What Kills Most of Us

By Jay Patrick

It is obvious that the human body wears unevenly. But the most stressed of all organs are the heart and the arteries that serve it. In a 76-year lifetime, the average heart, weighing a little over one pound, will pump some 52,680,000 gallons of blood, which the arteries must carry about the body.

The coronary arteries can withstand this enormous load and the friction on the vessel wall, which are maintained only by continuous replacement of their lining, the intima. This lining must remain smoother than the finest silk for good arterial health.

But, because of poor nutrition, the new cells that try to provide a new lining every two or three days are, with advancing years, of poor quality, so the surface of the lining becomes rough and then starts to bleed.

Patching the Pipes

The body rushes to repair the holes, but, as the bleeding stops, tough, inflexible scar tissue replaces the mirror-smooth surface of the artery and makes the vessel more rigid (atherosclerosis). Then, Protein A quickly adheres to this surface, followed by cholesterol, lipids, and calcium. These products, which are essential to body function and, for perhaps 40 years, have circulated freely over a very smooth surface, now start to accumulate, forming sludge that blocks circulation, ultimately bringing on death, or the very temporary patch-up job of the heart bypass.

Yet, the cause of this arterial breakdown has been apparent for many years. In 1957, two Canadian physicians, Drs. G.C. Willis and W.J. McCormick, clearly identified it as scurvy, lack of Vitamin C, the same liver disease that, centuries ago, killed off most of the sailors who were at sea for months without fresh vegetables or citrus fruit.

Magellan, in 1519, set sail with a fleet of five ships on one of history's great voyages, the circumnavigation of the earth. Three years later, only one ship, with only 18 members of the original crew, returned to Spain, without Magellan.

"Limeys" Survive

Over two hundred years later, in 1747, James Lind, a British ship's surgeon, studied the mysterious malady and found that lemon juice contained an unknown substance that could save his sailors' lives. For lack of limes, the average ship had to return to port within a few weeks, else the bodies of most of the seamen literally fell apart, so they quickly died. But, when the British Navy learned to carry limes (lemons) on their cruises, they could stay at sea for many months.

But foreign navies, which operated without limes, were greatly handicapped, and had to return to port within a few weeks. They could not carry out long voyages, so it is no wonder that the British navy became so successful, that Britannia Ruled the Seas for more than a century thereafter.Finally, the magic substance was isolated by Dr. Albert Szent Gyorgyi, the Hungarian scientist, who obtained a great volume from the Paprika pepper of his native land. At first, it was called hexuronic acid----but later re-named ascorbic acid.

Now, I have frequently explained that ascorbic acid is a highly reactive substance that is short on electrons, so it is always looking for mates with which to unite. Thus, when we ingest the acid, we are engaging in a biochemical lottery, since, when it enters the stomach, it may react with whatever product is available. That's because it is only an intermediate for the neutral, mineral ascorbates, which most animals produce in their livers, and then circulate freely through their bodies.

First Things First

"What we don't see doesn't hurt us. What we don't know doesn't pain" (from the once-popular song, Please Don't Take Away My Dreams).

Yet, we great intellectuals, who can fly all over the world, peer into the depths of the cell and know its workings, create the Hydrogen Bomb, rocket to the moon, maybe clone ourselves, and so, on and on: We cannot understand that what is happening to our bodies is the same thing that happened to those ancient sailors. It is scurvy in a subtle form. We can't see it, so we think it does not exist.

We are getting more and more news about the great accomplishments in the field of genetics. Some 4,000 genetic diseases have been identified. Already, we are assuming the God-like role of correcting some of them.

Yet, two genetic liver diseases that oppress all humanity are virtually ignored. The major one is hypoascorbemia, inability to produce Vitamin C in our own livers, as do 99.99% of all other animals. Known exceptions: humans, the guinea pig, monkeys, apes, a type of bat, and a rare rat. The second liver disease from which all humans suffer is hypouricasemia. We lack the enzyme uricase, which breaks down excess uric acid, the cause of gout, and converts it into harmless allantoin and carbon dioxide.

