[1] The book promoted the idea that taking large amounts of vitamin C could reduce the duration and severity of the common cold.

By 1976, following confrontations with researchers holding to the mainstream view of vitamin C, Pauling expanded the book to include evidence related to a wide variety of other illnesses, and the flu in particular.

Paperback editions were issued in 1971 and 1973, and Pauling subsequently authored several related books: Vitamin C and Cancer (1979) and How to Live Longer and Feel Better (1986).

[7] The book's claim of taking a daily vitamin C intake of 2,300 mg or more for "optimum" health is not supported by scientific evidence.

[8] Charles W. Marshall author of Vitamins and Minerals: Help or Harm?, has commented that the "vast majority of reputable medical and nutritional scientists strongly disagree" with Pauling's recommendations.