law http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v16n04.shtml

Levy TE. The clinical impact of Vitamin C. My personal experiences as a physician. Orthomolecular Med News Service 2014, 10:14, Sept 3. http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v10n14.shtml

Saul AW. Vitamin C and polio. The forgotten research of Claus W. Jungeblut, M.D. Orthomolecular Med News Service 2013, 9:16, Aug 7.
http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v09n16.shtml
http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v09n27.shtml
http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v05n10.shtml
http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v06n24.shtml
http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v05n09.shtml

Dosing vitamin C:

Cathcart RF. The method of determining proper doses of vitamin C for the treatment of disease by titrating to bowel tolerance. J Orthomolecular Psych 1981, 10:2, 125-132. http://www.doctoryourself.com/titration.html and free pdf download at http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1981/pdf/1981-v10n02-p125.pdf

Cathcart RF. (1985) Vitamin C: The nontoxic, nonrate-limited antioxidant free radical scavenger. Medical Hypotheses, 18:61-77. http://www.vitamincfoundation.org/www.orthomed.com/nonrate.htm

Cathcart RF (1984) Vitamin C in the treatment of acquired immune deficiency syndrome(AIDS) Medical Hypotheses, 14:423-433. http://www.doctoryourself.com/aids_cathcart.html

Klenner FR. Observations on the dose and administration of ascorbic acid when employed beyond the range of a vitamin in human pathology. J Applied Nutrition 1971, 23:3&4. http://www.doctoryourself.com/klennerpaper.html

All of Dr. Klenner’s papers are listed and summarized in:

Clinical Guide to the Use of Vitamin C (ed. Lendon H. Smith, MD, Life Sciences Press, Tacoma, WA, 1988.) This book is now posted for free access at http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/198x/smith-lh-clinical_guide_1988.htm

Klenner FR. (1948) Virus pneumonia and its treatment with vitamin C. South Med Surg 110:36-8. https://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/194x/klenner-fr-southern_med_surg-1948-v110-n2-p36.htm.

Klenner FR. (1949) The treatment of poliomyelitis and other virus diseases with vitamin C. J. South. Med. and Surg., 111:210-214.

Klenner, FR. (1951) Massive doses of vitamin C and the virus diseases. J. South. Med. and Surg., 113:101-107.

Klenner, FR. (1971) Observations on the dose and administration of ascorbic acid when employed beyond the range of a vitamin in human pathology. J. App. Nutr., 23:61-88.

Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine

Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to fight illness. For more information: http://www.orthomolecular.org

Find a Doctor

To locate an orthomolecular physician near you: http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v06n09.shtml

The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource.

Editorial Review Board:

Ilyès Baghli, M.D. (Algeria)
Ian Brighthope, M.D. (Australia)
Prof. Gilbert Henri Crussol (Spain)
Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D. (USA)
Damien Downing, M.D. (United Kingdom)
Michael Ellis, M.D. (Australia)
Martin P. Gallagher, M.D., D.C. (USA)
Michael J. Gonzalez, N.M.D., D.Sc., Ph.D. (Puerto Rico)
William B. Grant, Ph.D. (USA)
Tonya S. Heyman, M.D. (USA)
Suzanne Humphries, M.D. (USA)
Ron Hunninghake, M.D. (USA)
Michael Janson, M.D. (USA)
Robert E. Jenkins, D.C. (USA)
Bo H. Jonsson, M.D., Ph.D. (Sweden)
Jeffrey J. Kotulski, D.O. (USA)
Peter H. Lauda, M.D. (Austria)
Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D. (USA)
Homer Lim, M.D. (Philippines)
Stuart Lindsey, Pharm.D. (USA)
Victor A. Marcial-Vega, M.D. (Puerto Rico)
Charles C. Mary, Jr., M.D. (USA)
Mignonne Mary, M.D. (USA)
Jun Matsuyama, M.D., Ph.D. (Japan)
Dave McCarthy, M.D. (USA)
Joseph Mercola, D.O. (USA)
Jorge R. Miranda-Massari, Pharm.D. (Puerto Rico)
Karin Munsterhjelm-Ahumada, M.D. (Finland)
Tahar Naili, M.D. (Algeria)
W. Todd Penberthy, Ph.D. (USA)
Dag Viljen Poleszynski, Ph.D. (Norway)
Jeffrey A. Ruterbusch, D.O. (USA)
Gert E. Schuitemaker, Ph.D. (Netherlands)
Thomas L. Taxman, M.D. (USA)
Jagan Nathan Vamanan, M.D. (India)
Garry Vickar, MD (USA)
Ken Walker, M.D. (Canada)
Anne Zauderer, D.C. (USA)

Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D. (USA), Editor-In-Chief
Editor, Japanese Edition: Atsuo Yanagisawa, M.D., Ph.D. (Japan)
Robert G. Smith, Ph.D. (USA), Associate Editor
Helen Saul Case, M.S. (USA), Assistant Editor
Michael S. Stewart, B.Sc.C.S. (USA), Technology Editor
Jason M. Saul, JD (USA), Legal Consultant

Comments and media contact: drsaul@doctoryourself.com OMNS welcomes but is unable to respond to individual reader emails. Reader comments become the property of OMNS and may or may not be used for publication.