May 2020 Newsletter
In the battle against fear… here are some more facts about viral infection. Living in a state of fear releases cortisol in the body, which has a negative effect on the immune system. The media sells fear. The news hardly reports on the biggest asset most of us have to beat this disease, YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM. If your immunity is strong and you make your body hostile to letting a pathogen live there you are far less likely to succumb to sickness. Last month, I provided you with a list of nutritional supplements that could be taken. However, it is not enough to consume a handful of pills – you need to eat good, healthy food too. The more you know about nutrition the more you will see how interconnected healthy choices are to having a healthy body.
Immune system exposure to a brand-new pathogen starts its battle with a non-specific reaction. The feeling of malaise, fatigue, fever are signs that this reaction has started. It is called a PAMP’s, Pathogen-Associated Molecular Pattern. Some PAMPs are from recognized sequences of RNA in Covid-19 and influenza viruses. Unique microbial identifiers are formed later as the new virus presents itself. Type 1 interferon, a cytokine, or immune protein, is a primary signal to alert the body of trouble. When infected cells secrete interferon, it signals the healthy cells around it to prepare against the invader. These latest epidemics of SARS, MERS and now Covid-19 were able to interfere with activating the interferon secretion.
One of the nutrients that help in cases like this is zinc. The trouble with zinc is that the body has difficulty absorbing it into the individual cells. Enter two helpers that act like carrier molecules. In combination, echinacea and vitamin C help get the zinc into the cells. Zinc kills viruses in cells, rendering them useless to do damage. You might remember that a few years ago zinc lozenges and cough remedies were being widely marketed. Studies showed “Zinc is known to reduce the length of a cold virus”. Then the pharmaceutical people issued warnings that you could overdose on zinc (3-5 mg a day is safe). They also said to only take echinacea for two weeks, then take a break. This isn’t quite true. It is a case where partial knowledge leaves you vulnerable. A nutritionist explained to me that because echinacea puts the zinc and C to work, it can deplete your personal storage supplies for both zinc and C in about two weeks. If the virus isn’t completely gone by then, your zinc and vitamin C inner storage supplies are in this depleted state and the virus might return. Full knowledge is to take all three, as some people do throughout the winter. Echinacea is the root of a flower, and many can grow here in the Colorado mountains. It is a booster nutrient.
Hydroxychloroquine, which is in the news lately is also a helper molecule that gets zinc into the cells. It is not a dangerous drug. When I visited Peru, I had to take it prophylactically to avoid getting malaria. It is a well-known drug that has been around for about seventy years. Some people might be sensitive to it, which is why it must be prescribed by a doctor. The drug combination of Hydroxychloroquine, zinc and Azithromycin has been effective in beating Covid-19 at all stages of the disease in about a thousand clinical trial cases. Each ingredient by itself does not have that claim. Several countries are continuing to study this along with about seventy other different therapies, including heat, UV light shining into people’s chest to get it into the lungs, increasing oxygen, vitamin C injections with vitamin D and A, and of course new drugs (making a face here). Media wants to sell you fear and the idea that lots of tests and vaccines are the only way to beat this virus. It just isn’t true.
You also can use heat and cold to boost your immune system. Fever burns off pathogens. People who have recovered from having Covid-19 have sometimes reported taking ibuprofen for the headache found it only made them feel worse. Therefore, for two reasons fever reducer drugs are not your friend this time. Fevers of 103.1°F were linked to better survival rates and quicker recovery. The cells that get our innate immunity going are called monocytes and natural killer cells (NK). It seems the fever activates the monocytes. A study from 1999 in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that exposure to cold also stimulated the monocytes and NK cells, and the proteins that are known to be part of the immune response. Finnish saunas are a case in point for this. Time is spent (10-30 minutes) in a very hot room (140-200°F) and then you leap into snow. A thirty-year old study of this found that a group of people who regularly used saunas had half the incidence of the “common cold” over the three-month period that they were monitored. This is anecdotal, but please glean from it that having a fever can be exactly what your body needs to fight off a disease. It is tricky territory to tell you this, yet it needs to be said. Heat kills the virus. I know last month I mentioned breathing hot air from a blow dryer for ten minutes. UV rays also disinfect and sanitize, hang clothes out in the sun. Getting your body out in the sun is healing.
