Grappling With the New Coronavirus Strains
From eNewsletter 1/27/2021
DID YOU KNOW that according to a new study from Journal of the American College of Nutrition, constant monitoring of ionized magnesium status with subsequent supplementation may be an effective strategy to positively influence disease contraction and progression of COVID-19? Magnesium is involved in more than 600 enzymatic reactions in the body, including those contributing to the exaggerated immune and inflammatory responses exhibited by COVID-19 patients. About 70 percent of the US population is purported to be deficient in magnesium. Important complementary mechanisms that may assist in neutralizing the effects of COVID-19 are magnesium's “calcium-channel blocking” effects that lead to suppression of the inflammatory agents nuclear factor-KB, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, and other related endocrine disrupters; its role in regulating kidney potassium loss; and its ability to activate and enhance the functionality of vitamin D.
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Long Hauler Sufferers From COVID-19 If you had COVID-19 and are still feeling side effects such as fatigue, fogginess, and poor capacity for exercise, please text or email Steve. We are putting together a small cohort trial using targeted nutrients and lifestyle adjustments.
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Our COVID-19 Vaccine Opinion We continually update this document as more data becomes available.
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.
Virus Prevention And Treatment Continue extra immune support until summer of 2021. SARS-CoV-2 is not going away. 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. Prevent and Fight Coronavirus 2.0 Protocol.
COVID-19 UPDATE
Steve and Bonnie: The latest news and research you need to be aware of!
The New SARS-CoV-2 Variants
There is still much to learn about the new strains of coronavirus appearing in different parts of the world. One thing we know is that they can be 50 percent more infectious. According to the Prime Minister of The United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, the U.K. variant may be more deadly. Pfizer and Moderna think their vaccines will be effective, or at least partially effective against the new variants. This must be confirmed through research, however. One recent study from Medrxiv shows that plasma treatment against the new South African variant is not as effective.
One thing we are confident in is that eating well, eschewing sugar, getting proper sleep, managing stress, exercising consistently and intelligently, and taking targeted nutrients that have repelled viruses and their mutations for millennia, will help prevent or minimize the severity of any SARS-CoV-2 variant. We said early on in the pandemic that viruses mutate and SARS-CoV-2 would be no different. As long as you remember this and stay vigilant in adhering to the aforementioned ideals, it will be much easier to roll with whatever punches this pandemic throws at us.
How B-Vitamins Can Help
Researchers in a new study from Medrxiv found one inflammatory enzyme associated with increased vascular permeability was extremely elevated in severe COVID-19 patients. Matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) is known to be very sensitive to methylation dysregulation. And what encourages optimal methylation: targeted B-vitamins.
Children With COVID-19
Lest anyone think that children do not have residual effects from COVID-19, a study out of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia that appeared in Blood Advances have found in children with SARS-CoV-2 infection elevated levels of thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA), a biomarker related to blood vessel damage, even if the children had minimal or no symptoms of COVID-19. Another reason why children have to adhere to the same optimal lifestyle habits as adults do.
That said, in-person classes at K-12 schools don't appear to lead to more coronavirus outbreaks as compared with online-only learning, according to a new CDC study. At the beginning of December 2020, COVID-19 cases in counties with in-person schooling were similar to the rates in counties with only virtual classes, researchers wrote in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The CDC recommends that K-12 schools be the last settings to close after all other mitigation measures have been employed and the first to reopen when they can do so safely.
Ivermectin
While the National Institutes of Health has not taken a stand on this antiparasitic drug's effectiveness as a treatment for COVID-19, they are allowing its use because so many doctors have been clamoring for it. A recent review in Frontiers in Pharmacology demonstrates its effectiveness and highlights that it is an extremely economical option.
GERD/Reflux Increases Risk
A study in Gastroenterology suggests that those with GERD or acid reflux are at increased risk for contracting COVID-19 because these patients are usually on proton pump inhibitors, which block stomach acid and absorption of crucial nutrients. SARS-COV-2 viruses that travel on food into the stomach may survive if there is not adequate stomach acid.
College Students' Distress
About 85 percent of the students surveyed in a PLOS One have experienced high to moderate levels of distress during the pandemic, with women twice as likely to fall into the high group. About 45 percent were highly impacted and about 40 percent were moderately impacted. Not surprisingly, those who reported low levels of distress were more likely to spend two or more hours outdoors.
BETTER EATING IN THE NEW YEAR
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