Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, February 15, 2014
A Timeline of Vitamin Medicine
by Andrew W. Saul, Editor
(links post 2014 added by editor, OMArchives.org)
(OMNS Feb 15, 2014) Don’t get bogged down by silly claims that multiple vitamins kill, or that antioxidants are bad for you. It is high time to take a look at the record, and review what published medical research actually has been saying for eight decades.
| Year | Research |
|---|---|
| 1935 | Professor of bacteriology at Columbia University, Claus Washington Jungeblut, MD, first publishes on vitamin C as prevention and treatment for polio; in the same year, Jungeblut also shows that vitamin C inactivates diphtheria toxin. |
| 1936 | Evan Shute, MD, and Wilfrid Shute, MD, demonstrate that vitamin E-rich wheat germ oil cures angina. |
| 1937 | Dr. Jungeblut demonstrates that ascorbate (vitamin C) inactivated tetanus toxin. Jungeblut CW. Inactivation of tetanus toxin by crystalline vitamin C (l-ascorbic acid). J Immunol 1937;33:203-214. |
| 1939 | William Kaufman, MD, PhD, successfully treats arthritis with niacinamide (vitamin B3). Dr. Jungeblut publishes a further contribution to Vitamin C Therapy in experimental poliomyelitis. |
| 1940 | The Shute brothers publish that vitamin E prevents fibroids and endometriosis, and is curative for atherosclerosis. |
| 1942 | Ruth Flinn Harrell, PhD, measures the positive effect of added thiamine (B1) on learning. |
| 1945 | Vitamin E is shown to cure hemorrhages in the skin and mucous membranes, and to decrease the diabetic’s need for insulin. |
| 1946 | Vitamin E is shown to greatly improve wound healing, including skin ulcers. It is also demonstrated that vitamin E strengthens and regulates heartbeat, and is effective in cases of claudication, acute nephritis, thrombosis, cirrhosis, and phlebitis; also, William J. McCormick, MD, shows how vitamin C prevents and also cures kidney stones. |
| 1947 | Vitamin E is successfully used as therapy for gangrene, inflammation of blood vessels (Buerger’s disease), retinitis, and choroiditis; Roger J. Williams, PhD, publishes on how vitamins can be used to treat alcoholism. |
| 1948 | Frederick R. Klenner, MD, a board-certified specialist in diseases of the chest, publishes cures of 41 cases of viral pneumonia using very high doses of vitamin C. |
| 1949 | Dr. Kaufman publishes The Common Form of Joint Dysfunction. |
| 1950 | Vitamin E is shown to be an effective treatment for lupus erythematosus, varicose veins, and severe body burns. |
| 1951 | Vitamin D treatment is found to be effective against Hodgkin’s disease (a cancer of the lymphatic system) and epithelioma. |
| 1954 | Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD, and colleagues demonstrate that niacin (vitamin B3) can cure schizophrenia; the Shutes’ medical textbook Alpha Tocopherol in Cardiovascular Disease is published; and Dr. McCormick reports that cancer patients tested for vitamin C were seriously deficient, often by as much as 4,500 milligrams. |
| 1955 | Niacin is first shown to lower serum cholesterol. |
| 1956 | Mayo Clinic researcher William Parsons, MD, and colleagues confirm Hoffer’s use of niacin to lower cholesterol and prevent cardiovascular disease; Dr. Harrell demonstrates that supplementation of the pregnant and lactating mothers’ diet with vitamins increases the intelligence quotients of their offspring at three and four years of age. |
| 1957 | Dr. McCormick publishes on how vitamin C fights cardiovascular disease. McCormick, W J (1957) Coronary thrombosis: a new concept of mechanism and etiology. Clinical Medicine. 4:7, July. |
| 1960 | Dr. Hoffer meets Bill W., cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous, and uses niacin to eliminate Bill’s longstanding severe depression. |
| 1963 | Vitamin D is shown to prevent breast cancer. Gordan GS, Schachter D. Vitamin D activity of normal and neoplastic human breast tissue. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1963 Jul;113:760-1. |
| 1964 | Vitamin D is found to be effective against lymph nodal reticulosarcoma (a non-Hodgkin’s lymphatic cancer). Desmonts T, Blin J. [Action of Vitamin D3 on the course of a lymph nodal reticulosarcoma.] Rev Pathol Gen Physiol Clin. 1964 Mar;64:137. French. |
| 1968 | Linus Pauling, PhD, publishes the theoretical basis of high-dose nutrient therapy (orthomolecular medicine) in psychiatry in Science, and soon after defines orthomolecular medicine as “the treatment of disease by the provision of the optimum molecular environment, especially the optimum concentrations of substances normally present in the human body.” |
| 1969 | Robert F. Cathcart, MD, uses large doses of vitamin C to treat pneumonia, hepatitis, and, years later, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). |
| 1970 | Dr. Pauling publishes Vitamin C and the Common Cold and Dr. Williams publishes Nutrition Against Disease. |
| 1972 | Publication of The Healing Factor: “vitamin C” Against Disease by Irwin Stone, PhD. |
| 1973 | Dr. Klenner publishes his vitamin supplement protocol to arrest and reverse multiple sclerosis. So does Dr. HT Mount, reporting on 27 years of success using thiamine. |
| 1975 | Hugh D. Riordan, MD, and colleagues successfully use large doses of intravenous vitamin C against cancer. |
| 1976 | Ewan Cameron, MD, and other physicians in Scotland show that intravenous vitamin C improved quality and length of life in terminal cancer patients |
| 1982 | In Japan, Murata, Morishige, and Yamaguchi show that vitamin C greatly prolonged the lives of terminal cancer patients. |
