Professor Malcolm Maden, of the Medical Research Centre for Developmental Neurobiology at King's College, London, said his team's research held out "great hope" for the development of a treatment for emphysema in humans.He said the retinoic acid compound worked on tissue cells in the lungs, causing them to regenerate.Emphysema begins with the destruction of tiny air sacs (alveoli), which creates permanent "holes" in the walls of the lungs.As the air sacs are destroyed the lungs are able to transfer less and less oxygen to the bloodstream.Prof Maden said that during the tests on mice his compound made the alveoli grow back again until they returned to normal levels.He said: "We saw quite dramatic results. It is potentially hopeful for emphysema sufferers, and for premature babies who often suffer from loss of alveoli because of treatments given to stimulate lung growth."Clinical trials have begun in America to see if the treatment could be used on humans.A spokeswoman from the British Lung Foundation gave the research a cautious welcome.
She said: "The BLF welcomes any interesting developments in research which may offer new options to patients with COPD (an umbrella term for chronic bronchitis and emphysema), a severely debilitating condition."However, the BLF would like to examine this research to understand fully whether this might be a viable option in the future."Currently, COPD is the fifth biggest killer worldwide and is the only major cause of death increasing in the UK."The research was based on a chemical compound of retinoic acid taken from Vitamin A, and not from a dietary intake of the substance.David "Avocado" Wolfe, a leading authority on raw foods and superfoods, coaches Hollywood celebrities and leading business people on nutrition and wellness. In this interview, David shares his extensive knowledge about the holistic treatment of chronic inflammation. If you want to purchase the DVDs of the Longevity Conference that I spoke at earlier this year with David Wolfe you can watch the free Longevity Conference presentation here.
If you want to join me live on Friday, September 24, 2010 - Sunday, September 26th, 2010 at The Orange County Hilton in Costa Mesa, CA, then you can go to David's page in which he fully describes the fall Longevity Now Conference and you can see all the speakers that will be attending. I am very excited about being a part of this event, as the energy and conversations that occur there are extraordinary. I feel like this group of people are the graduate students of how to maximize healthy living to the fullest, and one of the reasons I attend is because I learn so much. Not to worry if you can't attend that weekend as you can always get the Longevity Conference DVDs now.“In fact even when there is not a single outward symptom of trouble, a person may be in a state of vitamin C deficiency more dangerous than scurvy itself. When such a condition is not detected, and continues uncorrected, the teeth and bones will be damaged, and what may be even more serious, the blood stream is weakened to the point where it can no longer resist or fight infections not so easily cured as scurvy.” –Food and Life Yearbook 1939, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Vitamin C has been a long-time favorite supplement for many and for very good reasons. It is the one thing that has made the whole difference for detox purposes, but it has also saved the lives of many around the world. It has regained popularity recently as a DNA protector from free radical damage in workers with severe radiation exposure at the Fukushima nuclear plant, where workers had no significant change in both free DNA and overall cancer risk when supplemented with vitamin C. Vitamin C also helps manufacture collagen, vital for the health of all our tissues and the repair of blood vessels, teeth, joints and bones. It also helps to normalize blood pressure, heal degenerative diseases and prevent premature aging. It is vital so our immune system can fight viruses, bacteria and other microbes. Vitamin C is also important in the synthesis of brain chemicals such as our happy mood neurotransmitter – serotonin. Nobel Prize winner, Linus Pauling and Dr. Irwin Stone have helped pioneer the concept of orthomolecular medicine which uses megadose vitamin therapy – vitamin C in doses higher than those required for normal cellular functions.
When taken in very high doses (10 or 100 grams or more per day, depending upon the person’s requirements and illness) vitamin C fights off serious illness. For instance, when the body is challenged by cancer, colds, toxicity or diseases, we are overwhelmed with free radical production. This is when our requirements of vitamin C increases. Read about Vitamin C’s Historical and Miraculous Record. Mainstream medicine remains in the dark when it comes to knowledge about vitamin C despite the miraculous effects it has had on people whose prognosis was fatal. Vitamin C or ascorbic acid, is something you want to have in your medical cabinet, as it can save your life as it had done so for so many people around the world. Vitamin C is also the best thing so far for adrenal support during very stressful times and/or when we feel extremely fatigued. As a powerful water-soluble anti-oxidant that we are not capable to synthesize within our bodies, you might want to take 1 heaping teaspoon (4 grams) per day, when you first start detoxifying.
