Megavitamin therapy

In the United States, the use of products, including botanicals, thought to fall within the realm of complementary and alternative medicine is very common. It is difficult to obtain reliable estimates of use or to compare many of the current publications in this area because of diverse definitions for categorizing these products (e.g., dietary supplement, food supplement, herbal medicine, natural remedy, traditional medicine, etc.) in both the United States and elsewhere. A recent report on the use of complementary and alternative medicine by U.S. adults in 2002 indicated that approximately 19% of the population used nonvitamin, nonmineral, and natural products, 19% used folk medicine, and 3% used megavitamin therapy in the past 12 months (1). 

Stein HB, Hasan A, Fox IH. Ascorbic acid-induced urico-suria. A consequency of megavitamin therapy. Ann Intern Med 1976 84(4) 385-8. 

Neurotoxicity can be associated with pyridoxine megavitamin therapy (24), the main symptom being a peripheral sensory neuropathy (see Table 2) (25,26). 

Prevents and treats C deficiency (scurvy) increases wound healing for bums sickle cell crisis deep vein thrombosis. Megavitamin therapy (massive doses) of vitamins is not recommended it can cause toxicity. 

There are some excellerit books available about megavitamin therapy, including "How to Live With Schizophrenia," by Hoffer and Osmond, and "The Schizophrenias - Yours and Mine." For a starter, try writing for information from the Huxley Institute, Suite 805, 56 West 45th Street, New York, NY 10036. 

The one regular publication on megavitamin therapy that is of special merit if the Journal of Schizophrenia, 6950 France Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minn. 55436. You might check into getting a sample copy and becoming a subscriber. 

A particularly noteworthy program of megavitamin therapy/niacin information is run by the Health Services Division, Retail Clerk s Union, 1515 N. Vermont, Los Angeles,... 

Megavitamin therapy, in case you are wondering, is the use of large quantities of Niacin (B3) and Vitamin C, combined with certain other vitamins, as a treatment for such ailments as Alcoholism and Schizophrenia. It also works excellently on drug wipeouts, though we recommend you consult with a local expert (there are very few of these), or Do It Now, before you attempt to score Niacin. 

For a copy of a new publication entitled "Megavitamin Therapy and the Drug Wipeout Syndrome," send 35 cents to the Do It Now Foundation, P.O. Box 5115, Phoenix, Ariz. 85010. It s an excellent study, and a good basic guide to current approaches in this field. 

The use of megavitamin therapy, massive doses of vitamins, is questionable at best. The nurse should not recommend this action. 

These vitamins are inexpensive and they are almost entirely nontoxic and free of undesirable side reactions, as compared with ordinary drugs. Studies of individual patients might indicate which vitamins are especially needed. We feel, however, that at the present time these vitamin studies of individual patients need not be carried out before megavitamin therapy is instituted, because almost all schizophrenics are low excretors for at least one of the three vitamins, and an increased intake of any of these vitamins has small probability of doing harm, and large probability of doing good. 

This work may be summarized by the following statement observations made by administration of an oral dose of ascorbic acid, niacinamide, and pyridoxine, and determination of the fractions excreted in the urine in the next 6 hours have shown that almost all of the schizophrenic patients studied are low excretors for one or more of the three vitamins. These results strongly support the use of megavitamin therapy for the prevention and treatment of schizophrenia. 

Progress in megavitamin therapy and orthomolecular science. In First Edition 1984-85 Yearbook of Nutritional Medicine, Jeffrey Bland, ed., Keats Publishing Inc., New Canaan, CT, (1985), pp. 1-21. 

Deficiencies, whether pure or mixed, are not the only dietary contributors to cognitive disorders. Food additives have reputed behavioral and cognitive side-effects which will not be discussed in this review. The interaction of food/nutrition with alcohol also alters cognitive capacity. Some substances found in normal diets have added benefits when taken in supernormal dosages. In this regard, megavitamin therapies have been proposed but not substantiated. The final section of this paper will emphasize the, as yet unrealized, potential cognitive benefits from oral choline. 

Herbert, V., 1977, Megavitamin therapy. Contemporary Nutr., 2 10, General Mills, Minneapolis. 

Megavitamin Therapy. Another popular idea is that... 

Currently, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychiatric Association feel that megavitamin therapy is unproved in terms of safety and efficacy. Nevertheless, hope should not be abandoned. There are certain genetic disorders for which megavitamin therapy can be justified and future research may find its justification in other disorders. For example, nine studies reported in the world literature show that megadoses of vitamin B-6 are helpful in treating autism, though more experimental work is needed. ... 

Obesity therapy—Consumers are inundated with quick weight-loss plans from megavitamin therapy to herbalism, from fasting to the wondrous grapefruit diet billed as follows ... 

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