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Just a few specific nutrients can immensely increase the effectiveness of the body’s immune system. People seem to have forgotten this, and it is worrysome. Today, instead of mainstream physicians and public health experts promoting healthy lifestyle choices that help prevent a severe COVID-19 case, these medical bodies promote mask fear-mongering and dangerous vaccines instead of highlighting the clinical efficacy of a few simple nutrients, particularly vitamins D and C.For example, in one review titled “Association of Vitamin D Status and Other Clinical Characteristics With COVID-19 Test Results,” researchers noted that a patient with a deficient vitamin D level is at 1.77 times more risk of testing positive for COVID-19, compared to a patient with sufficient vitamin D levels. Moreover, in another study titled “Vitamin D deficiency and comorbidities in COVID-19 patients – A fatal relationship?,” the authors noted the infamously synergistic effect of non-communicable diseases – e.g., hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome – and the SARS-COV-2 virus. This combination is particularly deadly because patients with these non-communicable diseases, or comorbidities, are predisposed to specific health characteristics, including deficient vitamin D3 levels. Furthermore, when this predisposition is coupled with secluding oneself inside one’s home for extended periods, away from sunlight, it is a recipe for a severe COVID-19 event. Thus, while it is beneficial for anyone to supplement their diet with vitamin D3, it is vital for people with these comorbidities.
If public health experts had been promoting vitamin D3 supplementation months ago, they might have prevented many deaths. For instance, the first study cited above showed that nine out of ten COVID-19 deaths could have been prevented if people had adequate vitamin D levels. This effect likely exists because people with low vitamin D levels have a much greater tendency toward hyper-inflammation in the cytokine storm that comes with COVID-19, which increases the likelihood that the patient will be placed on a ventilator. Once a patient is on a ventilator, his mortality chance is 30-50%, much greater than the general 0.4% and 15% mortality rates for patients at 55 and 80 years old, respectively. Accordingly, it is that much more critical to ensure that an individual has sufficient vitamin D3 levels to prevent that powerfully inflammatory cytokine storm.
Nevertheless, because the mainstream public health narrative will not support this notion of natural health, some people have taken it upon themselves to learn the importance of these nutrients. North Carolina resident, Ashlyn, age 20, tested positive for COVID-19 the second week of October. “A few friends and I were working on a class project and needed to remove our masks,” Ashlyn explained. “A few days later, one of them told me that he could not smell or taste. We immediately got tested. Two other students and I tested positive.” Ashlyn was nervous because she has asthma, a common COVID-19 comorbidity, so she moved back home into a hotel room near her hometown doctors. Still, she knew the importance of vitamin D and other nutrients. “I took Healthmasters’ Multiple, Omega 3, B Complex, Zinc, Vitamin C, and Vitamin D3, but mom was adamant that I took the vitamin D.” Ashlyn noted that her mom had researched the importance of vitamin D3 in the context of COVID-19. “I never got any symptoms. I was asymptomatic, but my other two friends got serious symptoms.”
Rob, of Wausau, Wisconsin, shared a story similar to Ashlyn’s. Rob noted that a year ago, doctors told him that his father-in-law had two weeks to live and moved him into a nursing home. Rob did not give up. Instead, Rob moved his father-in-law in with him and his wife, nursed his father-in-law back to health, weaned him off all but a few of his prescriptions, and convinced him to begin taking supplements. “But that all ended when he moved out of our house,” Rob noted. “On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I had my father-in-law over for most of the day, and he was feeling woozy and dizzy.”
Rob explained that his father-in-law had a pacemaker installed about a month prior, so he was concerned. “They did a rapid COVID-19 test and declared him positive.” Although Rob had been in close contact with his father-in-law, he was not afraid of COVID-19. “My wife and I follow Ted’s recommendations for immune health – vitamins C and D3, Potassium Iodine, Zinc, etc. – and we are not sick, not even a sniffle.” One thing still concerns Rob: “None of the doctors are talking about immunity or supplements at all.”
Along with vitamin D, Ashlyn and Rob both took Zinc and vitamin C, two more excellent immune health supplements. Indeed, the Eastern Virginia Medical School published its “Critical Care COVID-19 Management Protocol.” As a preventative measure, the school recommends taking vitamin C (1,000 mg daily), Quercetin (250 mg daily), vitamin D3 (up to 4,000 mg daily), a B complex supplement, Zinc (up to 50 mg daily), and Melatonin (up to 2 mg nightly). These amounts increase when a patient tests positive and increase further if the patient is in the hospital.
