In this interview, Dr. Thomas Levy, a cardiologist widely known for his work with vitamin C, discusses his most recent book, "Magnesium: Reversing Disease." In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, which was in full swing at the time of this interview, March 24, 2020, our discussion also includes some other strategies you can use to prevent and treat this and other respiratory illnesses.

Personally, I believe the fear of the pandemic and collapsed economy leading to depression and increased suicides will be more harmful than the disease itself, considering the mortality rate is now believed to be similar to the flu, which is around 0.1%.1

That said, if this pandemic is teaching us anything, it's that your immune system is your primary defense against infectious disease, so the best thing anyone can do is to educate themselves about how to do that. The same applies when facing acute illness, as there are many ways to boost your immune function even in the short term.

Vitamin C Is a Powerful Antiviral

As noted by Levy, vitamin C is one excellent option. "I personally believe, from the research and literature, vitamin C is the primary agent that stimulates and maximizes the potency of the immune system. So, I don't think it can be undersold," he says. Levy recommends taking 2 to 3 grams, three or four times a day, for this purpose.

I agree with this dosage for acute purposes, but not as a daily supplement. You simply do not need upward of 12 grams of vitamin C every single day. Many could definitely use some vitamin C every day, however. According to Levy:

"Epidemiologically there's no question — if the whole population just took 1 gram or 2 grams a day, I believe it would have enormous impact on the general public health and the incidents of infectious disease."

As for my objection to such high daily doses, Levy replies:

"There's a difference between preventing disease and resolving disease. A larger amount of vitamin C in your bloodstream is going to give you a greater resistance against a given pathogen load than a lower amount, even if that lower amount is in the 'normal' range."

Vitamin C can also be administered intravenously. Levy, who has performed many intravenous vitamin C procedures, typically uses a pH-balanced solution of sodium ascorbate dissolved in water, buffered with sodium bicarbonate. In this manner, 12 grams of vitamin C can be pushed in as little as five minutes without irritating the lining of your blood vessels.

I personally prefer oral liposomal vitamin C, which can still allow you to reach the kind of blood levels you'd normally only get with an IV. Levy recounts a small trial he recently did at the Riordan Clinic, which measured intracellular levels of vitamin C. Here, oral liposomal vitamin C resulted in substantially higher intracellular vitamin C levels than is seen with oral, nonencapsulated vitamin C.