Tradução do artigo do Ph.D, M.S. e editor do Serviço de Notícias da Medicina Ortomolecular (Orthomolecular Medicine News Service), Andrew Saul. O Serviço de Notícias da Medicina Ortomolecular é revisado por pares.
Tabela de Dosagem de Vitamina C (para tratar doenças) A Suplementação de Vitamina C Terapêutica como foi Utilizada por Dr. F .R. Klenner (de "A Importância da alta ingestão diária de Ácido Ascórbico na Medicina Preventiva", p. 51-59, Manual do Médico de Medicina Ortomolecular, Terceira Edição, Roger Williams, Ph.D) A Fórmula do Dr. Klenner: 350 mg de vitamina C por kg de peso corporal por dia (350 mg/Kg/Dia)
mg de Vitamina C
Peso Corporal
Número de Doses
Quantidade por dose
35.000 mg
220 lbs ou 100 kg
17-18
2.000 mg
18.000 mg
110 lbs ou 50 kg
18
1.000 mg
9.000 mg
55 lbs ou 25 kg
18
500 mg
4.500 mg
28 lbs ou 13 kg
9
500 mg
2.300 mg
14-15 lbs ou 6,4-6,8 kg
9
250 mg
1.200 mg
7-8 lbs ou 3,2-3,7 kg
9
130 - 135 mg
Estas quantidades podem parecer altas; Klenner, de fato, usou quantidades quatro vezes maiores, tipicamente administradas através de injeção. Estas doses orais são moderadas. Você também pode tomar o dobro de vezes dessas doses, com a metade da quantidade de vitamina C por dose. Injeções de vitamina C podem ser providenciadas por seu médico (nos EUA). A vitamina C pode ser dada a forma de líquido, pó, tablete ou tabletes mastigáveis. Os lactentes frequentemente preferem tabletes mastigáveis, naturalmente adoçados, que podem ser esmagados entre duas colheres, tornando-se finamente pulverizados. Você pode fazer sua própria vitamina C líquida diariamente, dissolvendo 30 g de vitamina C em pó em um pequeno frasco com conta-gotas e adicionando um edulcorante, se necessário. Dr. Klenner, é claro, recomendava doses preventivas diárias, que podem ser cerca de 1/6 do valor terapêutico acima, divididas 3 vezes ao dia. Pessoas com sensibilidade a frutas cítricas, tomates ou cranberries podem se sentir melhor tomando a vitamina C como ascorbato (ascorbate), uma forma não-ácida de vitamina C. O ascorbato de cálcio (Calcium ascorbate) é o mais frequentemente escolhido e ascorbato de sódio (sodium ascorbate), o menos, exceto no caso das injeções de vitamina C. A transição da administração da vitamina C do nível terapêutico (em caso de doenças) para um nível de manutenção (de cerca de 60 mg / kg / dia) deve ser feita gradualmente, ao longo de um período de uma ou duas semanas. VOCÊ PODE LER O GUIA CLÍNICO DO DR. KLENNER GRÁTIS (em inglês) Guia Clínico do Dr. Klenner para o uso da vitamina C (Dr. Klenner's Clinical Guide to the Use of Vitamin C) está agora publicado na íntegra em: http://www.whale.to/v/c/index.html Direitos autorais C 2005 e anos anteriores por Andrew W. Saul. Andrew Saul é o autor dos livros FIRE YOUR DOCTOR! How to be Independently Healthy (avaliação dos leitores em http://www.doctoryourself.com/review.html ) e DOCTOR YOURSELF: Natural Healing that Works. (revisado em http://www.doctoryourself.com/saulbooks.html ) Para obter informações sobre pedidos, clique aqui. Observações minhas, Sílen:
Dr. Klenner recomendava doses preventivas diárias, que podem ser cerca de 1/6 do valor terapêutico do quadro acima, divididas 3 vezes ao dia. Por exemplo, para uma pessoa de 50 kg saudável, 18.000 mg/6= 3.000 mg e 3.000 mg/3= 1.000 mg de ácido ascórbico (vitamina C), 3 vezes ao dia (tomados de manhã, à tarde e à noite, por exemplo).