Most people are aware of vitamins D and C’s immune-supporting effects, though Zinc and Quercetin’s benefits are lesser-known. Within the natural health medical community, Zinc is well-known to promote antiviral immunity. Studies have shown that Zinc can prohibit the mechanism in which a virus replicates in the body’s cells, and Quercetin helps Zinc enter the cells. One study noted that these two vitamins, in combination with vitamins D and C, “may exert a synergistic antiviral action that may provide either an alternative or additional therapeutic/preventive option due to overlapping antiviral and immunomodulatory properties.”
There are other beneficial nutrients, too. An August 2020 study noted, “Key dietary components such as vitamins C, D, E, Zinc, Selenium, and Omega-3 fatty acids have well-established immunomodulatory effects, with benefits in infectious disease.” “Adequate levels of vitamins C, D, and E are crucial during COVID-19 to reduce symptom burden and lessen the duration of respiratory infection.” The study noted that to support immune function during COVID-19, higher dietary intakes of vitamins D, C, and E, Zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids could be beneficial. Still, it cautioned that “much of the evidence surrounding [these nutrients’ use in COVID-19 patients] utilize doses too high to come solely from diet,” supporting that supplementation is likely necessary.
Potassium Iodine is another supplement that might be promising for COVID-19 prevention and treatment. In an in vitro study, researchers noted that after 60 seconds, essential iodine drops reduced a COVID-19 sample’s viral load by 99%. The authors suggested that iodine application to the nasal structures may be a way to reduce viral transmission. In another study, researchers investigated the effects of potassium iodine on the respiratory system. They noted that “a single dose of 130 mg potassium iodine was shown to accumulate in upper airway secretions. It was suggested that the delivery of [potassium iodide] to the airway mucosa might augment innate antiviral defenses.” Thus, Potassium Iodine supplementation may be beneficial, too.
These supplements are not only confined to the context of COVID-19 either. Research shows that lower vitamin D3 levels are directly associated with higher depressive symptoms. In another study, researchers found that some psychiatric distresses, such as anger, anxiety, low sleep quality, depression, and worry, were associated with vitamin D insufficiency. A low vitamin D level might also be associated with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Moreover, the study also found that people with vitamin D deficiency could be at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The researchers conducted a 12-year-long study and observed participants over those 12 years. They noted that vitamin D deficiency was a strong predictor of whether patients would develop diabetes or pre-diabetes.
Vitamin C may have additional benefits, too. Vitamin C is an extremely robust antioxidant and may help reduce one’s risk of acute and chronic diseases. Some data suggest that vitamin C has a positive impact on lipid measurements. In a 2008 study, researchers investigated the relationship between vitamin C supplementation and LDL, HDL, and triglyceride measurements. The results show that vitamin C supplementation reduced LDL levels by approximately 7.9 mg/dl and blood triglycerides by 20.1 mg/dl. The researchers concluded, “Supplementation with at least 500 mg/d of vitamin C, for a minimum of 4 weeks, can result in a significant decrease in serum LDL cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations.” Thus, vitamins D and C may not only be therapeutically beneficial in the context of COVID-19; over time, these vitamins may help to address the underlying issues with common COVID-19 comorbidities.
To summarize, vitamins D and C, Zinc, Quercetin, and Potassium Iodine, along with B complex, vitamin E, and omega-3 fatty acids, all have promising factual findings that support their effectiveness within the COVID-19 context. This paradox raises the question: Why haven’t mainstream physicians and public health “experts” promoted these supplements? Instead, America has an entire medical complex hard-set on developing chemical pharmaceuticals instead of highlighting natural, affordable, and promising alternatives. Maybe, like how a corporation can lobby and buy-out a politician, perhaps it is true that pharmaceutical corporations can lobby and buy-out nationally-renowned physicians and public health experts, all in the pursuit to make a quick buck at the expense of peoples’ lives.
If you are interested in taking any of the supplements mentioned throughout this article, check out Healthmasters’ Vitamin C supplements, B complex, D3 supplements, Zinc, Potassium Iodine, and Ultimate Multiple supplements. If you have any questions about these supplements, check out our website or call our office at 800.726.1834.
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