From eNewsletter 2/9/2022
DID YOU KNOW that it is essential to find time for leisure? For all you workaholics, in the long run, being productive all the time may harm your mental health. Findings from a Journal of Experimental Social Psychology study reveal that taking part in leisure activities is a long-term investment towards better mental heath. However, if you view recreational or leisure activities as a waste of time, then it will still have detrimental effects on your mental health, including higher anxiety, depression, and stress levels, as well as lower levels of happiness. Find a leisure activity you enjoy and lean into it without judgement.
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UPDATE - COVID-19 Vaccine Information We updated this document Monday, February 7th.
Virus Prevention And Treatment Vaccines minimize COVID-19 related mortality and hospitalizations, but SARS-CoV-2 is here to stay. Moreover, it 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. Continue your immune support year-round. 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 (must use the password), can bring measurable improvement.
Have a happy, healthy day! Steve and Bonnie Minsky
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COVID-19 UPDATE
Steve: While we are in uncharted waters with regard to the length of this pandemic in modern human history, the FDA just made an unprecedented move by requesting data from Pfizer for their mRNA vaccine, with the intent to amend Emergency Use Authorization (EAU) for 6 month to 4 year-olds. In every instance that has preceded an FDA authorization request, it is the company that asks for it. This time, the FDA urged Pfizer to submit the request. I understand the impetus, as the Omicron variant has had a slightly more deleterious effect on children compared with prior variants, but given the fact that we are still in the throes of the Omicron outbreak, there is no possible way Pfizer has collected enough data to make a sound decision on vaccine safety and efficacy. While the process still has to go through the FDA and CDC vetting process, the fact that the FDA requested the EUA submission sounds like it is already a fait accompli. Of course an EUA is not a mandate, so parents still have the right to choose for their child. But as Harvard Medical Professor Stefano Kales stated, "for the majority of children and adults, COVID-19 is not a serious threat, only a nuisance that impedes schooling, work and travel. We badly need to allow the general public, particularly the young, to get back to normal life.” Instead of their myopic focus of vaccinating our way out of the pandemic, to which we have cited myriad reasons why this will not be successful, the focus should be on other forms of prevention that can augment and improve COVID-19 mitigation and vaccine response. A tiny, third-world country, who does not have the means to vaccinate their population without donations from wealthier countries, has drawn praise from the World Council for Health for its preventive efforts. El Salvador has provided kits that include vitamin D, zinc and vitamin C for early treatment of COVID-19 at home. They generated a country-wide video ad campaign encouraging people to live healthy lives. With the trillions the U.S. has spent on the pandemic, we couldn't spring for a wellness kit and video campaign encouraging health habits? The World Health Organization even says we need to get back to normalcy: "The WHO has urged countries to lift travel restrictions, bans and requirements to prove jab status because they do not provide added value and continue to contribute to the economic and social stress experienced by States Parties". Countries such as Finland, Denmark, and Ireland have recently lifted COVID restrictions and are getting back to normalcy. Britain, France, Spain, Sweden, Norway and other European countries are also beginning to treat COVID more like the flu. Yet, much of the United States languishes. In Africa, COVID-19 has already reached "endemic" status, meaning that it infects just a few, and while it will always be around, it does not infect enough to reach pandemic status. Here's what the CDC, FDA, and the White House should be focusing on to get us back to normalcy. The U.S. and Japan are both democratic industrialized societies, but the numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths per million people in the U.S. are 12.1-times and 17.4-times higher, respectively, than those in Japan. The aim of a recent study in Nutrients was to investigate the effects of diet on preventing COVID-19 infection. Here are the sobering comparisons. Compared with Japanese, Americans consume:
1.5-times more saturated fat and less heart healthy fat;
396% more beef;
235% more sugar and sweeteners;
The prevalence of obesity is 7.4- and 10-times greater in the U.S. than in Japan for males and females, respectively. Hence, the gargantuan differences in nutrient intake and the prevalence of obesity is a major reason for differences in the incidence and mortality of COVID-19 between the U.S. and Japan. There should be an immediate focus on vitamin D status and population-wide vitamin D supplementation. A new study in Nutrients of U.S. healthcare workers was startling. Vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency, and normal vitamin D status were diagnosed in 60%, 30%, and 10% of COVID-19 cases, respectively. Vitamin D supplementation was not only associated with an increase in vitamin D levels, but intake of 5000 IU/day of supplemental vitamin D3 optimized vitamin D levels. Subjects receiving the high-dose vitamin D had only asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 in the few cases that occurred in this group. Those who received 2000 IU/day showed twice as many SARS-CoV-2 cases, but almost all cases were mild. Israel scientists say they have gathered the most convincing evidence to date that increased vitamin D levels can help COVID-19 patients reduce the risk of serious illness or death. In the new study from PLOS One, the lead author said, “we found it remarkable, and striking, to see the difference in the chances of becoming a severe patient when you are lacking in vitamin D compared to when you’re not.” By now, public health officials should know that it is critical not only to supplement the population with vitamin D3, but assure vitamin D levels are optimal. They should know that constantly promoting healthy habits is an inexpensive investment whose returns will be incalculable for future generations. Aside from the state of Florida which have taken to heart to some of these paradigms, the rest of the U.S. is simply ignoring sound science.
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