In recent years, intravenous therapy, also known as IV therapy, has gained popularity as a quick and effective method to address various health concerns, from dehydration to nutrient deficiencies. Among the prominent players in the IV therapy landscape is the The Sarasota IV Lounge, a renowned destination for those seeking the benefits of IV hydration and IV infusions. As the interest in this alternative wellness approach grows, the question on many minds remains: Is IV therapy safe? In this blog post, we'll explore the safety aspects of IV therapy and shed light on how The Sarasota IV Lounge stands out in ensuring a secure and positive experience.
Understanding IV Therapy
IV therapy involves the administration of fluids, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients directly into the bloodstream through a vein. This method bypasses the digestive system, allowing for faster absorption and delivering a more potent impact on the body. Common uses of IV therapy include rehydration, nutrient supplementation, immune system support, and overall wellness enhancement.
1. Professional Oversight:The Sarasota IV Lounge prioritizes safety by employing qualified healthcare professionals to administer IV treatments. Registered nurses and trained staff members oversee the entire process, ensuring that each session is conducted with precision and adherence to safety protocols.
2. Sterile Environment:
Maintaining a sterile environment is crucial for preventing infections and complications. Sarasota IV Lounge upholds the highest standards of cleanliness and hygiene in our facilities, minimizing the risk of infections associated with IV therapy.
3. Customized Treatments:
Not all individuals have the same health needs, and Sarasota IV Lounge recognizes this fact. We offer customized IV therapy treatments tailored to the unique requirements of each client, ensuring that the administered substances are appropriate and safe for their specific health goals.
4. Quality Ingredients:
The safety of IV therapy is closely tied to the quality of the ingredients used in the infusions. Here at the Sarasota IV Lounge, we source pharmaceutical-grade vitamins, minerals, and fluids, guaranteeing the purity and potency of the substances introduced into the body.
5. Thorough Assessment:
Before any IV therapy session, clients undergo a thorough assessment to identify potential contraindications or health issues that may affect the safety of the treatment. This proactive approach ensures that IV therapy is suitable and safe for each individual.
With a commitment to providing safe and effective IV therapy, Sarasota IV Lounge has positioned itself as the #1 trusted destination for those seeking wellness through intravenous treatments. By combining qualified professionals, a sterile environment, customized treatments, high-quality ingredients, and thorough assessments, Sarasota IV Lounge ensures that clients can embrace the benefits of IV therapy with confidence.
As the popularity of IV therapy continues to rise, it's essential for individuals to prioritize safety when considering such treatments. The Sarasota IV Lounge exemplifies the commitment to safety in IV therapy, offering a secure and reliable option for those looking to enhance their well-being through intravenous hydration and infusions. When conducted with diligence and under the supervision of qualified professionals, IV therapy is safe and will make an impactful addition to one's health and wellness journey.
Taking Health to the Next Level with Intravenous Vitamin C
By Guy DaSilva, MD, ABAARM
As a society, we’ve accepted that growing old means getting a disease. We believe that we’re prisoners of our genes, destined to inherit the fate of our parents. And more than ever, cancer is an expected part of the aging process.
In reality, we can live well into our 100s without disease, sickness or cancer. Our immune systems have the ability to keep us healthy into old age, but only if they are strong enough.
One way to promote optimal immune system function is through high doses of intravenous vitamin C (IVC). For over six decades, IVC therapy has been proven to treat and cure infection and disease. I have experienced its remarkable effects on patients with everything from influenza to terminal stage IV ovarian cancer.
This article will address how IVC boosts the immune system to fight disease and infection, the mechanics behind IVC’s ability to kill cancer cells, cost and side effects of IVC compared to traditional cancer therapies, how IVC can work in conjunction with other cancer treatments, cultural trends in IVC, and controversy associated with its use.
Background
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is a water-soluble vitamin used by the body to form collagen in bones, cartilage, muscle and blood vessels, and also aids in the absorption of iron. Nutritional deficiency of vitamin C causes scurvy, which can lead to sudden death.1
While we manage to fend off scurvy through diet and supplements, we are vitamin C deficient. Nobel Prize-winning physiologist Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, who is credited for discovering vitamin C, explained it best when he said, “The medical profession itself took a very narrow and very wrong view. Lack of ascorbic acid caused scurvy, so if there was no scurvy there was no lack of ascorbic acid… The only trouble was that scurvy is not a first symptom of a lack but a final collapse, a premortal syndrome and there is a very wide gap between scurvy and full health.”2
Even if we eat oranges by the bag, we no longer absorb nutrients like we should. Years of immune system destruction from antibiotics overuse have increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut syndrome), and a diet heavy in nutrient-sparse foods due to lack of crop rotation, accelerated crop turnover, and topsoil reductions have robbed us of nutrition.
