Intravenous Vitamin C
For years holistic doctors have observed the positive effects of nutritional intravenous therapies such as vitamin C on their patients. I myself have personally seen individuals having better outcomes in regard to duration and quality of life. However, little published data has existed to present to the medical community. Studies, specifically good ones, require a lot of money to fund. But pharmaceutical companies, which without a doubt have the deepest pockets when it comes to funding research, don't have an interest in paying for such studies because natural substances can't be patented and will not generate huge stacks of cash.
But things are looking up and the tide is turning. Some high-quality studies have been conducted, and a lot more are on their way.
Kick your immune response into high gear with IVC
When you administer vitamin C intravenously, blood levels of the vitamin can reach levels 70 to 100 times higher than oral vitamin C. This is important because oral vitamin C usually can not reach high enough blood levels to successfully kill cancer cells. Research by the Riordan Clinic has found that tumor cells become susceptible to high-dose IVC at plasma levels of 350 to 400 mg/dL.
Your immune system naturally makes some hydrogen peroxide in response to infections and cancer. High doses of IVC kick this natural process into high gear. Hydrogen peroxide functions as an oxidant, helping to destroy cancer as well as other foreign invaders. IVC enhances what your immune system is already doing, making the process much more effective.
Regular healthy cells are able to counteract the effects of hydrogen peroxide with an enzyme known as catalase. Since cancer cells lack this enzyme it results in cell death. A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America showed that IVC selectively kills cancer cells by delivering hydrogen peroxide to tissues.
High-dose IVC also acts as an antioxidant, but this action seems a bit less powerful than its oxidant effect. As an antioxidant, however, vitamin C helps to control the inflammation that stokes the fires of cancer cell replication. While many conventional physicians are worried about the antioxidant effect of vitamin C for patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation (which make a lot of oxidants), this concern seems largely unfounded in light of recent research. Additionally, Naturopathic Doctor Paul Anderson has done in-depth research on published interactions between vitamin C and typical chemotherapy medications and other typical cancer drugs. His research finds little in the way of negative interactions.
As Dr. Hunninghake from the Riordan Clinic has mentioned, traditional therapies such as certain chemotherapies and radiation work by increasing oxidation and causing cancer cell death (apoptosis). However, they also damage the control mechanisms for cell death including the p53 gene which suppresses tumor development. This enables therapy-resistant cells to thrive while leaving your other cells with less control over cancer development at the same time. He notes that IVC acts as an oxidative therapy helping to kill cancer cells, while the mild antioxidant effects of the vitamin protect and restore the cells so they have control over cell replication such as the p53 gene.
Douse inflammation and reduce your CRP levels
Inflammation plays a vital part in cancer formation and promotes the replication of cancer cells, their survival, and also their migration throughout the body. One of the conventional blood tests for keeping track of inflammation in the body is C reactive protein (CRP). In one study of over 274,000 individuals, about one-third of deaths in society were due to cancer. Those with an increased CRP had a greater risk of dying from cancer than from any other cause including heart disease.
Research also shows that your level of CRP is a good predictor of cancer survival. Research at the Riordan Clinic has found that a series of IVC sessions can reduce CRP by around 75%. They concluded that this reduction in CRP corresponded with a drop in tumor markers including the PSA in prostate cancer.
High dose IVC also aids in detoxification and improving cell energy function. More specifically it improves the oxygenation of the cells. Cancer cells don't do well in an oxygenated environment and IVC shifts cells to an aerobic (using oxygen) state rather than the anaerobic (without oxygen) state that leads to the creation of more cells.
According to Hunninghake, his research team has recorded seven ways that IVC fights cancer. Hunninghake's Seven Hallmarks of Cancer that IVC deals with are:
IVC therapy is prolonging lives ... yours could be next
Among the leading research institutions for studying the results of IVC in people with cancer is the Bastyr University Integrative Oncology Research Center (BIORC), in Seattle. The Center opened in 2009, after receiving a grant from a man whose wife had died from breast cancer and who wanted research to be done to learn if there was a better way to treat the disease. Ever since 521 cancer patients have been enrolled in a study series including all stages of the disease. Originally patients were just from the Seattle area, but as word spread cancer patients from across the country have come to the clinic to take part in the research.
The most common types of cancers seen at BIORC are breast, lung, colon, pancreatic, and brain cancers, in addition to Merkel cell carcinoma (a form of skin cancer). Around 30% of the individuals seen at the clinic have been in stage IV or the end stage of the disease where cancer has spread. They are treated with nutritional therapies Intravenous Vitamin C and other holistic intravenous therapies.
Leanna Standish, Ph.D., ND, Lac, from the School of Public Health at the University of Washington and BIORC has been the lead researcher in analyzing the data coming from the center. She's been comparing the data to The Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, a world-renowned conventional cancer treatment center in the same area. While the research is ongoing, the data the clinic has gathered so far has been incredible.
For further information about Dr. Stengler’s practice and his clinic in La Jolla, California, please visit our website at MarkStengler.com or give us a call at (760) 274-2377