| 1984 | Robert F. Cathcart, MD, publishes on the vitamin C treatment of AIDS. |
| 1986 | Publication of How to Live Longer and Feel Better by Linus Pauling. |
| 1988 | Dr. Lendon H. Smith publishes vitamin C as a Fundamental Medicine: Abstracts of Dr. Frederick R. Klenner, M.D.’s Published and Unpublished Work, now known as Clinical Guide to the Use of Vitamin C. |
| 1990 | American doctors successfully use vitamin C to treat kidney cancer, and in 1995 and 1996, other cancers. |
| 1993 | Large-scale studies show that vitamin E supplementation reduces the risk of coronary heart disease in men and women. |
| 1995 | Dr. Riordan and colleagues publish their protocol for intravenous vitamin C treatment of cancer |
| 2002 | Vitamin E shown to improve immune functions in patients with advanced colorectal cancer, by immediately increasing T helper 1 cytokine production. |
| 2004 | Doctors in America and Puerto Rico publish more clinical cases of vitamin C successes against cancer. |
| 2005 | Research sponsored by the U.S. National Institutes of Health shows that high levels of vitamin C kill cancer cells without harming normal cells. |
| 2006 | Canadian doctors report intravenous vitamin C is successful in treating cancer. |
| 2007 | Harold D. Foster and colleagues publish a double-blind, randomized clinical trial showing that HIV-positive patients given supplemental nutrients can delay or stop their decline into AIDS. |
| 2008 | Korean doctors report that intravenous vitamin C “plays a crucial role in the suppression of proliferation of several types of cancer,” notably melanoma. And, natural vitamin E is demonstrated to substantially reduce risk of lung cancer by 61%. Large scale study shows higher levels of vitamin D cut risk of dying from cancer in half (1) Another recent study shows that ample intake of vitamin D, about 2,000 IU per day, can cut breast cancer incidence by half. (2) Still more research found that inadequate Vitamin D is “associated with high incidence rates of colorectal cancer” and specifically urges that “prompt public health action is needed to increase intake of Vitamin D-3 to 1000 IU/day.” (3) (1) Pilz S, Dobnig H, Winklhofer-Roob B et al. Low serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D predict fatal cancer in patients referred to coronary angiography. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2008 May;17(5):1228-33. Epub 2008 May 7. (2) Garland CF, Gorham ED, Mohr SB et al. Vitamin D and prevention of breast cancer: pooled analysis. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol, 2007. Mar;103(3-5):708-11. (3) Gorham ED, Garland CF, Garland FC, Grant WB, Mohr SB, Lipkin M, Newmark HL, Giovannucci E, Wei M, Holick MF. Vitamin D and prevention of colorectal cancer. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2005 Oct;97(1-2):179-94. |
| 2009, 2010, 2012 | Intravenous Vitamin C and Cancer Symposiums filmed and made available for free-access online. Riordan CLinic IVC & Cancer lectures 2009 (twelve lectures), Riordan CLinic IVC & Cancer lectures 2010 (nine lectures) and Riordan CLinic IVC & Cancer lectures 2012 (eleven lectures) |
| 2011 | Each 20 micromole/liter (µmol/L) increase in plasma vitamin C is associated with a 9% reduction in death from heart failure. Also, B complex vitamins are associated with a 7 percent decrease in mortality, vitamin D with an 8 percent decrease in mortality. |
| 2012 | vitamin C shown to prevent and treat radiation-damaged DNA. |
| 2013 | B-vitamin supplementation seen to slow the atrophy of specific brain regions that are a key component of the Alzheimer’s disease process and are associated with cognitive decline. |
| 2014 | In patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease, 2,000 IU of natural vitamin E slows the decline compared to placebo. Data from 561 patients showed that those taking vitamin E function significantly better in daily life, and required the least care. Vitamin C greatly reduces chemotherapy side effects and improves cancer patient survival. |
| 2017 | Why high-dose vitamin C kills cancer cells – Low levels of catalase enzyme make cancer cells vulnerable to ascorbate. |
For specific references on these subjects, just copy and paste any of the brief descriptions above into a search engine and press “enter.” Doctors and reporters that say “they have not seen any good evidence that vitamins cure disease” are telling you the truth: yes, they have never seen it. That’s not because it isn’t available; it’s because they have never done even this simple step.
Copy, paste and search. There is a whole body of knowledge out there. Take a look and decide for yourself.
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Ian Brighthope, M.D. (Australia)
Ralph K. Campbell, M.D. (USA)
Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D. (USA)
Damien Downing, M.D. (United Kingdom)
Dean Elledge, D.D.S., M.S. (USA)
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Martin P. Gallagher, M.D., D.C. (USA)
Michael Gonzalez, D.Sc., Ph.D. (Puerto Rico)
William B. Grant, Ph.D. (USA)
Steve Hickey, Ph.D. (United Kingdom)
Michael Janson, M.D. (USA)
Robert E. Jenkins, D.C. (USA)
Bo H. Jonsson, M.D., Ph.D. (Sweden)
Peter H. Lauda, M.D. (Austria)
Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D. (USA)
Stuart Lindsey, Pharm.D. (USA)
Jorge R. Miranda-Massari, Pharm.D. (Puerto Rico)
Karin Munsterhjelm-Ahumada, M.D. (Finland)
Erik Paterson, M.D. (Canada)
W. Todd Penberthy, Ph.D. (USA)
Gert E. Schuitemaker, Ph.D. (Netherlands)
Robert G. Smith, Ph.D. (USA)
Jagan Nathan Vamanan, M.D. (India)
Atsuo Yanagisawa, M.D., Ph.D. (Japan)
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