For years holistic doctors have noted the positive effects of nutritional intravenous therapies such as vitamin C on their patients. I myself have personally seen patients having better results in terms of duration and quality of life. However, little published data has existed to present to the medical world. 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 since natural substances can't be patented and will not produce huge stacks of cash.
But things are improving and the tide is turning. Some high-quality studies have been conducted, and many 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 destroy cancer cells. Research by the Riordan Clinic has found that tumor cells become vulnerable to high dose IVC at plasma levels of 350 to 400 mg/dL.
Your immune system naturally produces some hydrogen peroxide in response to infections and cancer. High doses of IVC kick this natural process into high gear. Hydrogen peroxide acts 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 productive.
Regular healthy cells are able to neutralize the effects of hydrogen peroxide with an enzyme known as catalase. Since cancer cells lack this enzyme it leads to cell death. A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America showed that IVC selectively destroys cancer cells by supplying hydrogen peroxide to tissues.
High dose IVC also serves as an antioxidant, however this action seems a bit less powerful than its oxidant effect. As an antioxidant, however, vitamin C helps to control the inflammation that feeds the fires of cancer cell replication. While many traditional doctors are concerned about the antioxidant effect of vitamin C for individuals undergoing chemotherapy and radiation (which produce a lot of oxidants), this concern seems largely unfounded in light of current research. In addition, Naturopathic Doctor Paul Anderson has done extensive research on published interactions between vitamin C and common chemotherapy medications and other common cancer medications. His research finds little in the way of negative interactions.
As Dr. Hunninghake from the Riordan Clinic has pointed out, conventional therapies such as certain chemotherapies and radiation work by increasing oxidation and inducing cancer cell death (apoptosis). However, they also damage the control mechanisms for cell death including the p53 gene which suppresses tumor formation. This allows therapy-resistant cells to thrive, while leaving your other cells with less control over cancer formation at the same time. He notes that IVC serves 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 role in cancer development and promotes the replication of cancer cells, their survival, and also their movement throughout the body. One of the conventional blood tests for tracking inflammation in the body is C reactive protein (CRP). In one study of over 274,000 people, about one third of deaths in a society were due to cancer. Those with an increased CRP had a higher 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 discovered that a series of IVC sessions can reduce CRP by approximately 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 oxygenation of the cells. Cancer cells do not do well in an oxygenated environment and IVC switches cells to an aerobic (utilizing oxygen) state as opposed to the anaerobic (without oxygen) state that triggers the production of more cells.
According to Hunninghake, his research team has documented 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 researching the effects 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 passed away from breast cancer who wanted research to be done to find out 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. Initially individuals were just from the Seattle area, but as word spread cancer patients from across the country have come to the center to participate in the research.
The most prevalent types of cancers seen at BIORC are breast, lung, colon, pancreatic, and brain cancers, in addition to Merkel cell carcinoma (a kind of skin cancer). Approximately 30% of the individuals seen at the clinic have been in stage IV or the end stage of the disease where the cancer has spread. They are treated with nutritional therapies and Intravenous Vitamin C and other holistic intravenous therapies.
Leanna Standish, PhD, 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 clinic. She's been comparing the data to The Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, a world renowned traditional cancer treatment facility in the same area. While the research is ongoing, the data the clinic has collected thus far has been incredible.
For further information about Dr. Stengler’s practice and his clinic in La Mesa, California, please visit our website at MarkStengler.com or give us a call at (760) 274-2377.
