High-dose vitamins drips and antioxidants have been doing the rounds for over 50 years and even pranged a few high-flyers, including two famous Nobel laureates, in the process. Professor James Watson (one of the DNA's founding fathers) and a controversial Nobel laureate stated in a peer-reviewed paper that antioxidant supplements 'may have caused more cancers than they have prevented'.High-dose vitamins drips and antioxidants have been doing the rounds for over 50 years and even pranged a few high-flyers, including two famous Nobel laureates, in the process. Professor James Watson (one of the DNA's founding fathers) and a controversial Nobel laureate stated in a peer-reviewed paper that antioxidant supplements may have caused more cancers than they have prevented'. And he was proven correct because studies have repeatedly shown that, with the possible exception of vitamin D, these supplements have negligible positive effect on healthy people, at least in terms of important things such as preventing cancer.

1. Volume 4 Issue 2 ► March 2015 ► Journal of AESTHETIC NURSING 383
▼ DEBATE
©2015MAHealthcareLtd
Everyone knows that the human body
needs nutrients and vitamins to function
properly; however, it is less well known that
even those with no medical conditions do
not absorb the correct amount of these nu-
trients and vitamins from food. We all have
natural deficiencies or various lifestyle rea-
sons as to why this is the case, such as not
spending enough time in the sun. Over the
last 40 years, vitamin infusions have been
designed to deliver the optimum balance of
these nutrients and vitamins directly to the
body, bypassing the gastrointestinal system.
In modern urban life, stress, drinking,
sunbathing, pollution and radiation cause
oxidation and produce ‘free radicals’, which
have the potential to cause irreversible
damage to cellular DNA. We need antioxi-
dants now more than ever to remove the
‘free radicals’ from our bodies. This is what
the term ‘detox’ means—it reduces signs of
ageing and prevents degenerative diseases.
The key benefit to intravenous (IV) ad-
ministration is that the body can only ab-
sorb 0–10% of what is contained in supple-
ments or creams—the rest is simply wasted.
With IV infusions, not only is absorption
100%, but also it is more effective in ensur-
ing long-term wellbeing.
Nutrients, vitamins and amino acids
can also be safely delivered in high doses
because they bypass the gastrointestinal
system, which often is a cause of stom-
achaches and unnecessary problems when
delivering essential substances to the body.
Bypassing the gastrointestinal system also
has the benefit of achieving serum concen-
trations not obtainable with oral or even
intramuscular administration.
'We all have natural
deficiencies and we
need antioxidants
now more than ever to
remove the free radicals
from our bodies'
High-dose vitamins drips and antioxi-
dants have been doing the rounds for over
50 years and even pranged a few high-flyers,
including two famous Nobel laureates, in
the process. Professor James Watson (one
of the DNA's founding fathers) and a con-
troversial Nobel laureate stated in a peer-re-
viewed paper that antioxidant supplements
'may have caused more cancers than they
have prevented'. And he was proven correct
because studies have repeatedly shown that,
with the possible exception of vitamin D,
these supplements have negligible positive
effect on healthy people, at least in terms of
important things such as preventing cancer.
Some supplements—notably vitamins A,
E and beta-carotene—even seem to slightly
raise the risk of disease and early death, but
the myth of their benefit continues. One
possible reason for our entrenched attitudes
is the ubiquitous use of the word 'antioxi-
dants' in adverts proclaiming the health
benefits of foods and drinks. An article pub-
lished in Scientific American on the 'myth
of antioxidants' stated that for decades re-
searchers assumed that free radicals caused
ageing by damaging cells, thus undermining
the functioning of tissues and organs. How-
ever, recent experiments show that increas-
es in certain free radicals in mice and worms
correlate with longer life span. Indeed, in
some circumstances, free radicals seem to
signal cellular repair networks. It suggests
that taking antioxidants in the form of vita-
mins/supplements can do more harm than
good in otherwise healthy individuals.
There's probably a deeper reason for our
collective refusal to swallow the bitter pill of
scientific evidence. Proven things that can
reduce our risks of disease, such as stopping
smoking, exercising and limiting alcohol
consumption, are somewhat more prosaic.
Then we look at the evidence for us-
ing high-dose vitamin C in cancer support
protocols. The initial impetus came from
Nobel laureate Linus Pauling who, together
with Ewan Cameron, pioneered its use and
found that vitamin C helped cancer patients
live about four times longer than those not
given vitamin C. However, vitamin C for
cancer suffered a setback when Charles Mo-
ertel sought to disprove the thesis. He was
an arch foe of nutritional therapies for can-
cer, and did not follow Pauling’s regimen.
This cost Pauling his second Nobel Prize.
Moertel selected a cohort of terminal co-
lon cancer patients who had not responded
to all forms of conventional treatment,
including surgery, chemotherapy and ra-
diation, and administered 10 g of vitamin
C to them orally. When the patients failed
to demonstrate improved survival, Moertel
pronounced Pauling's hypothesis defunct.
He failed to note that the benefits achieved
by Pauling and Cameron’s patients were ob-
tained via intravenous (IV) and oral routes.
Research at the National Institutes of
Health suggests that IV vitamin C deserves
another chance to find its niche in anti-can-
cer therapy, as oral high-dose vitamin C is
poorly absorbed. The story continues.
'There's a deeper
reason for our
collective refusal to
swallow the bitter pill
of scientific evidence'
PATRICK TREACY
Medical Director,
Ailesbury Clinics,
Dublin, Ireland
ACAENA AMOROS
Co-Founder and
Aesthetic Nurse, The
Elixir Clinic, London
MAHI ARAMIDEH
Co-Founder and
Aesthetic Nurse, The
Elixir Clinic, London