Although there are no cures or guaranteed ways to prevent a person from becoming infected with Coronavirus other than preventing exposure through social distancing, hand-washing, and mask wearing there are nutritional supplements that can potentially help minimize symptoms. As always it is critical to discuss any and all nutritional supplements you take with your physician and always contact your physician if you feel you are experiencing symptoms of Covid 19!
So what are these supplements?
Quercetin – is a plant chemical with strong anti-viral
activity that is proven to prevent and mitigate all sorts of viral
infections as well as being outstanding for allergies. In the
case of Covid it is particularly well-suited because it is a zinc “ionophore”
which means it drives zinc into the cells which is what the infamous drug hydroxychloroquine does, but quercetin achieves with no side effects and no prescription.
The best forms of quercetin include it being mixed with bromelain – a digestive
enzyme that increases absorption. Inexpensive and easy to find on
Amazon or at Vitamin shoppe – suggested dosage is 1,000mg per day EVERY day until this
thing is over – works way better if it is in your system PRIOR to
exposure. To understand more about Quercetin/Zinc and covid read
here: https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2020/06/01/quercetin-lowers-your-viral-infections-risk.aspx?cid_source=dnl&cid_medium=email&cid_content=art2HL&cid=20200601Z1&et_cid=DM554057&et_rid=884631632
Do NOT take Quercetin if you are on blood thinners
of any kind!!!
Zinc – if you are routinely eat meat, oysters or
pumpkin seeds you probably get enough zinc. It also makes sense to take a
supplement with 15 – 30 mg of a high quality chelated form of zinc like zinc
picolinate or zinc gluconate or “Optizinc” which is another chelated form of
zinc. Keep total zinc intake no higher than 50mg per day – too much
causes its own set of issues and take with a meal!
Zinc lozenges – zinc lozenges are particularly effective
in dealing with all respiratory viruses including Covid and you want to have
them on hand and begin taking IMMEDIATELY when you have any symptoms but NOT
before then. Zinc lozenges are NOT something to take all the time - only when you have symptoms! Best type are zinc acetate lozenges from Life
Extension. You want to ALWAYS have these lozenges available
because they are ONLY effective when you start them at symptom onset!
Follow label directions.
Vitamin C – if you take a decent multi and regularly
eat fruit and vegetables you get plenty of C for day to day.
However it may be smart to purchase several bottles of liposomal Vitamin
C to have available to begin big doses at onset of any symptoms. This
form of C is the most bioavailable form you can get orally.
Start taking 2,000mg immediately and every two hours until you hit bowel
tolerance. Bowel Tolerance refers to the fact that when you take more
than you can absorb in your gut your bowels get loose – nothing
horrible. It is KEY to keep taking it more and more till you hit
this level and you will find if you are sick you will need to take a lot of it before
hitting this point whereas if you are not sick you will hit bowel tolerance
much earlier. C is VERY powerful but ONLY if you get enough in you!
Vitamin D and K2 – if you are not checking your vitamin
d level PLEASE start – you can get a test from your doc or order an at home one
with finger stick or order your own lab test without a doctor.
Optimizing vitamin d levels is the MOST important thing you can do to prevent
yourself from ending up in a hospital in the event you catch Covid and you need
to do this NOW! Taking mega-doses when sick does NOT work nearly as well
as getting tested and supplementing up to optimal
levels.
For most people this will require a minimum of
5,000iu per day of Vitamin D3 (only form to take).
ALWAYS take Vitamin D WITH Vitamin K2 – a fat soluble form of K that is
critical for optimal absorption and effectiveness of D and is important part of
preventing Covid Issues! 20 minutes of direct
sunlight during peak sun hours is all it takes for most Caucasians to optimize
D levels in most of the US during the summer but do not get burned!
D
with K2 is very inexpensive and you start taking this immediately if you
are not sure you have good D levels – particularly if you avoid the sun which
is understandable because sun can cause damage if you get too much!
