The article by Paul Offit’s “The Vitamin Myth: Why We Think We Need Supplements,” is has an interesting take on how vitamins can essentially cure many diseases. This article is about a scientist with the name of Linus Pauling. In 1970, Pauling published an article saying that if people start to take 3,000 milligrams of vitamin C everyday, then they would be able to get rid of a common cold. However, scientists tried to testify and they could not. Every study that came out after Pauling’s theory proved him completely wrong. However, Pauling refused to believe that that he was wrong. Even when Pauling himself “appeared before the media with obvious cold symptoms, he said he was suffering from allergies” (pg 5). Pauling did everything to deny the fact that his theory was false and that vitamins cant actually cure colds. But again, Pauling was not stopped. He did some more research and next came to the conclusion that vitamin C can cure cancer. Pauling claimed that “vitamin C would cause a 10 percent decrease from cancer” (pg 5). But, Pauling in 1977 went even further with that claim and stated that “ 75 percent can be achieved with vitamin C alone” (pg 5). Because there is still no exact treatment for cancer or a drug to prevent cancer, a doctor with the name of Charles Moertel decided to test Pauling’s theory. Of course, Moertel realized that vitamin C is clearly not the cure to cancer. But, again, Pauling did not stop there. He then began to make excuses that Moertel didn’t has to test the excess amount of vitamin c on patients who never underwent any sort of treatment before. Even after then, Moertel still concluded that it was still a fail. However, Pauling continued and came out and said that id you take vitamin C and a massive dose of vitamin A and vitamin E and selenium and beta-carotene, that could do more than preventing colds and treating cancer; it could  cure heart diseases, mental illnesses and so many more deadly diseases. At this time, nobody believed Pauling. It was proven many times that all his theories are just false and vitamins cant actually cure cancer or other life threatening diseases. With that being said, Pauling went on and on and tried to convince everyone that vitamin c specifically is the cure to many life threatening diseases. In the end, unfortunately, Pauling’s wife died with stomach cancer and he later died of prostate cancer. So that goes to show exactly that cancer simply cannot be cured by vitamins. I found it interesting how determined Pauling was. Its strange that he kept on trying to make the case that vitamins are essentially the cure to everything. It was almost funny how hard Pauling was trying. Also I find it strange how doctors even believed Pauling at one point. Having a science background or not, I feel as though vitamins being the cure of cancer sounds very ridiculous. I get that scientists push their theories because they are all trying to find a cure for something but Pauling pushed it way to far. Even after doctors tried telling him that his theories are false, he got mad and made up excuses. I am currently a nursing major and I don’t think this really related to my field. But it does relate to doctors and scientist who are trying to find a cure for cancer. Hopefully, once scientists and doctors find cures for different diseases, they publish it and take the feedback they receive and use it to make their drug better. It is important that scientists take feedback and criticism because that is how one gets closer and closer to come to conclusions. If you don’t take feedback and criticism, scientists would just running in circles and never get anywhere in making discoveries. Overall, I like this reading. I thought it was very entertaining just to see Pauling try so incredible hard with something that seem so irrationally wrong. 

March 25 2020

With doing some research myself, I found a video that went against what Pauling believed. I found the stats in the video fascinating.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.