Hi!
I have been learning so much about vitamin c and appreciate all the work you do. I learned about how taking high dose vitamin c with lysine can help prevent or even reverse atherosclerosis! I decided to start this therapy with my mom, instead of giving her a statin.
My concern is that she has type 2 diabetes.
In researching further, I've come across very conflicting things about giving high dose vitamin c to people who are diabetic. I've even read that it can be harmful, because of how vitamin c interacts with cell activity in people who have diabetes. So then I stopped giving it to her. But she's also not taking the statin. So I'm feeling unsure about what the truth is regarding vitamin c and diabetics, and what is the healthiest thing to do for my mom.
Could you give some advice? Thank you very much. God Bless!
Great question and unfortunately, I know more than I wish I did.
First, thanks to a web site established by a former Type II diabetic, Thomas Smith, and his paper printed in the Australian periodical Nexus, and available at this link, http://healingmatters.com/deception.htm , I believe that it is possible to treat and reverse Type II diabetes. The Smith protocol involves FATS. Removing them, then slowly re-introducing healthy natural fats (and avoiding all unnatural TRANS FATS.) His theory makes sense, and may explain some of the problems Type IIs have re: Vitamin C. (Vitamin C, like glucose, requires insulin to enter healthy cells. In Type II, the cells, or more correctly, cell membranes, are not healthy so vitamin C may also be blocked.)
So reducing sugar and increasing vitamin C is a good strategy - after removing the cause of the type II - unnatural fats. (Saturated fats are not the issue, it is the transfat - adding the Hydrogen to unsaturated fats to extend their shelf life.)
There have been reports that those with kidney malfunction should limit their vitamin C intake... (Again, there are ways to improve if not cure kidney malfunction, include End Stage Renal Disease (thank you eDOC!) making any interaction with high vitamin C moot.)
In Summary,
Remove anything "in a box" from her diet, e.g. ALL transfats. Zero is "more" than NO TRANSFATS on the label (because of rounding).
Slowly add Omega 3/6 and maybe 9 essential fatty acids in the correct ratio.
Reduce blood glucose - Richard Bernstein is the oldest living TYpe I, and his books (e.g. The DIABETES SOLUTION) are excellent resources for Diabetics - except for one thing. His expertise is blood sugar control. He noticed that vitamin C affects blood sugar measurements, and on this basis, advises his patients not to take a lot of vitamin C (Bad advice, and he wonders why the only condition he hasn't be able to control in his patients is Heart Disease.)
Finally, as you are correcting her diabetes, slowly work up on the vitamin C and lysine. And please report back what happens.
And welcome to the field of ORTHOMOLECULAR NUTRITION.