So billions and billions of dollars are being expended by research corporations to find solutions to some 4,000 different genetic diseases that affect, erratically some of our population. But very little attention is being given to the two major liver diseases that, in one way or another, affect all humans. Some attention is being given to uricase, and perhaps 50,000 studies have been made of Vitamin C, but no one really works on the problem of re-establishing production of this major substance in our own bodies. Yet mineral ascorbates participate in perhaps 1,000 metabolic functions in the body, especially as the interaction of one substance upon another is considered.

The Great Reaper

This is the liver disease from which all of us who are spared accidental death shall surely die. Why? Because we don't get the superior resistance to disease and longer life, starting, at least, while in our mothers' wombs, that the real Vitamin C, the mineral ascorbates, provide.

So, those who take ascorbic acid under the impression that it is Vitamin C are much in error. Ascorbic acid is the intermediate form of "C", as it is present in vegetables and fruit. Humans cannot tolerate in much volume the acidity of ascorbic acid (pH 2), as it irritates the kidneys, bladder, and intestines. Yet, in the multi gram quantities we require for good health and longer life, it causes mineral-loosing diuresis and diarrhea.

You may ask: How much mineral ascorbate do we really need?

I can't give you an exact formula, because it depends so much on your sex, age, life style, and physical condition. I can tell you, though, that I weigh about 168 lbs., have been taking from 8 to 14 grams daily for the past 25 years. I have not had any colds for some 23 years, as they were comparatively easy to eliminate. Avoiding attacks of the "flu" was harder, though. By stepping up my intake of ascorbates, I could usually knock them out in one to two days. However, for the past 10 years or so I have not had even one such attack.

If you are a woman under 40, you probably do not require as much ascorbate as a man of the same weight. World authority on Vitamin C Irwin Stone told me, some 27 years ago, that he believed that women produce small amounts of vitamin C in their own bodies, which accounts, he said, for their living 6 to 8 years longer than men. Cardiologists inform me that women usually start the formation of plaque about 10 years later than men, but that they often catch up with them in later life.

A Dog's Life

Perhaps you have a dog. Dogs are more fortunate than we, in that they do produce some 2.8 grams of mineral ascorbates daily, as equated to a 154 lb. human. And, as Dr. Stone pointed out to me some 26 years ago, dogs and most animals other than the human animal live 7 times their period of maturity. 2 times 7 is 14. On this basis we human animals should live 7 times our period of maturity which is 20 to 25. 7 times 20 is 140, far above the average of about 76 years.

But, if you own a dog, you will probably notice that, as he gets to be 8 or 10 years old, he starts to have problems. His skin may be affected, for instance, and bloody scale will appear. This is because his production of ascorbate is declining. But if you regularly give your dog adequate mineral ascorbates, this scale will disappear, and he, she, may live up to 20 years. (I once wrote an article: "Forget about yourself. Just Take Care of Your Dog."

So dogs may show their lack of adequate ascorbate more outwardly than we. Obviously, our reaction in the lining of our arteries is not visible to the naked eye. Deficiency of ascorbate can appear in countless ways. I read of one famous TV star who is going blind. I am sure that she would not be going blind if she had adequate mineral ascorbates in her body, because, next to the adrenals and the brain, high concentrations of ascorbate are quite necessary to prevent degradation of the eyesight, and the high intra-ocular pressure that brings on glaucoma.

When I was nearly 83 years of age, I heard of a miraculous Ultrafast CT scan, which is about 10 times as fast as the "CAT" scan of which you may have heard. I learned that there was one of these CT scans at the UCLA Cardiovascular center in Torrance, CA.

Checking for Plaque

So I decided to go and have a cross section pictures of my arteries taken. I felt a bit apprehensive. I wondered if I had been misleading people for some 23 or so years regarding the feeding and care of their arteries.

I climbed into the tunnel of the Ultrafast CT scan, and in about 30 seconds they took 30 different cross-section views of my arteries. The highly cooperative technician allowed my cameraman and me to watch the results as they were displayed on the screen. The coronary arteries were absolutely clear (0) of all calcium, so he told me that this was "a new record for an 82-year-old man"!

You see, calcium is the third major substance that clogs the arteries, and the only one that can be picked up by the x-ray. However, the American Heart Association believes that the presence or non-presence of calcium is a clear indication of the total plaque. Thus, I was greatly relieved.

