Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Covid-19. What Treatments Are Working, What Others Might Help

TARGETED NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTION COULD SAVE LIVES

One should check all supplement recommendations with a competent medical professional, especially if you are on medication or have chronic conditions.  Unfortunately, many doctors are like my gynocologist.  When I first became interested in super-nutrition (1970) he said, "I don't know much about this, but you seem in good health, and so long as you are coming in regularly, it's probably OK to keep on doing what you are doing."  This was 50 years ago, and at 82, I am still doing OK.  Recommendations here are oriented to those who may be in less than ideal health although not diagnosed with illness, or who may suddenly be struck by Covid-19.

There has been tremendous controversy over the well studied drug Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as a possible treatment for Covid-19.  There also appears to have been a concerted effort to prevent studies or public knowledge of information given to former President Trump.  He was told HCQ should be used with ZINC, and that it should be used on people as soon as they showed any Covid type symptoms even before tests confirmed the infection.  The following link has many other links which provide possible treatment protocols (often low cost), and information which has been censored by youtube and other censorship action.  https://faculty.utrgv.edu/eleftherios.gkioulekas/zelenko/index.html   Censored items have been moved to secure sites.  I myself have been censored at AOL articles' comments for attempting to post scientific information and facts, because I was "violating community standards."  This when other comments had been posted saying nasty, insulting, and dirty comments about various political figures.

A century ago there was a battle between allopaths, doctors who used chemical medicine and surgery, and naturopaths, doctors who used natural medicines and nutrients.  The allopaths won, but given all the chronic diseases not being treated successfully by drugs and surgery, perhaps it is the time to shift back to more of the natural approach.  However, since that kind of treatment is usually much cheaper, it is not so popular among drug and hospital equipment companies.

Since March 2020, I have been reading everything I could find on Covid-19.  How the illness develops and successful and unsuccessful attempts to treat or prevent it.  Here are some of my conclusions and science links:
   A number of nutrients have been proposed as being helpful in treating the disease, or enhancing your immunity to infection.  These include zinc, Vitamin C, Vitamin D3, multivitamin/mineral supplements, and various herbal supplements.  When sick people are tested for these nutrients they usually have very low levels or none of the tested nutrients in their body.  I believe many of us are in a state of chronic sub-clinical deficiency of one or more key nutrients to protect from and heal Covid-19.  To build up our reserves during this crisis, I recommend taking the following until a state of full vibrant health is felt.  Then cut back a little:

   Vitamin C, 500 or 1000 mg., morning and evening
   Vitamin D, 3000 to 5000 IU or 125 mg. a day (more in winter or no sunshine)
   A one daily type multi-vitamin/mineral tablet, morning and evening
   Zinc (picolinate or sulfate), 2 or 3 calcium/magnesium/zinc tablets a day
   Other supplements you may already be taking, or find through research regarding specific health issue of yourself or your family
   Dr. Zelenko recommends taking Quercetin, 100 mg. or more.  See my next Covid blog post and/or the first link in this post.

   The patients most often mentioned as vulnerable to Covid-19--those with diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity--often have very low levels of zinc.  One third the world is zinc deficient.
   The recently reported higher death rate for blacks and Latinos may relate to the reduced capacity to absorb Vitamin D through darker skin. Also lactose intolerance would reduce use of D fortified milk. 
   I also learned Vitamin C and other antioxidants are found in the lining of the lung, so extra C might help the lining as well as killing viruses at high enough levels. Then there is zinc and its use with HCQ. It is an elaborate orchestration the body requires, and hard to develop into clinical trials since we all have individual needs for all these nutrients.
    In severe virus or toxic illness the C especially needs to be titrated to the level close to bowel tolerance which can vary greatly based on the individual and the amount and type of toxin/virus. I have used 24 grams in a day with flu and gave 50 grams to a women with anaphylactic shock from 3 neck stings over 8 hours and neither of us had bowel symptoms. The Chinese clinical trials were saying 24 grams a day IV, and I think NY was trying 8 grams. Probably not enough in either case.
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January 2021 - Now that people are getting Covid vaccine there is some concern about allergic or other bad reactions.  A friend with the heredity gene called Factor V Lieden had a bad reaction to their first Covid vaccine shot.  This gene can cause blood problems.  Three to 8% of European type people have one of these FVL genes.  About 1 in 5,000 have two HVL genes.  African-Americans have a genetic blood anomaly called Sickle Cell.  Those with only one SC gene don't have many problems, but those with 2 genes can get quite ill.  In US states, African-Americans were found to have from under 1% to 3% of the one cell trait.  People who think they do or might have this kind of genetic issue should discuss it with their doctor before getting vaccinated.                                                                             _ _ _ _ _ _ _                                                                                                                              