A vitamina C é a substância muito segura e é um poderoso antibiótico, antiviral, antitoxina, antidepressivo e também é um anti-histamínico (antialérgico).
Dr. Klenner fez uso de megadoses de vitamina C por mais de 40 anos de prática de medicina, e escreveu dezenas de artigos médicos sobre o assunto. A lista completa de seus artigos estão contidos no “Guia Clínico do uso de vitamina C”, editado por Lendon H. Smith, médico, Life Sciences Press, Tacoma, WA (1988). – link aqui
Saiba mais sobre o uso de megadoses de vitamina C aqui e neste vídeo
O uso de vitamina C não causa de pedras nos rins, ela trata e previne pedras nos rins. É exatamente o contrário do que alguns profissionais de saúde afirmam. Na realidade, a vitamina C aumenta o fluxo de urina e auxilia de forma favorável a redução do pH, já que a urina ligeiramente ácida ajuda a prevenir infecções do trato urinário, e dissolve o fosfato e presença de cálculos renais. Uma forma de tornar a urinalevementeácida é ingerindo vitamina C. A pedra em fosfato de cálcio só pode existir em uma urina que não seja ácida (urina de pH neutro à alcalina) e a vitamina C acidificalevementea urina. Assim, vitamina C trata e previne pedras nos rins, pois 90% de todas as pedras são pedras de cálcio, e cálcio é solúvel em meio ácido. Em verdade, a causa de pedras nos rins são outras, e incluem um histórico de hipertensão, obesidade, desidratação crônica, má alimentação e baixa ingestão de magnésio. Mas, não o consumo de vitamina C.
Eu e minha família utilizamos a vitamina C, ácido ascórbico em cristais e em tabletes diariamente e raramente ficamos doentes e quando ficamos, melhoramos muito rapidamente sem tomarmos medicamentos alopáticos. Fazemos uso também de fitoterápicos e outros suplementos vitamínicos e de uma alimentação razoavelmente saudável (saiba mais aqui).
1/4 de colher de chá rasa da vitamina C em cristais, equivale a 1125 mg ou 1,13 g de vitamina C. Pode ser tomada com dois ou três dedos de suco natural ou de água com limão (opção mais saudável). Faça um bochecho com água após tomá-la, para não prejudicar o esmalte dos dentes.
A suplementação desta poderosa vitamina age preventivamente fortalecendo sua saúde. É bom ter em mente que: “Os três aspectos mais importantes na terapia eficaz de vitamina C são: dose, dose e dose. Se você não tomar a suficiente, você não vai obter os efeitos desejados” – Dr. Thomas Levy, médico cardiologista.
A vitamina C potencializa a absorção de ferro quando tomada logo após a ingestão de alimentos ou suplementos que o contenham. Pessoas com hemocromatose devem ter o acompanhamento médico para suplementar a vitamina C em megadoses.
Dr.
Levy está convencido da segurança da vitamina C. Ele diz: "Exceto em
indivíduos com, insuficiência renal significativa estabelecida, a
vitamina C é indiscutivelmente o mais seguro de todos os nutrientes que
podem ser dados."
As informações acima são baseadas em estudos médicos, porém não devem substituir o diagnóstico e acompanhamento médico.
Scientists long ago discovered that a class of naturally occurring pigments called carotenoids held powerful antioxidant properties that are crucial for your health.
Carotenoids are the compounds in your foods that give you that vibrant cornucopia of color—from green grasses to red beets, to the spectacular yellows and oranges of bell peppers—as well as all of the beautiful flowers in your garden.
There are more than 700 naturally occurring carotenoids, but most people are familiar with only a few. Right now, you probably have about ten different carotenoids circulating through your bloodstream.
Only recently has one particular carotenoid jumped to the front of the line in terms of its status as a "supernutrient," becoming the focus of a large and growing number of peer-reviewed scientific studies.
