We are almost 700 days into the global health crisis launched by SARS COV2. We have learned so much and we are still learning. The Spanish influenza epidemic that took place 100 years ago lasted almost 2 years. We will reach that two year mark this coming spring. It will be interesting to witness how this virus becomes part of our viral landscape as it weakens over time.

Meanwhile, it is important to keep both our immune system and our cardiovascular system strong. Researchers are now learning that SARS COV-2 is actually a vascular disease. Both the virus and the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer BionTech and Moderna) affect the vascular system. Therefore, it is crucial to take care of our cardiovascular system as well as our immune system.

People who are COVID symptomatic tend to develop symptoms about 4 to 5 days after infection. If they are to be hospitalized, that will often happen 7 days after the onset of symptoms. The innate immune system, which does weaken with age, contains monocytes and natural killer cells that trigger the Interferon response and reduce the effects of the virus.

Unfortunately, SARS COV-2 suppresses the Interferon response early on in the infection process. Thus, it is essential to support the innate immune system to maintain a healthy immune response to this virus. Remember that the innate immune system lives in the gut. So, eating an anti-inflammatory diet is crucial to supporting immune response to this, or any, virus.

HYPERTHERMIA

In addition to healthy diet, cardiovascular and immune support, the effectiveness of increasing our body temperature on response to infection has been studied well. If you are symptomatic, get into a hot shower, take a hot bath, get into a hot tub or take a sauna. Choose whichever tool is most effective at increasing your body temperature to 101.3 and essentially inducing a fever to help the body burn through the virus.

In addition, supplementing with vitamins and minerals has been proven to be helpful.

KEY SUPPLEMENTS

These are great to take preventatively and can also be taken upon feeling symptoms or receiving a positive COVID test.

Vitamin D - in a study in Spain, vitamin D (calcifedoil) was extremely effective at reducing COVID symptoms and allowing hospitalized patients to go home much sooner. Test your vitamin D levels before settling on a maintenance dose, which can be somewhere between 2,000 and 4,000 IU daily. Take 30,000 IU daily for the first 5 days after onset of symptoms / positive COVID test.

Zinc - as I shared in a previous post, zinc is essential for immunity. A maintenance dose is 25 mg daily and a treatment dose for COVID is 40 mg daily.

Quercetin - this antioxidant gives produce its purple/blue pigment. Its capacity to neutralize free radicals makes it excellent for boosting immunity, reducing inflammation and combating allergies. Take 500 mg daily for maintenance and 1,000 mg daily for the first 5 days after onset of COVID symptoms.

If you would like to read more about what supplements and herbs to take if you believe you have been exposed to COVID, you can read this post.

MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES

These antibodies, when administered early in the infection process, can bind to the spike proteins on the outside of the virus and neutralize them. There are currently two companies whose monoclonal antibodies have received emergency use authorization from the FDA.

1.) Eli Lilly' - Bamlanivimab

2.) Regeneron - Casirivimab and Imdevimab

According to randomized trials, these medications, when administered early via infusion, reduce viral load and reduce hospitalizations as well. If someone is COVID positive and at risk for being hospitalized, this is an extremely helpful treatment. These are not approved for everyone, so check the list of eligible patients.

I hope this has been a helpful update! Please reach out with questions anytime: lisa@harmonized-living.com