The ‘Stay Inside’ order was very stupid advice. People should have been told to get outside and exercise every single day. Moreover, they should have been told NOT to use sunscreen for the first 30 minutes so that their skin could start the process of the body manufacturing its own vitamin D. Vitamin D can modulate immune responses, while having a deficiency is linked with being more susceptible to infection. Light-skinned people need no less than twenty minutes a day, and dark-skinned people need two to three times more. It is theorized that Covid-19 affects people of darker skin more because they are vitamin D deficient for this very reason. Vitamin D is a hormone. Early use of vitamin D was in cautious lower dosages, but lately thousands of international units (IUs) a day are not unheard of.
Other nutrients not previously mentioned include the following. Astralagus, which regulates the nervous system. Colostrum, which contains a wealth of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, antibodies and other essential ingredients. Goldenseal, which is often used
with echinacea because they increase each other’s potency to help the immune system. Berberine is shown to kill bacteria, yeast and parasites, and also stimulates white blood cells. Oil of oregano contains healing compounds that stop bacterial growth, including staphylococcus aureus. It is also a potent antifungal. I often recommend Oreganol Sinus spray for sinus infections. It reduces inflammation and swelling. Used topically or internally, some use it to prevent cold or flu. Olive leaf extract is a potent anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory. Not only the leaf, but also the fruit contains oleuropein, which is believed to be the main healing agent.
Having studied this pandemic from many angles, we did not need to shut everything down. It is not anymore fatal than typical flu 1.7% in the most vulnerable age group 65-74. It was the unknown that gave this virus a deceptive edge. We had no good data to inform our decisions and the media was determined to terrify us. Here’s the unfortunate reality. A “vital population immunity” is prevented by total isolation policies. It still must happen, but isolation prolongs the inevitable. We know from decades of medical science that it is exposure to the infection itself that will allow people to generate immune responses, including anti-bodies. There has to be enough of us exposed to it to build what is called herd immunity. Usually a new virus comes into a population group and in seventy days has affected enough people to attain “vital population immunity”, we have now extended that length of time. Our hospitals were not totally overwhelmed partly thanks to heroic efforts to build surge hospitals. When you see the new number of cases, remind yourself that this is inevitable and don’t be afraid. Massive testing is pointless. Yes, mourn the deaths, protect the most vulnerable, but the number of survived cases actually is our best help in the future. Covid-19 will never be a brand-new virus again. The vaccine that we have now actually does NOT protect from future infection. When a vaccinated person gets exposed to the real virus their body has an overreaction to the disease and death is more likely. Don’t get it.
In the battle against fear… here are some more facts about viral infection. Living in a state of fear releases cortisol in the body, which has a negative effect on the immune system. The media sells fear. The news hardly reports on the biggest asset most of us have to beat this disease, YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM. If your immunity is strong and you make your body hostile to letting a pathogen live there you are far less likely to succumb to sickness. Last month, I provided you with a list of nutritional supplements that could be taken. However, it is not enough to consume a handful of pills – you need to eat good, healthy food too. The more you know about nutrition the more you will see how interconnected healthy choices are to having a healthy body.
Immune system exposure to a brand-new pathogen starts its battle with a non-specific reaction. The feeling of malaise, fatigue, fever are signs that this reaction has started. It is called a PAMP’s, Pathogen-Associated Molecular Pattern. Some PAMPs are from recognized sequences of RNA in Covid-19 and influenza viruses. Unique microbial identifiers are formed later as the new virus presents itself. Type 1 interferon, a cytokine, or immune protein, is a primary signal to alert the body of trouble. When infected cells secrete interferon, it signals the healthy cells around it to prepare against the invader. These latest epidemics of SARS, MERS and now Covid-19 were able to interfere with activating the interferon secretion.
One of the nutrients that help in cases like this is zinc. The trouble with zinc is that the body has difficulty absorbing it into the individual cells. Enter two helpers that act like carrier molecules. In combination, echinacea and vitamin C help get the zinc into the cells. Zinc kills viruses in cells, rendering them useless to do damage. You might remember that a few years ago zinc lozenges and cough remedies were being widely marketed. Studies showed “Zinc is known to reduce the length of a cold virus”. Then the pharmaceutical people issued warnings that you could overdose on zinc (3-5 mg a day is safe). They also said to only take echinacea for two weeks, then take a break. This isn’t quite true. It is a case where partial knowledge leaves you vulnerable. A nutritionist explained to me that because echinacea puts the zinc and C to work, it can deplete your personal storage supplies for both zinc and C in about two weeks. If the virus isn’t completely gone by then, your zinc and vitamin C inner storage supplies are in this depleted state and the virus might return. Full knowledge is to take all three, as some people do throughout the winter. Echinacea is the root of a flower, and many can grow here in the Colorado mountains. It is a booster nutrient.
