How refreshing to have someone speak out about the role(s) of nutrition in human immunity. It should not have taken us this long to figure that out, but once again media and medicine seem to have a bias; which is too often the case.
It has been long known and documented that deficiency in essentially any essential vitamin or minerals has some form of immune compromise associated with it. It’s not a black or white thing however, but exists more along a gray-scale between to two end points. This complexity of a multiplicity of factors and lack of definable cause and effect (fix or not fix) has made embracing the patently obvious difficult for much of the medical community. They ask instead for randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trials as a means of seeking shelter from the question. In reality though, that is an attempt to apply a pharmaceutical testing paradigm to a nutritional mechanism. That inappropriate, and that just won’t work.
Over the years I have been lucky enough to be engaged in or be closely connected to a number of intervention trials. I have always felt that once the epidemiology points to a probable relationship, and the biochemistry is deemed plausible, such investigation is a important and valuable next step. Of course critical procedure must be followed, with independent review board concurrence and statistical analysis, but the data coming out the back side can tell us a lot about real world expectations. Such data deserves more weight.
Getting back to immunity though, Vitamin C certainly has a place in any immune-centric dietary practice. But unto itself it is really only a small (though important) part of a much more complex relationship between food and physiology. NHANES data has been pointing to key nutrient groups and disease risk for decades. It is well known and proven repeatedly that the abundance or absence of certain food nutrient groups modulates immunity; when they are abundant markers of immune capacity are elevated, when they are deficient immune capacity is suppressed. Carotenoids are a perfect example. These colorful pigments play roles in both the health and vitality of plants and that of animals that consume those plants as well; including humans. In the late 1970’s this relationship was first proposed and then shown in laboratory testing, then in animals and later in humans. Today there should be no question that the data is strong enough to not just recommend the consumption of colorful fruits and vegetables, but expressly recommend supplementation those plant sourced nutrients for their immune boosting potential. (Human clinical trials have shown that abundant carotenoid intake can up-regulate natural killer cell proliferation, a first line defender against viral infection.)
One of the things that continues to surprise and dismay me is the lack of voices that speak of the powerful health promoting / disease preventing opportunities well formulated supplements can provide. (Thus, I applaud your article.) But after decades of research it seems like it is never quite enough. Further research is needed, larger numbers, longer time! There is a point though where that becomes intellectual dodge-ball. It seems like great minds are reluctant to make claims or recommendations that fall outside of mainstream medical thinking. Perhaps for fear they will be blocked from future NIH funding? I would hope not. Maybe this Covid 19 crisis will be motivation to change that.
With your focus on Vitamin C my thoughts went immediately to that crazy guy, Linus Pauling. I had the opportunity to attend some meetings at his Institute when he was still active. My sense all these years later is that he was more right than wrong in his belief about the powerful and unique role that vitamin C plays in us. It would be good to have his voice in the choir yet today.