Read this article to give you a sense of how important D is for Covid and how
high levels are directly correlated with good outcomes and how low levels with
bad outcomes:
Melatonin – melatonin is an extremely potent
anti-inflammatory supplement that may help inhibit the cytokine storm that is what
causes many of the serious complications in people that end up having big problems with
Covid. Children typically have very high melatonin levels (10 times
higher than adults and 20 times higher than adults over 60) which may be one of the reasons they have way less issues with Covid. Do NOT take
melatonin anytime but directly before bed on a day to day basis – the strategy
for using it during an active Covid infection is entirely
different!!! It is good to have it on hand in the event you have Covid symptoms:
Dosage Upon COVID-19 Infection
If you are self-quarantined at home, the following dosage applies.
Melatonin COVID-19 Infection Dosage: 5 milligrams to 50 milligrams
The lower range is for individuals with mild or no symptoms. The higher range is for older individuals or those with more severe symptoms.
Those taking ACE inhibitors, or have cardiac conditions or hypertension need to consult your doctor before taking high doses of melatonin. Note that melatonin may lower blood pressure and cause hypotension at higher dosages.
The correct infection dose should ideally be divided into daytime and nighttime doses.
Daytime – 40% of total daily dose, divided into small equal portions to be taken every TWO HOURS. As stated previously do not take melatonin during the day routinely.
Nighttime – 60% of total daily dose, divided into two portions taken 2-3 hours after dinner. The final dose at night should be completed by 10 pm the latest.
If one is diabetic, or have insulin resistance, DO NOT TAKE MELATONIN before 3 pm. Melatonin is able to suppress insulin.
Please note that these higher dosages are only applicable during infections only.
If you are self-quarantined at home, the following dosage applies.
Melatonin COVID-19 Infection Dosage: 5 milligrams to 50 milligrams
The lower range is for individuals with mild or no symptoms. The higher range is for older individuals or those with more severe symptoms.
Those taking ACE inhibitors, or have cardiac conditions or hypertension need to consult your doctor before taking high doses of melatonin. Note that melatonin may lower blood pressure and cause hypotension at higher dosages.
The correct infection dose should ideally be divided into daytime and nighttime doses.
Daytime – 40% of total daily dose, divided into small equal portions to be taken every TWO HOURS. As stated previously do not take melatonin during the day routinely.
Nighttime – 60% of total daily dose, divided into two portions taken 2-3 hours after dinner. The final dose at night should be completed by 10 pm the latest.
If one is diabetic, or have insulin resistance, DO NOT TAKE MELATONIN before 3 pm. Melatonin is able to suppress insulin.
Please note that these higher dosages are only applicable during infections only.
To learn more about melatonin and Covid check this
out: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7102583/
Aleve/Naproxen Sodium – if you need to take something
for pain/inflammation and you think you may have Covid the safest choice is
probably Aleve. Aleve is a anti-inflammatory like
ibuprofen/Motrin. Aleve is a MUCH better choice if you have Covid and probably better than Tylenol which is a pain killer and NOT an
anti-inflammatory. There is evidence that Aleve (and not
ibuprofen or Tylenol) can inhibit issues with clotting that clinicians are seeing with
Covid and that it may have direct anti-viral effects against Covid. So
like Vitamin C and Zinc Lozenges would recommend you have a bottle on hand in
case you need it! Do NOT take this for prevention – no evidence
it will help and this can cause issues if you take it all the time.
Also do NOT take it at all if on any kind of blood thinning medication!
To learn more about Aleve/Naproxen and Covid 19 see this:
So in summary:
Quercetin and take all the time
Vitamin D and K – ideally get D levels checked and take
necessary amount to get you into optimal range – see article link on D and K
above.
Zinc – make sure you get enough on day to day basis – take
15 – 40mg per day in supplement form either from multiple or zinc supplement
Zinc lozenges – only to use when you have symptoms but begin
IMMEDIATELY
Lipsomal Vitamin C – have several bottles on hand if you
start feeling symptoms immediately ramp up dosage as described in Vitamin C
section above.
Aleve – have on hand for pain or fever from Covid
Melatonin – to take in higher doses ONLY if you have
symptoms
While these supplements may help and there is sound logic behind using them - they do not replace social distancing, mask wearing, proper nutrition,
exercise and sleep – no supplement can replace these! As always contact your physician immediately if you feel you have symptoms of Covid 19.
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