On at least 3 occasions a NY doctor, Vladimir Zelenko, has attempted to contact President Trump and alert him to a very low cost and comparatively helpful early, out-patient treatment for Covid. If confirmed scientifically it could form a valid basis for opening up the country a lot faster and more safely. We do not know at this point how soon we will all be able to get the vaccine, nor how frequently it will need to be administered.  It makes sense to use a low cost effective treatment at the first sign of possible Covid illness if it will greatly reducer the danger of Covid illness.  If this makes it safer to open up the economy more than it is now (Jan. 2021) then we need to try it.   Dr. Fauci’s favored drug, Remdesivir from Gilead Sciences has not performed as well as hoped.  Other researchers are comparing HCQ with or without Zinc.  This link has excellent comments.

On April 12, Dr. Zelenko sent the letter which is included in this link, which also has some follow up dated April 16th. https://internetprotocol.co/hype-news/2020/04/14/a-detailed-coronavirus-treatment-plan-from-dr-zelenko/
This site did not allow me to copy text, so I am rewriting from a copy I printed. First he lists his criteria for out-patient treatment. Next he lists his 3 part outpatient treatment regimen, at which I am changing the order of the 3 items:

  “1. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) 200 mg. twice a day for 5 days
    3. Zinc sulfate 220 mg. once a day for 5 days
    2. Azithromycin 500 mg. once a day for 5 days”

    In a recent interview on You-Tube, Dr. Zelenko said that in the absence of HCQ (since you have to get it from a doctor) you could use the ionophore Quercetin, 500 mg twice a day. This is sold as a supplement at stores and on line.  Dr. Z's 3 part treatment costs $20.  Remdesivir may cost $1000 a dose or more to some buyers.

Then he adds: “The rationale for my treatment plan is as follows, I combined the data available from China and S. Korea* with the recent study published from France (sites available on request, may refer to work by Dr. Didier Raoult).  We know that HCQ acts as an ionophore to help Zinc enter the cell. We know that Zinc slows viral replication within the cell.
Regarding the use of Azithromycin, I postulate it prevents secondary bacterial infections.**
These 3 drugs are well known and usually well tolerated [me: especially for short term use] hence the risk to the patient is low.”
As a person who has lost one lung, Dr. Zelenko is very motivated to prevent the deadly Covid pneumonia. The letter continues with details on patients treated and outcomes. The April 16th addition has modifications in the HCQ aspect of dosing.
   On April 7, 2020, a separate communication was reportedly sent to President Trump by Dr. Zelenko urging widespread treatment with his regimen. https://internetprotocol.co/hype-news/2020/04/07/how-to-cure-coronavirus-an-exclusive-letter-to-donald-trump/
His 11 point statement includes some of these recommendations:
  “4. This is World War III (virus vs humanity). We don’t have time to wait for the results of a long study. Millions will die while we wait. We need to initiate immediate treatment of high risk patients in the outpatient setting.”
   “7. We need an immediate supply of 1.5 billion pills of HCQ 200mg, 500 million pills of Azithromycin 500mg, 500 million pills of zinc sulfate 220mg (or its equivalent - we need 50mg elemental zinc).” He then goes on to 8. with the 3 drug regimen I listed above.
  “5. Any obstruction to life saving medication (HCQ) should be viewed as crimes against humanity.” [He keeps missing the ball by not stressing that Zinc is co-equal with the HCQ.] This has been frequently missed by others so that people keep saying to use the HCQ (send the police to open the door), but then failing to say use the Zinc (to clean up the crooks inside). Then he says:
  “9. I suggest the following prophylactic regimen for very high risk patients: [me: here he may mean President Trump]
  HCQ 200mg once a day for 5 days, and then 1 pill a week until immunity can be shown or a vaccine becomes available.
  Zinc Sulfate 220mg once a day for 5 days, and then 1 pill a week until immunity can be shown or a vaccine becomes available.” #
    The remaining recommendations will not really be feasible until item 7. is being advanced aggressively. Same problem as not enough ventilators a month ago. President Trump, Dr. Fauci and others need to stop treating low-cost Zinc as a Cinderella stepchild, and acknowledge it’s true importance for the Zelenko regimen to work well.

