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Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, January 15, 2021
(OMNS Jan 15, 2021) Conventional medicine treats the symptoms of chronic disease, while functional medicine treats the root cause of the disease. There are over 40,000 clinical studies that support the conclusion that functional medicine is safer, more effective and less costly than conventional medicine, and yet very little movement in that direction has occurred in recent years. Dr. David Eddy confirmed this problem with his report on the lack of efficacy of conventional medicine. [1] This article explained that conventional medicine largely comprises "Medical Guesswork," which is becoming costlier and often causes additional health problems with dangerous side- effects. The past ten months of experience have emphasized how bad this situation has become. The lack of effective treatment protocols for the COVID-19 viral infection has pushed the healthcare system to the breaking point. The following headlines help to illustrate the severity of this healthcare crisis:
"Profit over people, cost over care: America's broker healthcare exposed by virus." The Guardian- Amanda Holpuch [2]
"Only 12 percent of American adults are metabolically healthy, study finds." University of North Carolina [3]
"If Americans were healthier, we could have been better prepared for this pandemic." Stanford University Medical School [4]
Americans are not very healthy, which is why the majority of adults have one and often two chronic illnesses. Poor nutrition is the number one problem. This is the reason why we have one of the highest COVID-19 infection rates in the world. In one dramatic example, the National Cancer Institute surveyed 16,633 people from age two to age 80 and could not find one person with a truly healthy diet. In fact, a vast majority of people were deficient in 11 out of 14 nutritional categories. [5]
The COVID-19 virus has drawn attention to our immune system, but most people still do not understand it very well. The following brief primer might help to expand that understanding and perhaps even encourage more people to take steps to improve this system in order to be protected against future viruses, as well as chronic illnesses such as cancer and Alzheimer's.
There are many sources for the raw material necessary to make these special immune cells. Here are some of them:
Throughout our lives we are exposed to thousands of viruses on a daily basis, but only a few can cause a serious infection. The rate of infection is dependent on the virus, as well as the strength of a person's immune system. Several factors contribute to a person's immune system strength.
The people most vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus are those with health challenges such as the frail elderly and anyone with an existing chronic illness. These health challenges can be placed in categories based on the level of immune challenge. Here are some examples to these levels of challenge. Each health challenge is assigned a risk level to identify the degree of relative risk: Very high, High, Moderate, Still concerned. These relative strength evaluations are based on the authors research and observations.
To make matters worse, many COVID patients continue to experience serious symptoms long after they "recover" from the viral infection. [14] The medical community apparently has no solutions. In fact, there is speculation that many of these COVID "long haulers" will end up with permanent damage to many body organs, including their lungs, brains, kidneys, intestines, hearts and blood vessels. If conventional medicine has no solution, perhaps functional medicine can find the root cause of this cellular damage and find natural strategies to address them. Some very promising treatment options can be combined into a COVID cellular repair protocol. The initial step in this examination of possible solutions should consider that cellular damage usually occurs in stages. This helps to explain how cellular healing is possible.
When a cell is stressed, it may go through several stages of cellular deterioration: stressed, weakened, challenged, dysfunctional, mutated, diseased. Most chronic illness is diagnosed at the "dysfunctional" disease development process with blood tests that identify high cholesterol, high glucose or high levels of liver enzymes. However, nutritional scientists and integrative doctors have found that most chronic illness actually begins five to ten years before that, when cells become stressed. This stress is clearly present when people drink alcohol, take common forms of prescription medications, are exposed to a toxin, or do not eat a healthy diet. These cellular assaults often accumulate to the point where some cells become weakened and eventually challenged. However, some cellular assaults such as the toxic impact of mercury occur more quickly, which can begin to cause Alzheimer-type symptoms within weeks of exposure. The same accelerated cellular assault can be seen in the symptoms of many COVID-19 "long haulers." Evidently this virus can damage many organs in the body, with the potential for causing chronic illnesses that may result in permanent organ damage, and even death. A solution to this problem is urgently needed.
Several studies have now confirmed that people who become infected with the COVID-19 virus, including those who are asymptomatic, often experience some cellular damage. This damage has been shown to occur in tissues in the lungs, the kidneys, the liver, the heart, the brain, the throat, the intestines and nerve cells. Damage to the nervous system is implied by headaches and difficulty with the sense of smell or taste. Difficulty in breathing may continue. However, in some cases this damage is not obvious to a cursory medical examination. Since the experience with this virus is so new in the world of viral infections, how much damage has been done or how long it may take the body to repair this damage is unknown. Therefore, it is prudent to take precautions to repair this damage, using cellular repair protocols that are proven.
An excellent diet for cellular repair and recovery is the Mediterranean Diet. This has been shown by the Framingham Heart Study over 30 years with 125,000 participants. This diet involves eating omega-3 rich fish, organic poultry, 6 or 7 vegetable servings, two low-sugar fruits such as apples and blueberries, nuts, seeds, and healthy oils such as olive oil. Drink water instead of beverages. In addition, take:
In June of 2020, two athletes that I know contacted me to say that they were experiencing severe symptoms and had tested positive of COVID-19. I forwarded this COVID-19 repair protocol for their consideration. They both indicated that they began to feel better in less than two days and got progressively better over a two week period. At the end of two weeks they both reported they felt completely recovered and were able to resume their athletic training programs at the highest level. The marathon runner reported that his training times had actually improved beyond his best previous times.