Synthetic (laboratory-made) astaxanthin is now commonly used worldwide to supplement fish feed lots in order to help them obtain the desired pinkish to orange-red color. You really should avoid synthetic astaxanthin because it's made frompetrochemicals.
Not only does natural astaxanthin carry potent antioxidant abilities, but as it turns out, it is also a powerful anti-inflammatory, which will be the focus of this article. Other carotenoids are easily obtainable through a good diet rich in fresh organic produce. However, this powerful carotenoid is harder to come by.
Astaxanthin Is in a League of Its Own
Astaxanthin is produced only by the microalgae Haematococcus pluvialis when its water supply dries up, forcing it to protect itself from ultraviolet radiation. It's the algae's survival mechanism—Astaxanthin serves as a "force field" to protect the algae from lack of nutrition and/or intense sunlight.
There are only two main sources of astaxanthin—the microalgae that produce it, and the sea creatures that consume the algae (such as salmon, shellfish, and krill).
Astaxanthin is now thought to be the most powerful antioxidant found in nature.
This pigment is the most commonly occurring red carotenoid in marine and aquatic animals and is what gives salmon their characteristic pink color. Astaxanthin is far more powerful than beta-carotene, alpha-tocopherol, lycopene and lutein, other members of its chemical family. It exhibits VERY STRONG free radical scavenging activity and helps protect your cells, organs, and body tissues from oxidative damage and inflammation.
What Makes Astaxanthin Special?
There are many properties that make this carotenoid unique. Here are the main differences:
Astaxanthin is by far the most powerful carotenoid antioxidant when it comes to free radical scavenging: astaxanthin is 65 times more powerful than vitamin C,1 54 times more powerful than beta-carotene, and 14 times more powerful than vitamin E.
Astaxanthin is far more effective than other carotenoids at "singlet oxygen quenching," which is a particular type of oxidation. The damaging effects of sunlight and various organic materials are caused by this less-stable form of oxygen. Astaxanthin is 550 times more powerful than vitamin E and 11 times more powerful than beta-carotene at neutralizing singlet oxygen.
Astaxanthin crosses the blood-brain barrier AND the blood-retinal barrier (beta carotene and lycopene do not), which brings antioxidant and anti-inflammatory protection to your eyes, brain and central nervous system and reducing your risk for cataracts, macular degeneration, blindness, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease.
Astaxanthin is soluble in lipids, so it incorporates into cell membranes.
It's a potent UVB absorber and reduces DNA damage.
It's a very potent natural anti-inflammatory.
And how about some more great news?
There have been no adverse reactions found for people taking astaxanthin. Before I go into how astaxanthin works as an anti-inflammatory, let's review what inflammation is and how it can cause devastating disease.
What You Need to Know About Inflammation
Inflammation is a necessary and important biological process that allows you to survive. It's your body's response to fighting infection and repairing damaged tissues—in other words, it's part of your natural healing process. If you didn't have inflammation, you'd never heal from any infection or injury.
When a foreign bacterium or virus enters your body, your inflammatory body kicks in to eliminate it. If you sprain your ankle, your inflammatory system activates to begin repairing damaged tissues.
There are five classic signs and symptoms of inflammation:
Redness
Pain
Warmth
Swelling
Loss of function
Even sunburn is a sign of inflammation—when UV rays begin to damage your skin cells, the inflammatory "machine" turns on, making your skin red and warm. Mast cells are the key initiators of inflammation, activating potent "mediators." The mediators attract white blood cells, and activate cells that produce additional mediators.
Mediators come in many forms, including:
Histamines
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha
Nitric oxide
Hydrogen peroxide
Interleukins
Prostaglandins (produced from arachidonic acid and the COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes)
Although having a red, swollen and painful sprained ankle is a clear sign you are experiencing inflammation, you may have an undercurrent of inflammation in your body and not even be aware. And silence can be deadly.