Instead, we live “paycheck to paycheck” by the recommended daily allowance (RDA), an amount high enough to ward off scurvy, but not adequate enough to prevent chronic disease and promote optimal health.
So how do we get more vitamin C? Taking high doses orally is not effective, as the body limits intestinal absorption of vitamin C. Oral intakes of 1 to 1.5 g result in 50% absorption, and oral intakes over 12 g result in only 16% absorption. High doses of vitamin C administered intravenously, however, bypass the body’s regulation, achieving 100% bioavailability.3
Vitamin C and the Immune System
To prevent and treat disease and infection, the immune system needs to be incredibly healthy, which, according to the Riordan IVC protocol, can be accomplished through high-dose IVC, as it “promotes healthy mitochondria function, stimulates the immune system to produce interferon, to increaseNK cell numbers, phagocytosis with enhanced migration and killing function.”4
One of the pioneers in IVC therapy, Frederick Robert Klenner, MD, experienced this first hand when he gave poliomyelitis patients tens of thousands of mg of vitamin C per day during the 1948 epidemic. His treatment cured every one of the 60 acute polio cases he saw. All were well in three days and none developed paralysis.5
Dr Klenner also used IVC to reverse polio’s devastating effects. In1951, he treated a five-year-old polio-stricken girl with paralysis of both lower legs of four days’ duration. After 19 days of IVC therapy, she had complete return of sensory and motor function.6
In a letter to Dr Klenner in June 1978, American biochemist, chemical engineer and author Irwin Stone wrote, “giving levels of ascorbate for long periods of time at the daily levels you recommend... is equivalent to creating a new human subspecies, “Homo sapiens ascorbicus”... with unusual resistance to disease and stress and with a prolonged life span.”7
Vitamin C and Cancer
IVC therapy has been shown to decrease symptoms, improve the quality of life, and prolong survival in cancer patients. As of 2009, peer-reviewed research documents that over 700 cancer patients have benefited from IVC or other concurrent antioxidant regimens.4
The cancer killing powers of vitamin C were first made known in the 1970s by two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling, PhD, and Ewan Cameron, MD. Their case report revealed remarkable results achieved with high-dose vitamin C on about100 terminal cancer patients. The patients treated with vitamin C survived an average of 300 days longer than the control group, with 22% of them living longer than one year.8
One aspect of IVC’s cancer-killing mechanism is its function as a pro-oxidant as opposed to an antioxidant (as it is in oral form). According to internationally recognized researcher Mark Levine, MD, when vitamin C is administered intravenously, it diffuses outside of the bloodstream, allowing reactions to generate hydrogen peroxide. 9 This allows treatment to selectively kill cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed.4
Vitamin C also stimulates p53, a tumor suppressor protein, while at the same time suppressing oncogenes, which cause cancer cells to survive and proliferate instead of dying through apoptosis.
Vitamin C therapy also may reduce inflammation, which plays a large role in tumor development and is associated with poor prognosis and decreased survival.10 According to studies at the Riordan Clinic, high-dose IVC therapy reduced inflammation in cancer patients, correlating with decreases in tumor marker levels.10
I have seen the effects of IVC on cancer patients first hand. One of my most exciting cases was a woman in her 60s with stage IV ovarian cancer.When she came to my office, she was weak, depressed and chemotherapy resistant, weighingbarely 95 pounds with complete hair loss. Her cancer had continued to grow after completing every available traditional therapy, so she was sent home to die. I started her on 75,000 mg of IVC, and today, nearly four years later, she is healthy, thriving and living life to its fullest.
IVC and Conventional Cancer Treatments
IVC may be a safer, more cost-efficient option when compared to the high price, both financially and physically, of traditional treatments.
The Riordan Clinic Research Institute, with 15 years of clinical experience giving over 30,000 onsite IVC treatments, reported that side effects of high-dose IVC are rare.4 Aside from known complications in patients with renal impairment or glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, high-dose IVC is regarded as a safe treatment option.11
The primary side effects my patients experience are increased thirst and hunger, which can be thwarted by consuming food and fluids before and during treatment. These effects are minute compared to the long list of destructive side effects attached to chemotherapy and radiation.