Along with breakfast, the athletes would take the following: probiotics, magnesium, berberine, vitamin D3, vitamin C, zinc + copper, coenzyme Q10, and omega-3 fatty acids. With lunch, vitamin C, curcumin, niacin or niacinamide, vitamin E, and olive leaf extract. With dinner, vitamin B complex, magnesium, vitamin C, zinc + copper, coenzyme Q10, and pycnogenol. These nutritional supplements help the body to go through its normal cellular repair process. [11-13] This repair protocol was used by the two athletes mentioned above. The sooner the repair program is initiated the sooner and more successful the repair and recovery process will be. I think daily protocol should be continued for three to six months to ensure that all cells in every organ are restored to health.
Having a strong immune system is the number one factor in determining if someone will succumb to the coronavirus. Not experiencing frequent colds and flu is one possible measure of this strength, but there are better and more scientific ways to make this determination. Getting the best blood, urine and cellular energy tests will provide a helpful and accurate measure of the strength of any person's immune system. Here is a list of some of the best measurement tools for immune system analysis.
Exercise plays a crucial role in the effective delivery of nutrients in the body, as well as the functional ability of cells to do their job. With exercise, the insulin receptors on all cells increase in number and sensitivity. Insulin binding to these receptors provides a signal for glucose to be taken into cells for production of energy. Without regular exercise, these insulin receptors decline and cells are unable to uptake the glucose, and cells become stressed and weakened, making them vulnerable to pathogens such as the COVID-19 virus. This also causes glucose to continue circulating in the body causing oxidative stress and damage to blood vessels and key organs. As a final insult, this circulating glucose competes with vitamin C for entry into many cells, including white blood cells, which are a key component of the immune system. This happens because sugar and vitamin C have a similar molecular structure. White blood cells need vitamin C to do their job at fighting infections. With a high level of blood glucose but without adequate vitamin C, the immune system can be greatly weakened. Finally, make a point to get 30-45 minutes of exercise every day and eat as little sugar as possible.
Please consult your healthcare practitioner regarding the use of any nutritional supplements to ensure they are safe and appropriate for your use.
This article describes a therapeutic cellular repair program aimed at improved health recovery for patients who have experienced the COVID-19 virus. The dietary suggestions are presented, more or less, in sequential order based on importance, although all are valuable components of a cellular repair program. Other key factors include no added sugar beyond fruit, avoidance of alcohol, getting adequate exercise, practicing stress reduction, enjoying clean air and clean water, and following along the lines of a Mediterranean diet with little or no red meat.
The views presented in this article are the author's and not necessarily those of all members of the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service Editorial Review Board.
1. Eddy D (2005) Medical Guesswork. Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2006-05-28/medical-guesswork
2. Holpuch A (2020) Profit over people, cost over care: America's broken healthcare exposed by virus, Amanda Holpuch, The Guardian, April 16, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/16/profit-over-people-cost-over-care-americas-broken-healthcare-exposed-by-virus
3. University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Health (2018) Only 12 percent of American adults are metabolically healthy, Carolina study finds. November 28, 2018. https://www.unc.edu/posts/2018/11/28/only-12-percent-of-american-adults-are-metabolically-healthy-carolina-study-finds
4. Dalai SS (2020) If Americans were healthier, we could have been better prepared for this pandemic. The Hill, May 3, 2020. https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/495825-if-americans-were-healthier-we-could-have-been-better-prepared-for-this
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10. Marik P (2020) Critical Care COVID-19 Management Protocol, updated November 30, 2020. https://www.evms.edu/media/evms_public/departments/internal_medicine/Marik-Covid-Protocol-Summary.pdf
11. Ji S (2012) Six Bodily Tissues That can be Regenerated Through Nutrition, Whisperingcedars. http://wakeup-world.com/2012/06/08/six-bodily-tissues-that-can-be-regenerated-through-nutrition
12. Bens C (2010) Baldrige Award for Healthcare: An Overview of Potential Improvements. Total Health Magazine, March 2010. https://totalhealthmagazine.com/Corporate-Wellness/Baldrige-Award-for-Healthcare-An-overview-of-potential-improvements.html
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9. Malekahmadi M, Moghaddam OM, Shariful Islam SM, et al. (2020) Evaluation of the effects of Pycnogenol (French maritime pine bark extract) supplementation on inflammatory biomarkers and nutritional and clinical status in traumatic brain injury patients in an intensive care unit: A randomized clinical trial protocol. Trials, 21:162. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32046747
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18. NIH-Cellular Toxicology, ToxTutor education program (2018) Cell Damage and Tissue Repair, August 2018. https://toxtutor.nlm.nih.gov/14-002.html
Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to fight illness. For more information: http://www.orthomolecular.org
To locate an orthomolecular physician near you: http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v06n09.shtml
The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource.
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