* S. Korea which now is in good shape experimented with a number of already available drugs. One was a combination of HCQ and the HIV antiviral, Kaletra. Same concept—open the door with HCQ, send in Kaletra (or Zinc) to deal with the evil ones inside. They also heavily used contact tracing, masks and social distance to stop Covid completely.
** I read in late March or early April that one Washington, DC hospital was finding 40% of its lung emergency admissions were actually suffering from MRSA, a bacteria which responds to Azithromycin. It would be interesting to see how common this is in other areas.
# For a few days Trump was talking about taking the HCQ & ZINC. Then he stopped including the Zinc, and then there was a whole lot of media attention to “how dangerous it was to the heart to take HCQ,” even though it has many years of use with low toxicity.  I plan to do more research, but it appears the new drug and vaccine boys really don’t want a low cost early treatment to interfere with their money making. On the other hand, a lot of other “big” interests would really like to get the economy moving again by opening up the states. WHO WILL WIN???

I just found this detailed rather technical article with scientific references regarding HCQ and use with Zinc among other things.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7202847/
It is from the National Institute of Health's  National Library of Medicine.  The writers are very interested but would also like to see more combined studies.
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HCQ is recommended by Dr. Zelenko for 5 days.  In the doses and time amount he recommends the risks should be low for previously healthy individuals with early Covid symptoms.  Nevertheless it is advisable to be working with your doctor if you suspect Covid.  Also it is hard to get HCQ without a doctor's help.  Most common dangers are to heart, and blood sugar levels.
The preceding link lists many other issues of concern that can help you decide to use HCQ should a doctor be unavailable.  A small number of pills can be deadly to children.

Chloroquine, which Trump talked about at first, has more negative side effects than Hydroxychloroquine.  Secondly, the point of using HCQ is to open cells to admit zinc which prevents virus copying in cells,. Since most Covid victims are likely to already be deficient in zinc, it is essential to include zinc with the HCQ.  Using common substances he says cost $20, Dr. Vladimir Zelenko in NYC has successfully treated over 900 Covid outpatients with the low cost regimen below:
   1) HCQ, 200 mg., twice a day for 5 days (opens cells to zinc)
   2) Zinc sulfate, 220 mg. once a day for 5 days (slows viral copying inside cells)
   3) Azithromycin, 500 mg. once a day for 5 days (prevents bacterial lung infection)
Dr. Zelenko doesn't say so, but I read elsewhere that Azithromycin is also anti-inflammatory, which is one reason I recommend Vitamin C in large doses. Now that a new symptom of strokes, and capillary bleeding has been added I believe high C is even more important. Breakdown of connective tissue is a sign of acute scurvy. Brain bleeds, deep vein thrombosis (a leg being amputated recently) and bruising under skin, and pink toothbrush are all signs. So check out this detailed report on ways to administer high Vitamin C use: http://www.doctoryourself.com/titration.html
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A recent trial with severely ill VA Hospital veterans is being reported by media to prove that treating with HCQ does not work.  However, it appears they neglected the essential element of using zinc along with the HCQ.  After all what does it help to use HCQ to open up the cells if you don't have enough zinc to enter the cells and slow down virus production.  It has been reported that one of the early symptoms of Covid-19 is loss of taste and smell.  This is also a sign of zinc deficiency.  So it appears the virus quickly causes zinc to be used up, then there is no more left to work cooperatively with HCQ in treatment, especially in advanced serious cases.

 WHO believes antibodies will not protect us from Covid-19, that Vaccine is the way to go.  "WHO leaders are telling governments worldwide not to rely on tests that indicate whether or not an individual has contracted coronavirus at some point because they believe theses people could be reinfected even after they had the virus previously."  Their big push is to develop vaccine.  We also don't know if vaccine will last a while or have to be repeated every year like flu vaccine.  Currently Bill Gates is making large contributions to vaccine development.

