Published Research and Articles on Vitamin C as a Consideration for Pneumonia, Lung Infections, and the Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19)
by Graham Player, PhD, Andrew W. Saul, Damien Downing, MBBS, MRSB and Gert Schuitemaker, PhD
(OMNS Mar 22, 2020) In 1936 Gander and Niederberger found that vitamin C lowered fever and reduced pain in pneumonia patients. Also in 1936, Hochwald independently reported similar results. In 1946 Slotkin further reported that "Vitamin C has been used routinely by the general surgeons in the Millard Fillmore Hospital, Buffalo, as a prophylactic against pneumonia, with complete disappearance of this complication."
It is one thing to be sick from a virus and another thing entirely to die from a viral-instigated disease. A 1994 randomised double-blind trial involving vitamin C/placebo supplementation was conducted on 57 elderly patients admitted to hospital with acute respiratory infections (bronchitis and bronchopneumonia). Using a clinical scoring system based on major symptoms of the respiratory condition, patients supplemented with the vitamin fared significantly better than those on placebo. This was particularly the case for those commencing the trial most severely ill, many of whom had very low plasma and white cell vitamin C concentrations on admission.
Vitamin C supports your immune system. Vitamin C helps to kill viruses and reduces the symptoms of infection. It's not a COVID-19 "cure," but nothing is. It might just save your life, though, and will definitely reduce the severity of the infection. If someone tells you it's not proven, consider two things:
- Nothing is proven to work against COVID-19, because it is a new virus
- Vitamin C has worked against every single virus including influenzas, pneumonia, and even poliomyelitis.
In the medical literature, there are more than 64,000 published articles and studies on Vitamin C available at The U.S. National Library of Medicine National Center for Biotechnology Information. Vitamin C is arguably one of the most researched substances in existence. Much of the research is very positive. Ignorance of the research, benefits and use of Vitamin C is not a valid excuse for it not to be used as a therapy, particularly when there are no other known medications available, and it is not likely to cause damage, and the published research is readily accessible for everybody.
Following is a brief selection of articles and research from the medical literature that are educational and helpful in considering the use of Vitamin C.
