From eNewsletter 11/10/2021
DID YOU KNOW that schoolchildren's mental well-being is directly related to several easily modifiable factors, according to a new study from BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health? Higher combined fruit and vegetable consumption (5 or more fruit and vegetables daily) was significantly associated with higher mental well-being. Compared with children consuming breakfast, those not eating any breakfast or consuming an energy drink-only had much lower mental well-being scores. Likewise, children not eating any lunch had significantly lower mental well-being scores than those consuming a packed lunch.
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UPDATE - COVID-19 Vaccine Information We updated this document Monday, November 8th.
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.
Post-COVID Syndrome 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 Action Plan for purchase, or free to paid members here, can bring measurable improvement.
Have a happy, healthy day! Steve and Bonnie Minsky
In Today's Issue...
Well Connect Feature: History of Yerba Mate*
COVID-19 Update
November 20% OFF Sale Items
Chiro Corner NEW!
Pure Genomics 2.0
Blog Briefs
Well Connect Member Benefits *Paid Member Access Only
COVID-19 UPDATE
Steve and Bonnie: Time for your COVID-19 antibody test? Results from currently authorized SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests suggest they should not be used to evaluate your level of immunity or protection from COVID-19 at any time, and especially after you receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The problem isn’t simply that the tests weren’t designed to assess immunity. It’s also that the protective antibodies and their thresholds still haven’t been fully worked out. Antibodies that bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein - particularly neutralizing antibodies - do correlate with protection. At this time, there is no clear titer at which you can say whether a particular person is protected. What’s more, different neutralizing antibody thresholds, or even different immune responses altogether, may correlate with protection against asymptomatic, symptomatic, or severe disease. We know that higher antibody levels, specifically higher neutralizing antibody levels, are better. But we don’t know how high is high enough. Meanwhile, the laboratory tests haven’t been standardized. If and when correlates and thresholds of protection are determined, the tests will need to be standardized and calibrated, as has been done with antibody tests for other vaccine-preventable diseases, including tetanus, diphtheria, and measles. So far, only one commercially available SARS-CoV-2 antibody test, from Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, has been calibrated to the World Health Organization’s reference standard. What’s more, all antibodies bind but only some neutralize, and almost none of the authorized clinical tests distinguish between them. Another strong argument against using blood tests to assess whether individual patients are protected: circulating antibodies don’t give a complete picture of SARS-CoV-2 immunity. The immunological component that is associated with protection against severe disease is immunological memory B cells. These cells aren't making antibodies, but they remember that they have seen this SARS-CoV-2 spike protein before. Circulating antibodies against the virus peak 2 or 3 months after natural infection or vaccination and then begin to decrease. But the immune system’s ability to mount a memory defense lasts longer. Just because we’re seeing a decrease in antibody levels doesn’t necessarily mean that your immunity is gone. We know from a lot of studies now that your memory T cells and memory B cells persist and continue to evolve and mature, and none of that information is relayed by an antibody test. So our long answer to the question, "time for your COVID-19 antibody test," can be summed up in three words: unfortunately not yet. Vitamin C Intervention for COVID-19 According to an article in journal Life, to date there have been 12 vitamin C and COVID-19 trials published, including five randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and seven retrospective cohort studies. The current level of evidence from the RCTs suggests that intravenous vitamin C intervention may improve oxygenation parameters, reduce inflammatory markers, decrease days in hospital and reduce mortality, particularly in the more severely ill patients. High doses of oral vitamin C supplementation may also improve the rate of recovery in less severe cases. No adverse events have been reported in published vitamin C clinical trials in COVID-19 patients. Zinc for Acute Viral Infections A new study from BMJ Open concludes that in adult populations unlikely to be zinc deficient, there is evidence suggesting zinc may prevent respiratory tract infection symptoms and shorten their duration. Of course, people who are zinc deficient need it more, but this study just looked at those who were not deficient. This of course makes perfect sense as IL-6 inflammatory cytokines increase exponentially during infection, and zinc supplementation helps to keep IL-6 levels in balance, according to a new study from British Journal of Nutrition. Vitamin D Gene Variants May Affect Your COVID Response Genetic variants involved in vitamin D metabolism have been implicated as potential risk factors for severe COVID-19 outcomes. A study in Nutrients investigated how genetic variations in humans affected the clinical presentation of COVID-19. Patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection were divided into noncritical and critical groups. Genotype data on the GC, NADSYN1, VDR, and CYP2R1 genes along with data on serum vitamin D levels were compiled in patients admitted to a major hospital. There were significant associations between genetic determinants of vitamin D metabolism and COVID-19 severity. These variants should be used with vaccination to manage the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and could be particularly valuable in populations in which vitamin D deficiency is common. GC and CYP2R1 are both included in our Pure Genomics screening. End of Pandemic Prediction From Reuters: "COVID-19 will transition to an endemic disease in 2022 and beyond, according to Reuters interviews with over a dozen leading disease experts. They expect that the first countries to emerge from the pandemic will have had some combination of high rates of vaccination and natural immunity among people who were infected with the coronavirus, such as the United States, the UK, Portugal and India. But they warn that SARS-CoV-2 remains an unpredictable virus that is mutating as it spreads through unvaccinated populations. None would completely rule out what some called a 'doomsday scenario,' in which the virus mutates to the point that it evades hard-won immunity. Yet they expressed increasing confidence that many countries will have put the worst of the pandemic behind them in the coming year. We think between now and the end of 2022, this is the point where we get control over this virus ... where we can significantly reduce severe disease and death." Data Integrity Issues in Pfizer’s Vaccine Trial? A new investigation in BMJ reveals potential problems with the initial structure and data that was provided to the FDA by Pfizer last winter.
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