THE GREATEST MEDICINE OF ALL… IS TEACHING PEOPLE HOW NOT TO NEED IT
Nutrition to Treat and Prevent COVID-19
By Doctor Y, Andrew W. Saul, and Robert G. Smith
Speaking out on nutritional therapy for COVID-19 is risky
for medical doctors. Yet another physician is being threatened by his state
licensing board for writing what you are about to read. We are not calling
him/her "Doctor Y" on a whim, but rather by necessity.
It is widely thought that no effective ways currently exist to stop the SARS-COV-2 virus except social distancing, wearing masks, and vaccines. These methods are believed to be effective, but many people have resisted distancing and masks, and the vaccines have had inequitable delivery around the world. Evidently new mutated strains of the virus are transmitted faster, and it is not certain how much protection will be available from the existing or newly developed vaccines.
Information about effective prevention methods has been censored. The problem is that a huge body of knowledge exists about the immune system's nutritional needs that is relevant to the cause of severe pneumonia and death from COVID-19. But this body of knowledge is evidently not widely appreciated by the medical profession, the public, and government officials.
It has been clearly shown over decades that several essential nutrients, including vitamin C, vitamin D, magnesium, zinc, and selenium, have anti-viral properties. It is also known that a majority of hospitalized COVID-19 individuals have deficiencies in one or more of these nutrients. Further, it is known that severe pneumonia as in COVID-19 depletes many of the body's essential nutrients. This often generates acute nutritional deficiencies that make COVID-19 more lethal. And it has been shown in recent medical trials that simply administering vitamin C and vitamin D in huge but appropriate doses can effectively treat COVID-19 and prevent severe pneumonia and death.
Adequate nutrition has been shown in a variety of epidemiological studies to effectively prevent viral infection, including COVID-19. Just bringing the body's vitamin D up to an adequate level with inexpensive and safe supplements of vitamin D can reduce the risk of infection. But this information about nutritional prevention and treatment of COVID-19 has not been widely appreciated by the medical profession. Apparently the problem has been that clinical trials of nutritional protocols, known to be effective in small cohorts of patients, have not been funded to be performed in large randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Consequently, large clinical trials of the nutritional protocols in preventing COVID-19 have not been published to establish "proof" that adequate doses of nutrients, including vitamins C and D, magnesium, zinc, and selenium are effective. Nevertheless, the nutritional protocol is inexpensive, very safe, and widely available around the world.
- Vitamin C, 1000 mg (or more) 3 times daily
- Vitamin D, 5,000 IU/day
- Magnesium 400 mg/d (in malate, citrate, chelate, or chloride form)
- Zinc, 20 mg/d
- Selenium 100 mcg/d
Although it might seem unlikely to many people that inexpensive vitamins could help to prevent a pandemic, they can. Vitamin D is not merely a vitamin; it is an essential hormone used widely in the body and is required for the immune system to function. While vitamin C at the RDA dose level can prevent scurvy, it is required at higher levels for the immune system to function optimally, especially under duress of illness. Vitamin C is quickly depleted during an acute viral infection.
To understand why the knowledge about nutritional approaches to prevention and treatment of viral infection has not been widely appreciated, one needs to understand some background about medical trials. A large RCT performed on cohorts comprising many thousands of people is very expensive, and can only be performed by a large corporation that stands to profit from the results, or by a government agency that is publicly funded. But such a large RCT to test a nutritional protocol is unlikely, given that the nutrients it tests are ordinary vitamins and minerals that cannot be patented, and given that government agencies generally work with the pharmaceutical industry to develop new drugs that will help the private sector flourish. Thus, without a clear conclusion from a RCT that a nutritional approach is effective, it is often stated that "no proof exists" about the nutritional approach.
While a lack of "proof" would be a justifiable reason to not recommend the widespread use of a drug protocol, a nutritional protocol differs in several ways from a typical drug protocol. First, the trial must be designed to test appropriate doses. Inadequate doses have little effect. Dosage recommendations in this article are larger than the "recommended dietary allowance" (RDA) because vitamin C, vitamin D, magnesium, selenium and zinc have been utilized for many years and are known to be safe at these doses (and even higher ones).
A nutritional trial must also determine the existing levels of the essential nutrients to be administered for each individual upon entry into the trial. The problem is, everyone has some of each nutrient in their body, for the nutrients are essential and we cannot live without them. Someone who is deficient, or becomes deficient during the course of an infection, may have a large effect from taking a vitamin or mineral supplement, but someone else who does not have a deficiency will likely not show much benefit. And different individuals likely will have different deficiencies. All of these effects can easily confound a RCT that tests a nutritional protocol, which is why the benefit of nutritional protocols for the pandemic has not been precisely "proven."
