How Three Great Scientists Used Vitamins for Health Maintenance

The American chemist Linus Carl Pauling (February 28, 1901 – August 19, 1994) was perhaps the earliest practitioner of high-dose vitamin supplementation in science. Pauling was one of the most respected scientists of the twentieth century and won the Nobel Prize twice. His research spanned chemistry, physics, medicine, molecular biology, and crystallography.

At forty, Pauling was diagnosed with chronic glomerulonephritis. On his doctors’ advice, he maintained his health on a low-protein, low-sodium diet plus vitamin supplementation. His daily vitamin C reached 3 g—far above the medically recommended daily intake for a normal adult. But he found that this supplementation left him feeling much better and catching colds far less often. Despite chronic kidney disease, he lived to a ripe old age.

In his later years Pauling even vigorously advocated taking over 10 g of vitamin C daily to fight cancer; his method was considered overly aggressive by many. But given his scientific prestige, many followed him and believed his research. To this day, many still practice Pauling’s regimen. From my own practice, however, I have observed that some patients develop kidney stones after excessive vitamin C intake, so those prone to stones should supplement cautiously.

Pauling was a close friend of the famous Chinese scientist Qian Xuesen. When Pauling visited China he discussed high-dose vitamin health maintenance with Qian. In his later years, bedridden by illness, Qian Xuesen grew deeply interested in the life sciences. He trusted his friend Pauling’s ideas and took high-dose vitamins long-term. At the time high-dose vitamins were hard to buy in China, so he had his daughter buy them for him in the United States over many years. Besides large doses of vitamin C, he also took high doses of vitamins B and E.

Qian certainly heard many objections, but dismissed them. He reasoned that many biochemical reactions occur in the body and need catalysts; taking excess vitamins C and B supplies those catalysts. Although the excess vitamins are eventually excreted and seem wasted, as catalysts they have already done their antioxidant and anti-aging work.

Qian Xuesen was born in 1911 and died in 2009 at 98. From age 86 he was troubled by osteoporosis and was bedridden long-term, going out only in a wheelchair. In old age he adopted not only Pauling’s vitamin regimen but also long-term qigong practice. Having spent his life studying systems cybernetics, he publicly stated that the holistic thinking of Chinese medicine is closer to systems theory and more scientific than modern medicine.

Qian was criticized by many for his fascination with qigong and “human paranormal abilities” (in his era, researchers in many countries shared a wave of interest in such phenomena), but he did not care. He practiced qigong twice a day for an hour each time. Like Pauling, such high achievers can seem stubborn to ordinary people. Yet in the end, despite years of bedridden illness, he still lived to a ripe old age—not an ordinary feat.

Many controversies around Qian may need more time to sort out. For instance, he once wrote that, from a scientific standpoint and considering the conversion of solar to biological energy, per-mu yields of 10,000 jin of grain were not impossible. That view was fiercely attacked at the time, but with advances in agricultural science in recent years, sweet potato yields above 10,000 jin per mu are now actually achieved. Whether cereals will someday reach such yields remains to be seen.

Qian Xuesen’s mind was extraordinary; when he wanted to leave the United States, the Americans judged that one Qian Xuesen was worth five army divisions militarily. Many may think five divisions is not much, but U.S. Army organization differed from China’s; at that time a U.S. division roughly equaled a Chinese army corps, and the entire U.S. force then numbered only about ten divisions.

So the remark amounted to saying that one Qian Xuesen was worth half of U.S. military strength. Qian was the founder of China’s Two Bombs, One Satellite program and modern aerospace industry; his contributions truly justify that American estimate. Without him, our national defense would not be where it is today. To this day his doctoral thesis and monographs on systems cybernetics retain formidable influence. Whether the many controversial views of such a great scientist are right or wrong cannot be judged in the present moment.

Besides Qian, another Chinese scientist, Prof. Zheng Ji, was also a proponent and practitioner of vitamin health maintenance. Zheng Ji was less famous than Pauling or Qian, but anyone who has taken advanced chemistry knows him, because he was the founder of general biochemistry and of nutrition science in China. He edited the textbook General Biochemistry used by generations of Chinese university students since the founding of the People’s Republic.

Prof. Zheng Ji was born in May 1900 and died in July 2010, aged over 110; he taught long-term at Nanjing University. He took vitamin supplements long—the cheapest kinds sold at ordinary pharmacies. But he was not as aggressive as Pauling; his daily regimen was: one vitamin A pill; vitamin B1 10–20 mg (10 mg/pill); vitamin B2 5–10 mg (5 mg/pill); vitamin B6 5–10 mg (5 mg/pill); vitamin C 300–600 mg; vitamin E 50–100 mg. He split this into morning and evening doses every day, without fail.

Beyond vitamins, Zheng was careful about diet: he ate both plant and animal foods but favored a vegetarian diet, ate plenty of vegetables, avoided animal fat and fatty meat, used only vegetable oil, and ate less fried, pickled, and overly spicy, salty, or sweet food. He ate at regular hours, stopping at eight or nine tenths full and chewing slowly. He also long took the Chinese herb gouqi (Lycium barbarum) and regularly ate tofu, eggs, and milk.

In his sixties Zheng underwent two major operations, after which he was very health-conscious. He also exercised, with a comprehensive daily routine he kept up for years: (1) brisk walking 200–400 steps; (2) horse-riding half-squat; (3) cloud hands; (4) rowing, hoisting sail, casting a net; (5) phoenix spreading wings; (6) leg stretches; (7) knees-together rotation; (8) shaking head and wagging tail; (9) swimming; (10) bending left and right; (11) drawing bows left and right; (12) pounding the waist and rubbing the abdomen; (13) raising one hand overhead; (14) chest-tapping breathing; (15) head movements; (16) jumping and marching in place; (17) standing at attention in quiet meditation.

The health regimens of these scientists were, of course, not single-pronged but comprehensive. Having spent their lives with the scientific literature, they had deep understanding of human physiology and put their findings into practice, which is why they all lived to very old ages. Strictly speaking, none of the three had especially robust constitutions; scientific self-care was a key guarantee of their longevity.

I myself have been influenced by these ideas and am taking vitamins. But I do not supplement at Pauling’s or Qian’s high doses; I follow Prof. Zheng Ji’s regimen.

Currently I take a B-complex and vitamin C twice a day at Zheng Ji’s doses, and also supplement vitamins E and A. Based on my own constitution, I also persist in supplementing the trace element zinc (in a calcium-iron-zinc chewable tablet) and reduced glutathione (as a hepatitis B carrier, I need long-term liver protection, and glutathione is one of the best liver-protecting agents).

I do not know whether this regimen will make me long-lived, but I used to get frequent mouth ulcers; since starting these measures they have rarely recurred. Combined with exercise (my favorites are push-ups and cycling), my physical condition is very good. Many around me think I look ageless, noticeably younger than my peers. COVID affected many people I know, but my own body before and after differs little.