Hydroxychloroquine, which is in the news lately is also a helper molecule that gets zinc into the cells. It is not a dangerous drug. When I visited Peru, I had to take it prophylactically to avoid getting malaria. It is a well-known drug that has been around for about seventy years. Some people might be sensitive to it, which is why it must be prescribed by a doctor. The drug combination of Hydroxychloroquine, zinc and Azithromycin has been effective in beating Covid-19 at all stages of the disease in about a thousand clinical trial cases. Each ingredient by itself does not have that claim. Several countries are continuing to study this along with about seventy other different therapies, including heat, UV light shining into people’s chest to get it into the lungs, increasing oxygen, vitamin C injections with vitamin D and A, and of course new drugs (making a face here). Media wants to sell you fear and the idea that lots of tests and vaccines are the only way to beat this virus. It just isn’t true.
You also can use heat and cold to boost your immune system. Fever burns off pathogens. People who have recovered from having Covid-19 have sometimes reported taking ibuprofen for the headache found it only made them feel worse. Therefore, for two reasons fever reducer drugs are not your friend this time. Fevers of 103.1°F were linked to better survival rates and quicker recovery. The cells that get our innate immunity going are called monocytes and natural killer cells (NK). It seems the fever activates the monocytes. A study from 1999 in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that exposure to cold also stimulated the monocytes and NK cells, and the proteins that are known to be part of the immune response. Finnish saunas are a case in point for this. Time is spent (10-30 minutes) in a very hot room (140-200°F) and then you leap into snow. A thirty-year old study of this found that a group of people who regularly used saunas had half the incidence of the “common cold” over the three-month period that they were monitored. This is anecdotal, but please glean from it that having a fever can be exactly what your body needs to fight off a disease. It is tricky territory to tell you this, yet it needs to be said. Heat kills the virus. I know last month I mentioned breathing hot air from a blow dryer for ten minutes. UV rays also disinfect and sanitize, hang clothes out in the sun. Getting your body out in the sun is healing.
The ‘Stay Inside’ order was very stupid advice. People should have been told to get outside and exercise every single day. Moreover, they should have been told NOT to use sunscreen for the first 30 minutes so that their skin could start the process of the body manufacturing its own vitamin D. Vitamin D can modulate immune responses, while having a deficiency is linked with being more susceptible to infection. Light-skinned people need no less than twenty minutes a day, and dark-skinned people need two to three times more. It is theorized that Covid-19 affects people of darker skin more because they are vitamin D deficient for this very reason. Vitamin D is a hormone. Early use of vitamin D was in cautious lower dosages, but lately thousands of international units (IUs) a day are not unheard of.
Other nutrients not previously mentioned include the following. Astralagus, which regulates the nervous system. Colostrum, which contains a wealth of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, antibodies and other essential ingredients. Goldenseal, which is often used
with echinacea because they increase each other’s potency to help the immune system. Berberine is shown to kill bacteria, yeast and parasites, and also stimulates white blood cells. Oil of oregano contains healing compounds that stop bacterial growth, including staphylococcus aureus. It is also a potent antifungal. I often recommend Oreganol Sinus spray for sinus infections. It reduces inflammation and swelling. Used topically or internally, some use it to prevent cold or flu. Olive leaf extract is a potent anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory. Not only the leaf, but also the fruit contains oleuropein, which is believed to be the main healing agent.
Having studied this pandemic from many angles, we did not need to shut everything down. It is not anymore fatal than typical flu 1.7% in the most vulnerable age group 65-74. It was the unknown that gave this virus a deceptive edge. We had no good data to inform our decisions and the media was determined to terrify us. Here’s the unfortunate reality. A “vital population immunity” is prevented by total isolation policies. It still must happen, but isolation prolongs the inevitable. We know from decades of medical science that it is exposure to the infection itself that will allow people to generate immune responses, including anti-bodies. There has to be enough of us exposed to it to build what is called herd immunity. Usually a new virus comes into a population group and in seventy days has affected enough people to attain “vital population immunity”, we have now extended that length of time. Our hospitals were not totally overwhelmed partly thanks to heroic efforts to build surge hospitals. When you see the new number of cases, remind yourself that this is inevitable and don’t be afraid. Massive testing is pointless. Yes, mourn the deaths, protect the most vulnerable, but the number of survived cases actually is our best help in the future. Covid-19 will never be a brand-new virus again. The vaccine that we have now actually does NOT protect from future infection. When a vaccinated person gets exposed to the real virus their body has an overreaction to the disease and death is more likely. Don’t get it.