Thus, even though it is known that the nutritional protocol is effective for preventing a wide variety of viral infections, and has been shown in small clinical trials to be effective in treating COVID-19 to prevent serious pneumonia and death, there is currently a "lack of evidence" about its efficacy in preventing infection in large populations. This would be an acceptable justification for avoiding use of a drug, but the nutritional protocol is inexpensive, safe, and widely available to the public.
The problem is apparently that the medical
establishment and government agencies have been so focused upon drug or vaccine
treatments that they have dismissed the life-saving knowledge about nutrition
for empowering the immune system and preventing and treating the COVID-19
infection. The burden of proof that is
necessary for approval of a prescription drug protocol (read "dangerous
enough to require a prescription") is very different than the burden of
proof necessary for widespread utilization of a safe nutritional protocol. We
need to consume more of the essential nutrients in our food. Larger
supplemental doses in the nutritional protocol are safe. Thus, claiming "no proof" is not a
reason to
dismiss adequately high and safe doses of vitamins and minerals."
Some "Brain Booster" Supplements Contain High Levels of Illegal Prescription Drugs
By Marc S. Micozzi, M.D., Ph.D.
But we know very little about what actually goes into many
of these products. In fact, Harvard researchers recently completed an in-depth
investigation into some of these "brain booster" supplements. And
what they found was quite alarming…
"Brain booster" pills contain unapproved prescription drugs
For this investigation, Harvard researchers searched two databases for brain enhancement products labeled as containing one of four related prescription drugs: omberacetam, aniracetam, phenylracetam, or oxiracetam.
These drugs belong to a class of drugs known as "racetams," which supposedly help people feel more energized and focused. And they're all analogs (or derivatives) of a drug developed in the 1950s and 60s called piracatem. Even though they're approved for use in some other countries, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has never approved any of them for use in the U.S., as they've been poorly researched and vary in potency.
Not to mention, these drugs can cause of range of serious side effects. In fact, research links some of them with agitation, increases or decreases in blood pressure, drug dependence, insomnia, hospitalization, and sedation. They also interact with some common prescription drugs, such as blood thinners.
Yet according to the Harvard investigation, 10 popular "brain booster" products sold on the open market in the U.S. contained at least one of these four unapproved drugs. Plus, upon further testing, they found that one product alone contained three unapproved drugs—and another contained four!
Worse yet, some products even contained three additional unapproved prescription drugs NOT listed on the label: phenibut, picamilon, and vinpocetine. In other words, when people took these products, they had absolutely no idea that they contained these substances!
And they certainly aren't benign…
In fact, one of the unlisted drugs, phenibut, is used as an antiseizure medication. And we know it's highly addictive and often misused as a recreational drug. Plus, the researchers found some serious dosing problems…
Up to four times higher than the "recommended" dose
When the researchers started to pinpoint exactly HOW MUCH of these drugs the supplements contained, they were really shocked…
Overall, for those products with drug quantities transparently declared on the label, a whopping 75 percent of them were inaccurate.
Plus, the dose per serving listed on the label was in some cases up to FOUR TIMES higher than the "recommended" dose prescribed by doctors in those other countries where the drug is actually approved For example, some products contained up to 41 mg of omberacetam per dose, when the typical dose prescribed by doctors is only 10 mg.
Unfortunately, the Harvard researchers didn't name the offending products. And that's tragic—because, apparently, you can still find these products online and on shelves in retail stores. The easy solution is to skip them all!
So, until the FDA takes some action to get this junk off the
market, make sure you avoid falling prey to these dangerous, gimmicky
"brain boosters." Instead, look for quality supplements from a
trusted source that contain simple, time-tested, science-backed, natural
ingredients that support the brain, such
as:
- 500 mg berberine (from barberry)
- 12 mg lutein (carotenoid)
- 400 mg blueberry fruit, water-soluble powdered extract
- 600 mg grape plus wild blueberry extract
- 400 mg turmeric (curcumin)
- 5 mg pyridoxine (B6)
- 800 mcg folic acid (Folate)
- 20 mcg cyanocobalamin (B12)
- 2.5 mg thiamin
Studies show these natural ingredients work well to prevent
and even reverse dementia and memory loss. In fact, blueberry extract seems to
support long- and short-term memory in children and adults
with or without dementia.
