By Don McCann, MA, LMT, LMHC, CSETT
As more is found out about COVID-19 it becomes even more apparent that by boosting our immune system we can take responsibility to avoid having a catastrophic experience. Those who have compromised immune systems are leading in the statistics of those who do not survive this virus. Time and again doctors who understand that the immune system can be strengthened and that it is our best defense against COVID-19 are recommending regimens of immune boosting supplements. I am again reviewing some of the most important ones recommended by Dr. Andrew Saul with the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, BioMed Center NE, Dr. Joseph Mercola, and Dr. Lee Cowden of ACIM. This list has expanded since I last wrote about supplements to boost your immune system.
(The following information is taken from several of Dr. Mercola’s articles – A Review of Antiviral Strategies, How to Improve Zinc Uptake to Boost Immune Health, Melatonin for Sepsis, High Heat May Kill the Coronavirus, and Could Hydrogen Peroxide Treat Coronavirus? Please go to each of these articles for expanded explanations and information – Dr. Mercola has footnoted his information references in all of his articles based on his extensive research and fact-checking his statements)
VITAMIN C
Dr. Andrew G. Weber, a pulmonologist and critical-care specialist affiliated with two Northwell Health facilities on Long Island, has stated: ”if you have vitamin C for prevention, you are much less likely to have a bad case of any kind of viral infection, including COVID-19. Doesn’t mean you won’t get it: it means that your immune system will be able to handle it, and that’s what your immune system does …”
“For prevention, the Orthomolecular Medicine New Service Editorial Review Board and the Japanese College of Intravenous Therapy both recommend 3,000 milligrams (mg) of vitamin C a day in divided doses, 400 mg of magnesium … 20 mg of zinc …100 micrograms (mcg) of selenium … and 5,000 units of vitamin D, scaling down to 2,000 units of vitamin D a day after the first week.”
Additional information about supplementation expanding on further building the immune system if you are feeling under the weather –Dr. Saul recommends taking vitamin C to bowel tolerance:
“Take enough C to be symptom free, whatever the amount might be. Dr. Cathcart would say take vitamin C to bowel tolerance, and that’s exactly what you think it means. The sicker you are, the more you hold. So, if you are really facing an influenza outbreak, you’ll hold a lot of C before you get to bowel tolerance.
The more frequently you can take the vitamin C, the better off [you’ll be]. Vitamin C being water soluble is constantly lost … The more often you take it, the better results you will have, and you will need less to do so.
So, taking a small amount of vitamin C every half-hour is actually much better than taking a large amount of C twice a day. And taking a large amount of C twice a day is better than taking a huge amount of C every other day. So, the more often you take it, the friendlier it is for your body.”
VITAMIN B – (THIAMINE – best taken in a B complex)
“The recommended daily allowance for thiamine is well below 2 mg. For acute illness or short-term prevention, Saul suggests taking 50 mg to 100 mg of thiamine per day, ideally in divided doses.”
“Thiamine is safe, and you can excrete that. The excretion is an indicator of saturation. Thiamine, really, is best taken with the entire B complex. The B complex vitamins work better together
For prevention, most people will get a B complex, B50 … Generally speaking, what I would tell people to do is take a look at the RDA, and you can do that on the internet in seconds, and take more than that. A B complex is the cheapest and safest way to do that.”
‘Poor Man’s Coronavirus Defense’
Consumer advocate, investigator and author Bill Sardi, proposes imitating Zelenko’s protocol using natural remedies. (Vladimir Zelenko MD is a New York-based physician who has treated 699 consecutive cases of COVID-19 with complete 100% success). If you have symptoms of SARS-COV-2 infection and cannot obtain a prescription for chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine and a Z-Pak:
A natural antibiotic such as cinnamon extract or oil of oregano
Quercetin as a zinc ionophore (to enhance zinc entrance into cells)
Zinc, up to 30 milligrams per day
Vitamin B3 (niacin), 25 to 50 mg per day, and selenium to further boost bioavailability of zinc.
SELENIUM – 100 mcg per day (previously mentioned with Orthomolecular Medicine New Service Editorial Review Board and the Japanese College of Intravenous Therapy above)
QUERCETIN and EGCG (found in green tea)
A comparative study published in 2014 looked at two zinc ionophores: quercetin and epigallocatechin-gallate (EGCG found in green tea), noting many of the biological actions of these compounds may in fact be related to their ability to increase cellular zinc uptake.
As explained by the authors:
The ionophore activity of dietary polyphenols may underlay the raising of labile zinc levels triggered in cells by polyphenols and thus many of their biological actions.”
“Quercetin is also a potent antiviral in its own right, and both quercetin and epigallocatechin-gallate also have the added advantage of inhibiting the 3CL protease – an enzyme used by SARS coronaviruses to infect healthy cells.”
MELATONIN
(See Dr. Mercola’s article Melatonin for Sepsis)
MAGNESIUM
400 milligrams (mg) recommended by Orthomolecular Medicine New Service Editorial Review Board and the Japanese College of Intravenous Therapy
VITAMIN D
5,000 units a day, reduced to 2,000 units a day recommended by Orthomolecular Medicine New Service Editorial Review Board and the Japanese College of Intravenous Therapy
HYDROGEN PEROXIDE THERAPY
Dr. Saul, along with Dr. Thomas Levy, recommends nebulized hydrogen peroxide therapy. Similarly, Dr. Robert Rowen has published a commentary about the use of ozone therapy against SARS-COV-2 infection. Both of these treatment alternatives are inexpensive and safe, and could be administered at home.
One point I [Mercola] want to stress after looking more deeply into this is that you may want to be careful about using regular 3% hydrogen peroxide, as they use proprietary stabilizers. By law, they’re not required to disclose those chemicals. So, ideally, you’d want to use food grade hydrogen peroxide and carefully dilute it to a 3% concentration.
According to Dr. Mercola in his article High Heat May Kill the Coronavirus, a sauna kills bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses and boosts your immune function. He also states that Coronaviruses incubate in your sinuses for about three days before moving to your lungs, but could be destroyed by temperatures around 133 degrees which can be easily reached in a sauna.
Stay safe, stay healthy, stay happy.
