This book started the orthomolecular vitamin movement.
Irwin Stone gives good solid reasons to think of Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) deficiency to be a species wide genetic defect in human beings.
All mammals except for the apes, guinea pigs and a rare fruit eating bat from India endogenously make vitamin C in copious amounts. Adjusted for weight, for humans, we are talking between 2000 and 20,000 mg per day.(The laughable 'RDA', depending on country, is between 45 and 90mg!)
What happened millions of years ago in mans ancestors is, because of the vitamin C rich diet they consumed - they lost the need to produce vitamin C (as an analogy, it is estimated that a wild Gorilla consumes 4,500 mg of vitamin c from diet each day). Consequently, when a mutant appeared that did not produce vitamin C among humans - it didnt die out, but rather had a slight advantage because it expended less bodily resources in producing it. As these things go, the mutation gradually spread out through the populace...and every single human alive today is a descendant of that mutant. This book is worth reading just for the history of vitamin C deficiencies throughout the world! Of course, because man has such a big brain, he didnt stay in the jungle near his precious sources of vitamin C forever. Consequently, we now suffer from hypoascorbemia - less than optimal Vitamin C intake.
Stone gives a lot of applications and experimental studies where Vitamin C was used in huge quantities to correct different diseases in the second part of the book. And its the only book I know of with a foreword from not one, but TWO Nobel prize winners. What other recommendations do you need?
I read this book 3 weeks ago in 2 nights (quick read). I started taking 2-3 grams of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) per day in 2 or 3 divided doses. The funny result is my stress level has gone way down. I mean really WAY down. I dont even want to think about how I spent the first few decades of my life with more stress and worry than necessary. The only side-effect Ive had so far is an increase in thirst - not a real problem.
Get this book, read it, apply it.