Chronic Inflammation: Silence Is Deadly
Inflammation comes and goes in your body as part of the normal healing process. However, prolonged inflammation can be devastating. Many people are experiencing ongoing, low-level inflammation without even knowing it—and this is a crucial factor behind chronic disease.
This systemic or "silent" inflammation is the evil twin of oxidation, and where you find one, you nearly always find the other. But this type of inflammation doesn't cause you any pain—it lives "under the radar," quietly lingering for years and even decades, where it silently injures your heart, brain, and immune system.
Left unchecked, systemic inflammation can lead to anything from asthma to rheumatoid arthritis to Alzheimer's disease. In fact, the number of diseases linked to chronic inflammation is staggering:
Ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and colon cancer
Allergies
There are many, many more. Unfortunately, Americans have the highest levels of silent inflammation in the world, with over 75 percent of people afflicted.
Why?
Two words: diet and lifestyle. Some of the largest contributors to chronic inflammation are smoking; a diet high in sugar, fried foods and trans fats; inadequate exercise; stress; and vitamin D deficiency. There are a couple of ways to measure how much inflammation is silently occurring in your body.
One blood test measures a substance called C-reactive protein (CRP), which might actually be a better predictor of your heart attack risk than lipids. Another test is called Sed Rate (or ESR for "erythrocyte sedimentation rate"), which is especially helpful in monitoring rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.
CRP is produced in your liver and coronary arteries, then released into your bloodstream when your body is fighting inflammation. In one study, natural astaxanthin was found to reduce CRP levels by 20 percent in just eight weeks. Another study found astaxanthin caused 43 percent of people with high CRP levels to drop into the average-risk range.
Clearly, this powerful agent has a remarkable ability to cool down the inflammatory process, thereby decreasing your body's need to produce CRP.
By decreasing inflammation, astaxanthin can help prevent, and treat, a number of problems that result directly from inflammation, including rheumatoid arthritis, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other repetitive stress injuries, which I will talk more about shortly.
Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Are Definitely NOT the Answer
Anti-inflammatories have earned a bad reputation. This is due to the fact that most of the compounds people commonly recognize as anti-inflammatories are DRUGS, rather than natural agents. Natural anti-inflammatories, on the other hand, can be very beneficial and lack the adverse side effects of anti-inflammatory drugs.
As a quick review, let's review the truth about some anti-inflammatory drugs:
Aspirin can cause your stomach to bleed (acts on both COX-1 and COX-2)
Tylenol (acetaminophen) can damage your liver
Vioxx and Celebrex (non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, or NSAIDS) can cause heart problems (act strongly on COX-2 only)
In 1999, the New England Journal of Medicine stated that NSAIDS have caused as many deaths as AIDS. Vioxx alone has killed more than 60,000 people! I urge you to avoid these dangerous anti-inflammatory drugs since they have the potential to cause very serious side effects and even death. But astaxanthin is a different story and will not harm you.
Astaxanthin affects a wide range of mediators, but in a gentler, less concentrated mannerand without the negative side effects. And it works for 4 out of 5 people. In one study,2 more than 80 percent of arthritis sufferers improved with astaxanthin.
Folks, that is four out of five people, that is impressive.
How Astaxanthin Tells Your Inflammation to 'Chill'
A great deal of research has been done into how astaxanthin reduces inflammation. As is true for many antioxidants, its anti-inflammatory properties are related to its powerful antioxidant activity.
Astaxanthin suppresses a variety ofinflammatory mediators—including tumor necrosis factor alpha, a major prostaglandin and a major interleukin, nitric oxide, COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes. It takes longer to produce effects than NSAIDS, but this means it doesn't result in the dangerous side effects.
As G. Cole, UCLA Professor of Medicine and Neurology, reported to Newsweek Magazine in a Special Summer Issue in 2005 (pages 26-28):
"While anti-inflammatory drugs usually block a single target molecule and reduce its activity dramatically, natural anti-inflammatories gently tweak a broader range of inflammatory compounds. You'll get greater safety and efficacy reducing five inflammatory mediators by 30 percent than by reducing one by 100 percent."