During stressful times (either emotional or from illness) more doses are required, especially when you are eating a diet rich in carbs. As it happens, vitamin C and sugar use the same port entry to access our cells and when there is little to no sugar to compete, a higher percentage of vitamin C gets into the cells making our requirements shrink. This is why our need for vitamin C goes down to the point where most people had to minimize or even eliminate it in a ketogenic diet – a diet based on animal foods and fats. And since most animals make their own vitamin C, it is possible to get enough vitamin C in a ketogenic diet without any plant foods by eating the proper parts of the animal: organs. Keep in mind that vitamin C dosage should be built up gradually, and the same is also true for lowering the dose of vitamin C, in order for our bodies to adjust to the change. Going slowly also prevents Herxheimer reactions which come when you first start detoxifying. A Herxheimer reaction is an excretion of toxins from dying microbes (i.e. yeast overgrowth), sometimes called a ‘die off’ reaction.
Some say that pregnant women should not exceed 5 grams of vitamin C a day, although early pioneers on vitamin C have used very large doses for the benefit of both the mother and the baby. Large doses can cause diarrhea since excess vitamin C than your body requires doesn’t get absorbed. In time of illness, you can gradually increase vitamin C by 2 to 4 grams each hour until your tummy starts to gargle or you have a loose stool. This is what is known as titrating doses of vitamin C. The most inexpensive vitamin C is ascorbic acid which you can get in bulk size, although other high quality forms and alkaline and better absorbed versions are available such as sodium ascorbate. If ascorbic acid gives you acidity, mix with some stevia, xylitol or a little bit of sodium bicarbonate to take the bite off. For those concerned that vitamin C will increase their blood sugar levels, well, it seems that it doesn’t, even at doses of 2 grams every 3 hours. Unfortunately, with so many medical regulations and drug protocols, vitamin C’s healing effects has remained in the back stage in a system ruled by Big Pharma.
Despite this, it continues to help many around the world and it is starting to regain increasing popularity in conditions where no drug has made such a difference as vitamin C does. Nowadays there are options that can substitute the intravenous (IV) vitamin C therapy in megadoses in the form of liposomal vitamin C which can be taken orally and made at home. If you are interested in getting the benefits of IV vitamin C in megadoses from the comfort of your home, don’t miss this relevant information! A liposome is like a bag that carries a substance into your body and its cells. It is incredibly effective at this task since it is made out of fat. As it happens, it is the same type of fat that make up cell membranes, making the job of crossing this barrier much easier. Plus, liposomes are super tiny and in that way, they can go through every teensy crack of our cell barriers. In order to achieve an effective megadose vitamin C dose – for instance, to kill cancer cells – you need to achieve a vitamin C blood level of around 250-350 mg/dl.
An average person will typically have around 1 mg/dl on a fairly decent diet. After a 25 to 50 grams IV vitamin C therapy delivered in about a 90-minute period, the blood level is in the 200 to 300 mg/dl range. Reports say that 6 g of oral liposomally-carried vitamin C is equal in delivering vitamin C inside cells, where it does its work, to 50 grams of intravenous vitamin C. To make Liposomal Vitamin C, you need an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner like the one in the image. or other store of your convenience and see which size is the most practical one for you. Then you’ll need sunflower lecithin or non-GMO hexane free soy lecithin, and the vitamin C, preferably as sodium ascorbate. 3 level tablespoons of lecithin. 1 level tablespoon of sodium ascorbate. Dissolve the lecithin in 1 cup (240cc) of warm or cold water, preferably distilled. Let it soak for a couple of hours or so. It doesn’t have to clump, so using warm water is preferable (not hot!). Dissolve the sodium ascorbate in 1/2 cup warm water, preferably distilled.
Pour both solutions together into the ultrasonic cleaner and mix for around 20 to 25 minutes. A loading dose, for several months, of liposomal vitamin C is likely 2,000 mg three times a day, maintenance , 1,000 mg twice daily, increasing doses and amounts when needed. This recipe provides 12 grams (12000 mg) of Vitamin C Ascorbate at about 70% – 90% liposomal encapsulation efficiency. It will keep at room temperature for about 3 to 4 days and refrigerated, it will keep much longer. Recall that 6 grams of this stuff is the equivalent of 50 grams IV vitamin C. So you can take half the solution throughout the day for a day or two in case of illness. Wean off gradually throughout the days though, so no artificial drastic lack is perceived by the body. I’ve used 3 tablespoons of sodium ascorbate with good absorption results as well. Three tablespoons instead of one tablespoon as indicated in the above recipe will yield around 16 grams of vitamin C per cup. The absorption of the liposomal variety is about 5 times the absorption of vitamin C straight, so that is approximately 80 effective grams (IV therapy).