So why did NIH release this flawed study at a crucial time in the HCQ debate when it hurts HCQ? Two items of interest: Another site included the comment I have not researched that Trump holds ownership in the French company Sanofi that produces HCQ. On the other hand WHO, which receives a lot of support from Bill Gates, has downplayed HCQ and Vitamin C. Bill Gates has financial involvement in Vaccine research/production. So, war of the billionaires? and Big Pharma.
Meanwhile, I will continue to press for the use of readily available biologicals like Vitamins C, D3, and zinc to raise us all to a level above subclinical deficiency so we don’t get sick easily, and in higher doses once we are sick to keep our bodies saturated in necessary nutriceuticals. Plus the judicious addition of known pharmaceuticals like HCQ and Azithromycin with possible addition of plasma for immune factors and whole blood to provide oxygen carrying red blood cells until the mending patient can produce more of their own. Also, early treatment whenever possible.
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I first became aware of issues with WHO in March when my son (who is in Special Forces) and I were discussing nutrition and Covid-19.  When I mentioned high dose Vitamin C, he told me that WHO was pressuring Google and Facebook to remove You-Tube videos regarding C in China from the internet.

I am borrowing this commentary from an anonymous source. 
"WHO’s leadership has totally discredited WHO.
They are no more “expert” on any subject in their mission than tons of better experts all over the world. There is no logical or rationale reason to think they of all organizations know better than everyone else.
They could regain some stature, if their whole organization was changed. They would have to no longer be comprise of a staff of their own set of experts. They would have to no longer be independent of their member organizations. Their committees would not be WHO employees. They should be representatives of the CDC type agencies in their member countries. All pronouncements of the WHO would be only by consensus of those representatives. ALL WHO activities around the world would only be by consensus of those representatives and those activities would be coordinating contributing activities agreed on by consensus of the member states, not independent WHO activities.
Instead of WHO sitting on top of all its members, it would only carry out that which its members agree to by consensus and any WHO opinions would be a consensus opinion from the opinions contributed, not internally by WHO itself, but from its members."


 THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) CONTROVERSY

At a discussion forum we were discussing various Covid issues and I wondered what we could learn from Ebola virus issues. To my SPECIFIC question at Google on use of high Vitamin C for Ebola, the link below was the first link provided. There were others that referred to C, but this was first and I am listing it because of it’s references to WHO and prevailing attitudes toward all nutrition interventions. My own thought was that Ebola symptoms sounded like acute rampant Scurvy and would profit from very high C.
   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6924885/ “Despite the initially large number of papers with the key search term “nutrition” related to EVD case management, few explicitly described the details of the delivered nutritional support. Most clinical management papers delineated supportive care for dehydration and electrolytes through oral rehydration solutions (ORS) or intravenous fluid administration and did not refer to nutrition.”
    “Perception of Nutrition Response - One descriptive qualitative study of key informants analyzed community perceptions of the nutrition-related response in Guinea (21). That study had 2 main objectives: the first was to determine how the Ebola outbreak affected infant and child nutrition on a community level, and the second was to gauge stakeholders’ perception on the acceptability and effectiveness of the nutrition response, including the WHO/UNICEF/WFP 2014 interim guidelines for nutritional care."
    "A consistent theme across informants was the lack of emphasis on nutrition by health professionals and community members during the Ebola outbreak. Key informants also noted limitations around the use of the WHO/UNICEF/WFP interim guidelines; some informants were unaware of the guidelines or questioned their usefulness, and some reported finding the guidelines useful but difficult to implement. The authors recommended that nutrition be a core component of response and integrated into all aspects of care, treatment, and recovery.”
    My takeaway from reading this is that WHO is going through the motions and has no real interest in improving the life of Africans. So who is formulating this negligent and shameful attitude—drug companies?? “WHO recommends that EVD (Ebola) patients should be provided with a minimum recommended daily allowance (RDA) of nutrients through normal traditional or fortified foods (1,16) or micronutrient powders (28). It also states that, until further evidence is available, excess use of any micronutrient for EVD patients is not recommended, unless correcting for a specific micronutrient loss (e.g., treating hypokalemia). However, in many EVD-affected countries in sub-Saharan Africa, malnutrition, including micronutrient deficiencies, is widely prevalent (29,30), and 1 RDA of, for example, vitamins would not sufficiently address existing suboptimal levels in EVD patients.” MINIMUM RDA—for shame!! 
    A further thought I had at that time was, Why the heck doesn't someone teach these people how to grow high vitamin C Acerola Cherries.

This post is incomplete as I plan to add material on the following issues among others.

*The occurrence of new serious symptoms in people who seem to have recovered.

*The disappearance of heme from red blood cells and 2 patterns of respiratory distress.

*The new Kawasaki type symptoms suffered by young children who have had Covid.

*Questions people might raise in the Comments section.

*Technical/scientific articles I have studied to form my opinions/suggestions.