From free version of eNewsletter 12/29/2021
DID YOU KNOW that a study, published in the December issue of European Heart Journal, shows that people with vitamin D deficiency are more likely to suffer from heart disease and higher blood pressure, than those with normal levels of vitamin D? For participants with the lowest concentrations, the risk of heart disease was more than double that seen for those with sufficient concentrations. What we loved about this study is that the scientists considered low concentrations of vitamin D below 50 nmol/L and severe deficiency as below 25 nmol/L, which is how we assess vitamin D status.
Announcements
Holiday Hours Friday, December 31st - Open until 2PM Saturday, January 1st - CLOSED
Food Intolerance Test Blood Draw Update Options to set up a Biotrition food intolerance test blood draw. By appointment only:
One Saturday per month at Biotrition in Glenview - 1/22/22 and 2/12/2
Tue, Wed, TH 9AM-3PM at NICL Labs in Northbrook
Text, email, or call us to set up your appointment.
Text Us To better serve your needs, we now have the ability to accept text messages. Simply type in (847) 498-3422 and text away!
UPDATE - COVID-19 Vaccine Information We updated this document Monday, December 27th.
Virus Prevention And Treatment Vaccines will minimize COVID-19 related mortality and hospitalizations, but SARS-CoV-2 is not going away, as evidenced by its ever-mutating variants. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 is not the only virus we fight. There are influenza (flu), norovirus (stomach flu), adenovirus (common cold), and four other coronaviruses (common cold), among others.We highly recommend continuing your immune support. For more information, refer to our Prevent and Fight Viruses 2.0 Protocol.
COVID-19 Condition Monograph For those interested in conventional and integrative treatments for COVID-19 with over 250 references, this is our COVID-19 Condition Monograph.
UPDATE - Post-COVID Syndrome 2.0 (November 2021) The official diagnosis for post-COVID syndrome (PCS) are symptoms that last for 12 weeks or more. If you, a family member, friend, coworker, or neighbor is suffering from PCS, diligently following our Post-COVID Syndrome 2.0 Action Plan for purchase, or free to paid members here, can bring measurable improvement.
Have a happy, healthy New Year! Steve and Bonnie Minsky
In Today's Issue...
Well Connect Feature: Scrumptious New Year's Entree*
COVID-19 Update
January & December 20% OFF Sale Items
Chiro Corner
Pure Genomics 2.0
Blog Briefs
Well Connect Member Benefits
*Paid Member Access Only
COVID-19 UPDATE
Steve: Although we are in the throes of the latest coronavirus variant spread, I have reason for optimism. As I elucidated last week in my update, the severity of Omicron is significantly less than Delta. This was confirmed by the CDC's announcement Monday to cut quarantine time in half. Moreover, because Omicron is so infectious, the hope is that most of the world's population is exposed. This will accelerate the process of getting us out of the pandemic and into an endemic state, where we co-exist with SARS-CoV-2 by intermittently what amounts to getting a cold. This is what the human body wants, and believe it or not, what SARS-CoV-2 wants. Viruses don't want to kill their hosts because if their hosts die, they die. It took millions of deaths and many more severe infections for SARS-CoV-2 to mutate to the point where it can exist in the human body, but I believe Omicron is this variant. With the belief that 2022 may be known as the year the pandemic ended, I want you to know that it is my honor to be your guide. With so many around the world rudderless, I hope the guidance we provide helps you, family, friends, and coworkers through the pandemic with the least amount of suffering possible. And now for the latest updates on the pandemic... COVID-19 Supplements Supplementation with vitamins A, B, C, D, and E could improve the inflammatory response and decrease the severity of disease in ICU-admitted patients with COVID-19, states authors of a new study in BMC Trials. Booster Shots Do Little to Protect From Omicron Several small studies from South Africa found that the defense against Omicron infection was poor even in triple vaccinated persons. Because Omicron is much less severe for most persons, and we have heard accounts of more severe side effects after the booster, we are still recommending against having the booster. WHO Director's Sensible Talk Getting an initial course of COVID-19 vaccines to unprotected groups all over the world should remain the top priority before offering booster shots to vulnerable groups, World Health Organization Emergency Director Mike Ryan said last week. Ryan, among many public health officials, have said that because Omicron is less severe, and even if fully vaccinated persons get sick, T-cell immunity is robust and will in most cases stave off serious illness. T-cell immunity is what shows up 2-3 days after initial symptoms to shut down the virus. Children 0-4 Show Much Higher Immunity Than Adults It may be a blessing in disguise that Pfizer's recent mRNA vaccine trials for 2-5 year-olds failed. A new study from Medrxiv shows that children 0-4 years exhibit much higher immunity and ability to fight SARS-CoV-2 than adults. Thus, a vaccine seems pointless unless the child has severe immunosuppression. Quarantine for Health Workers Reduced The CDC announced Monday: "Given what we currently know about COVID-19 and the Omicron variant, CDC is shortening the recommended time for isolation from 10 days for people with COVID-19 to 5 days, if asymptomatic, followed by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others. The change is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after. Therefore, people who test positive should isolate for 5 days and, if asymptomatic at that time, they may leave isolation if they can continue to mask for 5 days to minimize the risk of infecting others. Here is the full guidance. COVID-19 Pills The FDA approved two COVID-19 treatment pills by Merck and Pfizer. Our opinion of these is simple: we do not recommend them except for the groups at highest risk who have not been vaccinated.