So, what sorts of conditions can astaxanthin treat?
Astaxanthin May Help You Be an Athlete Extraordinaire or Weekend Warrior
The evidence is very positive for astaxanthin's effects on a variety of inflammatory disorders. Let's take a look at the human clinical studies related to four common inflammatory complaints: tennis elbow, carpal tunnel, rheumatoid arthritis, and exercise-related joint soreness.
Tennis elbow (tendonitis): Caused by inflamed tendons, tennis elbow results in pain and decreased grip strength when gripping something with your hand.
A study by the Health Research and Studies Center involved giving tennis elbow sufferers an eight-week course of astaxanthin. The treatment group showed a 93 percent improvement in grip strength, as well as decreased pain.
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), aka "repetitive stress injury": CTS is a debilitating disease of the wrist that manifests as numbness, pain, and even paralysis.
A study by the above group found eight weeks of astaxanthin supplementation resulted in significant pain reduction, both in terms of severity and duration, leaving researchers concluding that astaxanthin might be a viable alternative to surgery.
After receiving astaxanthin for only eight weeks, RA sufferers showed a 35 percent improvement in pain levels, as well as a 40 percent improvement in their ability to perform daily activities. [Journal of the American College of Nutrition. 21(5):Oct, 2002.]
Post-exercise joint soreness: Can astaxanthin be of benefit to you if you are healthy and have no disease or affliction?
In 2001, Dr. Andrew Fry of the University of Memphis studied the effects of astaxanthin on healthy people who trained with weights and who would typically experience exercise-induced joint soreness. He gave young male subjects astaxanthin for three weeks, while they performed strenuous workouts, and then evaluated them for knee pain.
The placebo group experienced post-training knee soreness, lasting up to 48 hours after their workouts. But the treatment group showed no increase whatsoever in knee joint soreness following workouts. [Fry, A. (2001) "Astaxanthin Clinical Trial for Delayed Onset Muscular Soreness." Human Performance Laboratories, The University of Memphis, Report 1, August 16, 2001.]
So it appears that this amazing nutrient can help you, whether you are a top athlete or a weekend warrior, whether you have mild overuse symptoms or a major inflammatory illness—it truly seems to have benefits for anyone and everyone!
Make Sure Your Astaxanthin Is the Natural Variety from Marine Algae—NOT Synthetic
Some aquaculture companies are beginning to use natural astaxanthin instead of synthetic, even though it costs more, because it's better for the health of the animals, and it's far superior for pigmentation. Animals fed fish food with natural astaxanthin have higher survival rates, better growth rates, better immunity, fertility, and reproduction. Unfortunately, synthetic astaxanthin still dominates the farmed salmon industry worldwide.
If your salmon label does not read "wild" or "naturally colored," you're probably going to be eating a coloring agent somewhat closer to motor oil than antioxidant. Natural astaxanthin is more than 20 times more powerful as an antioxidant than synthetic astaxanthin.
Wild salmon are 400 percent higher in astaxanthin than farmed salmon, and 100 percent of their pigment is natural astaxanthin, rather than synthetic. Plus, wild salmon have much higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids than the farmed version.
But even if you are successful in purchasing genuine wild salmon, there is the problem with high levels of mercury and other unwanted toxins, not to mention the skyrocketing prices.
Final Recommendations
You may recognize the name astaxanthin because I have mentioned it in reference to krill oil, my favorite source of animal-based omega-3 fatty acids. One of the reasons I am such a fan of krill is that it naturally contains astaxanthin. And our krill oil has the highest concentration of astaxanthin of any krill oil on the market today.
But, as high as it is, new research suggests you could enjoy even MORE benefits by further increasing your astaxanthin, even if you are already taking a krill oil supplement.
If you decide to give astaxanthin a try, I recommend with a dose of 8-10 mg per day. If you are on a krill oil supplement, take that into consideration; different krill products have different concentrations of astaxanthin, so check your label.
