Guest Post by Dr. Thomas E. Levy
The evidence says, “vitamin C is safer than drinking water.” Researchers have documented lethal overdoses of water,1 yet no lethal dose has been found for vitamin C. 2
There’s not a single drug — prescription or over-the-counter — that can claim that level of safety. As well, there are few other nutritive supplements that can even approach the safety of any amount of vitamin C. Vitamin C is an essential nutrient and important for your diet since humans are one of the few mammals that does not produce or store vitamin C.
No Such Thing as Too Much Vitamin C
According to an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association3, 106,000 patients died in hospitals in 1994 from drug reactions. This figure has remained unchanged for 30 years. That means from 1965 – 1994, over 3 million people died in hospitals because of prescription drugs!
In contrast, high-dose vitamin C has been widely used since the late 1940’s without a confirmed report of any dosage level that will result in serious adverse effects. In fact, in 11 studies with high-dose vitamin C no side effects were reported.
Too Much Vitamin C
Regardless of any claims to the contrary, no one who has done a critical appraisal of the scientific literature can say anything other than, “Vitamin C is one of the safest substances on earth.”
- Hayashi T, et al, “Fatal water intoxication in a schizophrenic patient–an autopsy case” J Clin Forensic Med. 2005 Jun;12(3):157-9. Epub 2005 Mar 16.
- Levy T, Curing the Incurable. Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases, and Toxins 2004, MedFox Publishing, Henderson, NV.
- Lazarou J, Pomeranz BH, Corey PN, “Incidence of adverse drug reactions in hospitalized patients: a meta-analysis of prospective studies” JAMA 1998 279:10-15
About the Author
Thomas E. Levy, MD, JD is a board-certified cardiologist and the author of Curing the Incurable: Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases, and Toxins and STOP America’s #1 Killer! plus three other ground-breaking medical books. He is one of the leading vitamin C experts in the world and frequently lectures about the proper role of vitamin C and antioxidants in the treatment of a host of medical conditions and diseases to medical professionals all over the globe.