To compare cost, a single 75,000 mg dose of IVC, which is what I recommend for cancer treatment, will run a patient under $300. A chemotherapy dosing regimen can ring up to around $30,000.12
But IVC need not be an all or nothing option. While it is effective as a stand-alone therapy, IVC works well in conjunction with chemotherapy and radiation, and may reduce side effects, enhance quality of life and help preserve immunocompetence.4
Oncologist Victor Marcial, MD, uses IVC alongside radiation therapy. He said, “Vitamin C has two effects. It increases the beneficial effects of radiation and chemotherapy and decreases the adverse effects. But this is not a subtle effect, is not 15-20%, it’s a dramatic effect. Once you start using IV vitamin C, the effect is so dramatic that it is difficult to go back to not using it.”13
Cultural Trends
Aside from its use by Complementary and Alternative Medicine practitioners, IVC has currently seen a spike in use among those seeking its prophylactic benefits. I regularly see patients who choose to proactively prevent cancer, boost immunity during flu season or recharge after a time of stress. Even athletes enjoy the boost of energy that these “IV cocktails” provide before a big game or tennis match.
IVC is gaining popularity with celebrities as well, including pop singer Rihanna and television personality Simon Cowell, who reportedly both use IV drips containing vitamin C, vitamin B12, magnesium and zinc to increase energy and curb fatigue. Simon Cowell refers to the vitamin injections as a miracle for boosting energy levels and “indescribable” in terms of their calming effect.14
IVC Controversy
If IVC is so remarkable, it begs to ask why more doctors aren’t including it in their toolbox of treatment options. The FDA has made it difficult for physicians and IVC suppliers, possibly because vitamin C is not patented, thus it will not go through the standard FDA approval process.
The use of IVC has long been under the scrutiny of the medical community as well. Even Dr Klenner’s achievement in curing polio was swept under the rug. According to Robert Landwehr, “Klenner’s cure never became well known and today has sunk almost into oblivion… To this day it is mainstream medicine’s position that there is no cure for Polio.” Dr Klenner said, “To those who say that Polio is without cure, I say that they lie. Polio in the acute form can be cured in 96 hours or less. I beg of someone in authority to try it.” 15
Dr Pauling and Dr Cameron’s cancer therapy research has also been overlooked due to a clinical trial conducted by the Mayo Clinic. Contradictory findings reported that no therapeutic value was shown in vitamin C. The reason? While similar doses of vitamin C were used in both studies, Mayo Clinic used only oral doses, whereas Dr Pauling and Dr Cameron used both intravenous and oral doses.16
There’s a reason why the study failed. According to the Riordan IVC protocol, “Oral vitamin C does not produce a blood level high enough to kill cancer cells. From our studies, we concluded that tumor cells become susceptible to high-dose vitamin C at plasma levels of 350 to 400 mg/dL, where redox cycling creates cellular peroxidation. This pro-oxidant effect of IVC induces apoptosis in catalase-deficient cancer cells while sparing non-cancerous cells from oxidative damage.”4 Unfortunately, these contradictory findings have been used in the medical community as an argument against IVC.
Doctors themselves are standing in the way of IVC’s potential, as exemplified in the case of a dairy farmer in New Zealand who nearly died from a severe case of swine flu. The man’s condition was so grave he became comatose with white out pneumonia. He was kept alive by ECMO, during which he was diagnosed with leukemia. His doctors attempted to take him off life support, insisting that there was no hope, but the family demanded they try IVC. The doctors eventually gave in, and when the man rapidly improved, his doctors refused to give credit to vitamin C. They ceased treatment, causing the man’s state to decline once more. The family was forced to take legal action to get him back on IVC. Once they did, he made a full recovery, even from his leukemia.17
In Summary
This article only scratches the surface of the benefits that high-dose IVC offers, and promising research continues to develop. With only minor side effects and a low cost to patients, it is a safe, natural and obtainable option for boosting the immune system, treating disease and infection, and killing cancer cells, both as a stand-alone treatment and in conjunction with traditional modalities.
The research completed thus far is astounding, although many choose to ignore it in the medical community. Intravenous vitamin C may not bring in big money, but it may save lives. In the words of Dr Klenner, “Some physicians would stand by and see their patient die rather than use ascorbic acid because in their finite minds it exists only as a vitamin.” So we face the question: what kind of physicians will we be?
References
1. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Mayo Clinic Web site. Available at: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitamin-c/NS_patient-vitaminc. Accessed February 19, 2013.
2. Li Y, Schellhorn HE. New developments and novel therapeutic perspectives for vitamin C. J Nutr. 2007 Oct; 137(10):2171–84.
