The Book Forum

Pauling and Vitamin C

The many admirers of Linus Pnul-
ing will wish that he had not wit-
ten this hook. Horc are found, not
the guarded statements of a phiio.+o-
phcr or scientist seeking truth, hut
the clear, incisive sentences of an
advertiser with something to sell.
Unfortunntclj~, m:my laymen are go-
ing to believe the ideas that the nu-
thor is selling-that ascorbic acid is
a completely harmless chemical
which will prevent or mollify infec-
tious diseases such as the common
co!d, `if taken in doses of from 1 to
10 gm daily throughout life, and pos-
sibly estcnd that lifetime from two
to six years. Actually, when used as
recommended by Professor Pauling.
neither the safety of all dosage
forms, nor the efficacy of ascorbic
acid in any dosngc form, has been
proved.
Yauling hopes that there will be a

thorough, large-scale study on vita-
min C and the common cold. Re-
cause ?IC has already convinced him-
self that vitamin C in large doses
does avert or ameliorate the cnm-
mon cold, the question arises: What
kind of rcscarch does he have in
mind? .ln reviewing published re-
ports, Pauling explains neg:itive
findings by implying that positive
results would have been obtained if
larger dosrs of vitnmjn C had been
employed. He csplains diffrrenccs
in res;>onse of patie:its by quoting
Roger IVilliains' ;,hrasc, "biological
indiviJu:~lity. " `l'hc rwcnrch lvhich
Pauling is recc)rrlmrl!dil:(:, jt would
seem. is not a study to deicrmine the
faC!s, but a compilation of data for
him to fit inio the pattern of his ar-
gumcnt.

1506  lAMA, M;lrcI~ 1, 1971 e Vol 215, NO 9

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