Researchers Have Success Repairing Spinal Cord Injuries with Patients' Stem Cells
Scientists working out of Yale University and Japan’s Sapporo Medical University have been able to successfully repair spinal cord
injuries using stem cells. Using intravenous injections to deliver mesenchymal
stem cells (MSCs) pulled from the patient’s own bone marrow, scientists report
that there was “substantial improvements in key functions -- such as ability to
walk, or to use their hands” in more than half of the subjects of the study.
Senior study authors and Yale professors Jeffery D. Kocsis and Stephen G.
Waxman, who worked with researchers at Sapporo Medical University in Japan,
have many miles to go on this journey but told reporters that they are
optimistic about the future. "The
idea that we may be able to restore function after injury to the brain and
spinal cord using the patient's own stem cells has intrigued us for years. Now
we have a hint, in humans, that it may be possible."
The researchers’ hopes are pragmatic. Trying to bring back some function, even if it is just a little, to the lives of those people who have suffered a paralyzing trauma can make a world of difference in the quality of their lives. As Waxman told the Yale School of Medicine in 2009, “We won’t be making somebody into a ballet dancer, but imagine telling somebody who’s confined to a wheelchair that they could take ten labored steps—enough to get from their wheelchair into a car. Or giving somebody who has no function below the shoulders just enough function in their spinal cord so they can grasp and use a pencil.”
This is work that professors of neurology and neuroscience Kocsis and Waxman have been researching for decades, along with others. It has been more than two decades since Prof. Kocsis worked on early modified pig cells on non-human primates’ spinal injuries, yielding positive results. Shortly after that, he co-authored a paper on research into spinal cord remyelination and bone marrow stromal cells, or MSCs, in 2002. Those papers previewed what Kocsis and Waxman were able to accomplish with human subjects. The work being done by Yale University and Sapporo Medical University is not the only work being done. For a very long time, researchers have been trying to discover how stem cells can help treat all kinds of diseases, maladies, and injuries. Everything from arthritis treatments to chronic heart disease is on the list of potential problems patients face that could be ameliorated by stem cell breakthroughs.
The news coming out of Yale University and Sapporo Medical
University is not the final answer. It is one of the steps forward in turning
what was once considered a fatal injury into something that has possible
treatments, and shows the promise of having exponentially better treatments.
The research and breakthroughs taking place in service of spinal cord injury
patients will have far-reaching uses for all kinds of other neurodegenerative
issues people face. The pursuit of scientific discovery works like that: You
solve or don’t solve one problem, and then someone down the road realizes that
solution or perceived failure can be applied toward something new and exciting
that helps in ways once thought
unimaginable.
Tart Cherries Support Healthy Blood Sugar and Metabolism along with Reducing Inflammation
Researchers at Florida State University in Tallahassee wanted to examine the effect of tart cherry juice on metabolic and heart health. So, they recruited participants from the local community, ages 20 to 60 years, with at least three of the five criteria for being diagnosed with metabolic syndrome.
Then, they divided the participants into two groups…
The first group drank 480 mL (two cups) of Montmorency tart cherry juice each day for 12 weeks. The second group drank an artificial cherry placebo drink, matched for number of calories, each day for 12 weeks.
The researchers also conducted physical assessments of all the participants at the study's outset, in the middle of the study at six weeks, and at the end at 12 weeks.
- Lower total cholesterol
- Lower so-called "bad" LDL cholesterol
- Lower levels of vascular cell adhesion molecules (VCAMs), a harmful biomolecule associated with atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)
- Improved insulin secretion. (Insulin helps push sugar from the blood into the tissues.)
- Better pancreatic beta-islet cell function. (Beta-islet cells help with insulin synthesis and secretion.)
- A healthier waist-to-hip ratio.
In a previous, smaller study, blood pressure, insulin levels, and even arterial stiffness improved within just hours after drinking tart cherry juice!
Add cherries to your daily regimen
Wild cherries ripen in the mid-to-late summer here in the U.S. So, while it's a little early in the year to find them fresh locally, you can always opt for frozen and/or dried tart cherries or tart cherry juice. (When picking a juice, just make sure to find a brand without added sugar.) I recommend eating at least 20 tart cherries daily.
While eating fresh tart cherries is always optimal, you can also consider taking a nutritional supplement with 2,000 mg of tart cherry extract. Tart cherry supplements are fairly inexpensive, but cherry juice is rather expensive, even at Costco, as it has become very popular lately. Though, as always when taking a nutritional supplement, consider working with a qualified health practitioner who knows about the benefits of natural remedies.
JD Roma
The information on this blog is provided for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical care, and medical advice and services are not being offered. If you have, or suspect you have, a health problem you should consult your physician (preferably a Naturopath).
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