3. Groff JL, Gropper SS, Hunt SM. The water-soluble vitamins. In: Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism. Minneapolis, Mn: West Publishing Company; 1995: 222–237.
4. The Riordan IVC protocol 2009: intravenous ascorbate (IVC) as a chemotherapeutic and biologic response modifier. Biocomm Res Inst. Available at: http://riordanclinic.org/research/vitaminc/ Riordan_IVC_Protocol.pdf. Accessed February 19, 2013.
5. Klenner FR. The treatment of poliomyelitis and other virus diseases with vitamin C. South Med J. 1949; 3/7: 209–214.
6. Klenner FR. Massive doses of vitamin C and the virus diseases. South Med J. 1951; 113(4):101–7.
7. Saul AW. Hidden in plain sight: the pioneering work of Frederick Robert Klenner, M.D. J Orthomol Med. 2007; 22:31–38.
8. Cameron E, Pauling L. Supplemental ascorbate in the supportive treatment of cancer: prolongation of survival times in terminal human cancer. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1976; 73:3685–9.
9. Study: Vitamin C may fight cancer. WebMD Website. September, 2005. Available at: http://foxnews.com/story/0,2933,169204,00.html. Accessed February 19, 2013.
10. Mikirova N, Casciari J, Rogers A, Taylor P. Effect of high-dose intravenous vitamin C on inflammation in cancer patients. J Transl Med. 2012; 10:189.
11. Padayatty SJ, Sun AY, Chen Q, Espey MG, Drisko J, et al. Vitamin C: intravenous use by complementary and alternative medicine practitioners and adverse effects. PLoS One. 2010; 5(7):e11414.
12. Ghosh R. he average cost for cancer chemotherapy treatment. Livestrong Web site. March 31, 2011. Available at:http://www. livestrong.com/article/153376-the-average-cost-for-cancer-chemotherapy-treatment/. Accessed February 20, 2013.
13. Intravenous vitamin C as cancer therapy. Orthomol Med News Service. April 14, 2011. Orthomolecular.org Web site. Available at: http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v07n03.shtml. Accessed February 19, 2013.
14. Huff EA. Rihanna’s vitamin drip may be trendy, but fresh juice delivers nutrients without the needle. Natural News Web site. Available at: http://www.naturalnews.com/036155_Rihanna_vitamin_drip_nutrients.html.Accessed February 19, 2013.
15. Landwehr R. The origin of the 42-year stonewall of vitamin C. J Orthomol Med. 1991; 6:99–103.
16. Padayatty SJ, Riordan HD, Hewitt SM, Katz A, Hoffer LJ, Levine M. Intravenously administered vitamin C as cancer therapy: three cases. CMAJ. 2006; 174:937–942.
17. Living Proof: Vitamin C - Miracle Cure? 3 News Web site. 2010. Available at: http://www.3news.co.nz/Living-Proof-Vitamin-C--- Miracle-Cure/tabid/371/articleID/171328/Default.aspx. Accessed February 19, 2013.
Author Biography
Dr Guy DaSilva, MD, ABAARM, is founder and Medical Director of the DaSilva Institute of Anti-Aging, Regenerative & Functional Medicine in Sarasota, Florida, and a respected authority in Hematology, Pathology, Internal Medicine, and Molecular Oncology.
Phone: (941) 388-0940 • E-mail: info@sarasotaivlounge.com
]]>You can eat well, and you can exercise, get plenty of sleep and try to do everything right by your body. But if you’re a person living in the modern world, you should probably be taking some sort of nutrient supplement.
“When you think about it, if you're going to drive your car really hard, you have to change your oil more frequently,” said Arielle Bennett, a nurse practitioner at Sarasota IV Lounge. “It's the same thing. If we're going to drive our bodies really hard, we're going to require a lot more fuel to do so.”
In an ideal world, people could get nutrients they need, such as vitamins A, C, D, E and K, as well as magnesium and B-12, from food. However, according to Scientific American, food has actually been getting less nutritious, thanks to a higher amount of carbon dioxide in soil. Crops grow bigger but have less nutrients. Combine that with intensely active modern lifestyles, high levels of stress and exposure to toxins, and you’ve got a bunch of anxious, depressed, nutrient-deprived humans.
“We all want to be really successful and effective and efficient and all these things, but we forget that we're putting more stress on our body, so we need to give our bodies more fuel to be able to handle all that,” Bennett said. “That person who is active and doesn't slow down to eat the right foods or the person who's just eating a bunch of processed foods all the time, not getting fruits and vegetables, not exercising, you know, not handling their stress appropriately is more likely to be deficient, or people who have a lot of (gastrointestinal) issues, if your gut is not focused on digesting and absorbing nutrients.”