So, I later returned to discuss this extraordinary finding with Dr. Bruce Brundage, head of the Cardiovascular Center. He quickly told me that the finding was interesting, but that it was purely anecdotal, in that an excellent result with one person was not scientific proof that it would occur with the general population. I agreed with him, so, the following week I brought back 10 of our employees who had been taking our mineral ascorbate products.

CT Scan Results

	Age	Normal range	CT Scan Results
Jay Patrick	82 years old	over 800	0 calcium
Linda Tagle	76 years old	550-800	0 Calcium
Ymelda Patrick	57 years old	260-450	0 Calcium
HU	43 years old	155-310	0 Calcium
AR	42 years old	155-310	0 Calcium
JU	42 years old	155-310	0 Calcium
JE	47 years old	155-310	0 Calcium
RA	47 years old	155-310	0 Calcium
SU	57 years old	260-450	97 Calcium
EM	55 years old	260-450	155 Calcium

Of the 10 people subsequently checked out, 8 had 0 levels of calcium and the remaining 2 had low levels at which no symptoms appear.

We compared the averages of asyptomatic persons with data provided by several cardiovascular centers. This data showed that it was highly illogical that anyone in the age group covered could possibly get such astounding readings. Indeed, I challenge anyone in the world to take the same age group, which includes a 77 year old woman and an 82 year old man, and get such remarkable findings. The two of our employees who had the higher readings had not been taking their recommended dosage of 4 to 8 grams of mineral ascorbates daily, so they did not show up as well as they should. However, you will note that they were below the readings for other asymptomatic people in their age group.

Saving Smokers?

Furthermore, two of the people, much to our regret, are smokers, who outside of their work probably consume up to a pack of cigarettes a day. Thus, even these people were getting protection against a bad habit that tends to induce cancer and arterial breakdown!

Dr. McCormick reported his finding that every cigarette burns up at least 25 mg of ascorbate, so, obviously, the mineral ascorbates have certainly been compensating in some regard for the bad habit of our two smokers. Perhaps this is something that those cigarette addicts should know about! Further studies of this phenomenon should be undertaken forthwith. (Some 46 Million people are said to be smokers).

Arrangements are being made for studies at several universities of people who take the mineral ascorbates for at least a two-year period. 100 people will receive the mineral ascorbates and 100 will receive a placebo.

Thus we are steadily proving that all the malarkey about cholesterol represents the greatest medical farce of our century, to quote one writer. We have formed The Committee for World Health to conduct a further investigation of the mineral ascorbates. As a non-profit foundation, we expect that it will get the funds to conduct much needed research that has not really ever been done.

Dr. Sherry Lewen, an English researcher, who made a remarkably thorough study of Vitamin C, reports in his book that the second liver enzyme has been given healthy men, and 25% turned up as ascorbate in their bodies. The Committee is going to see what can be done to introduce all four ascorbate pathway enzymes into the liver, so as to eliminate the need for supplementation of mineral ascorbates.

Meanwhile, I strongly recommend mineral ascorbates with the B vitamins and trace elements, timed released, as the best approach to the problem.

Scientists are steadily discovering more and more aspects in which our bodies are less than perfect. I have discussed two known liver diseases, hypoascorbemia and hypouricasemia, but there are other inborn ailments that assail most or all of us. In my view, hypoascorbemia is the major ailment of all human kind. The mineral ascorbates that most animals can produce protect their bodies so effectively that, as noted, these animals live 7 times their period of maturity, whereas we live only 3.8 times. As to hypouricasemia: some of us can suffer mightily from this excessive production of uric acid, which is commonly known as gout.

Now the normal conception of the gout sufferer is that of an elderly, overweight, highly dissipating person, whose big toe enlarges and makes it difficult for him to walk.

But this is a poorly formed idea of gout. Actually it is a major disease that affects countless millions, often in subtle ways. Indeed, it may develop into a bad case of gout arthritis, which can affect the entire body and, in its extremes, so damage the joints as to make one a helpless cripple.

So, I have discussed the two major, genetic diseases that affect all humanity. There are other genetic diseases from which most of us suffer that are being largely ignored. I shall give attention to them in a subsequent article. But, if the medical profession and medical research will only give more consideration to nutritional approaches to these ailments, I am confident that major strides will be made toward the better health of the world.