Bennett said people are likely to be deficient in magnesium, B-12 and vitamin D. Despite living in the Sunshine State, she said everyone she’s ever tested who is not taking vitamin D has been deficient in it. Going out in the sun just isn’t enough.
“There's a big difference between the recommended daily allowance and an optimal level,” Bennett said. “A lot of labs will tell you any level of vitamin D level from 20 to 100 (mcg) is normal, but somebody at 20 is really at a high risk for developing viruses and cancers and things like that, so often I would like to see a (level of) greater than 50.”
And yet you probably shouldn’t run out and buy the first bottle of multivitamins you see on the shelf at the drugstore. Too much of a good thing can be a detriment, and fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K should be taken with caution. Lots of vitamins are full of synthetic variants or fillers that are harder to digest. It’s not uncommon to have stomach trouble when taking vitamins, too, which can be a benefit of the IV drips at Sarasota IV Lounge, because it bypasses the gastrointestinal tract to absorb more of a pure vitamin.
“You want to make sure it's third-party tested, pharmaceutical-grade supplements, organic, as much as humanly possible, especially with vitamin C, specifically, a non-corn source,” Bennett said. “Those are all the things that we know. … My son lives in Illinois, and if he goes somewhere to get an IV, if he's getting sick or something, I'll call and be like, ‘Well, tell me about your sources.’”
It’s also possible that a specific person’s system just isn’t equipped to utilize a certain type of nutrient. For example, some people can’t convert synthetic B-12, also known as cyanocobalamin, into the active, usable form. A micronutrient test can help suss out what the best situation is.
A lot of people don’t know what they don’t know. For some nutrient deficiencies, there aren’t noticeable symptoms. However, magnesium helps run more than 300 biochemical processes in the body, and magnesium deficiency can manifest cardiac abnormalities, muscle cramps, fatigue and anxiety. A deficiency in B-12 can lead to numbness of the extremities. Usually, people get a good amount of vitamin C from their diet, but because it helps the immune system and is a water soluble vitamin, try to get as much as you can.
“It’s not not even so much necessarily that people are super deficient in vitamin C, but we require so much more,” Bennett said.
Getting a more balanced body starts with eating better. Eat your leafy greens, seeds and nuts to maintain better levels of magnesium and salmon, egg yolks and mushrooms to get more vitamin D. However, it’s probably worth it to take a multivitamin to support your body in a busy world — just make sure you check your sources.
by: Nat Kaemmerer Staff Writer - YourObserver.com
The benefits of nutritional IV therapy are numerous and include improving energy levels, immunity, recovery from illness, mental clarity, tissue integrity, detoxification, hydration, stamina, healing, slowing the aging process, and decreased risk of disease. While oral supplements share many of these positive effects, many people do not have optimally functioning gastrointestinal (GI) systems and therefore, cannot appropriately absorb nutrients at a level that will affect change. In addition, because IV therapy completely bypasses the GI tract, we can utilize much higher doses of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants than could be taken by mouth without causing GI upset. High doses of nutrients have shown to have as or more powerful effects than pharmaceuticals without the negative side effects that accompany medications! The Sarasota IV Lounge only uses only non-synthetic IV nutrients with the highest bioavailability to ensure you get the cleanest and most effective treatment possible.
Our very own SRQ Signature Blend has a powerful combination of high-dose nutrients that combat lethargy, brain fog, muscle soreness, toxic load, adrenal fatigue, rapid aging, and so much more. This is a great treatment those who seek preventative methods for overall wellness or before stressful events and for those in need of intensive support to overcome the effects of the demands of modern life.
The Spa Treatment offers a wide range of therapeutic properties, from providing high doses of fluids, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and amino acids to support optimal hydration, hair, skin, and nails to the nourishment required to replenish critical nutrients lost to the stress response to improve mood and battle depression and anxiety. It’s like a day at the spa provided in only 45 minutes!
Vitamin D:
Zinc:
Quercetin:
https://journal-inflammation.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12950-021-00268-6
Vitamin C:
Decrease Stress:
Quality Sleep:
Detoxify Often:
*Always discuss any changes in diet or supplementation with primary care provider before implementing. This information does not replace the benefits of one-on-one care with a provider who provides personalized care.
Americas Frontline Doctors. Treatments. https://americasfrontlinedoctors.org/treatments/