What if everyone were offered the tests that matter in their fight against infectious disease?
What if we were all given the right nutrients to protect us from severe illness? 

In my 15 years in medicine, I’ve learned how difficult it is to promote behavior changes. This current pandemic has required a lot of behavior changes, but which are the changes that make the most difference? Let’s look at who is staying healthy. Don’t worry, I will only briefly try to get you to eat more vegetables in this article. 

I feel like we of the naturopathic prevention community (who are eating vegetables) are in good hands. Still, this viral era is all a little scary. There is a cloak of mystery around the coronavirus due to its incredibly varied presentation. Public policies aimed at decreasing hospitalizations have morphed into widespread societal control guidelines that some fear will persist. We are all concerned about massive economic downturns, limitations to our personal freedom, and widespread censorship said to “protect us from false information”. It’s confusing for everyone. 

Which trends are important?
I believe that prevention trends, not death fears, should get the attention of the media and dictate local policy.

Fear of death trends

Primal fears of our own destruction motivate us to stay informed and click on alarming death rates and wacky case presentations. This is show business. What information is healthy to focus on?

If you’re in the aftermath of COVID recovery, you’re likely attempting to resolve the lingering symptoms. (You didn’t die!! Most people don’t, folks). If you need information there, we can help you.

If you’re still in prevention mode (you’re not gonna die, ok), you’re wondering every day:

What is my risk?
Can I visit my grandchildren?
Is my mom going to die if I hug her?
Can I hang out with my buddy who smokes? 
Will I infect my friend with asthma?

What do we know/ and not know?

The suffering and loss attributed to COVID is unprecedented by other virus outbreaks… or, is it? It sure feels like it in this dystopian masked world. Statistician W Briggs posted an article in April 2020 assessing the statistics in England and the US. Turns out the 1999-2000 flu season was more deadly than this current season, which includes SARS-CoV-2 infections (Briggs, 2020).
You were alive in 1999. Do you remember a single masked face?  In May 9, 2020, Alistair Homes agreed that current death tolls are less than the 1999 flu. The social distancing has helped… what else?

Increasing number of infectious diseases

I don’t usually trust statistics. Death rates are basically guesses in this current scenario where we don’t even have accurate testing. The trend to watch here is the increasing number of infectious diseases. This is not the end of it. It is certain: we all must incorporate preventative health practices into our everyday lives as if our lives depended on it. 

Could preventative medicine decrease the need for social distancing?
What if we all washed our hands 5x a day and took vitamin D from here on?
Could public health officials call off the mask-wearing? (Studies on mask wearing indicate that they barely provide marginal protection) 

Onto more trends…

Who is actually dying from this coronavirus?

It’s not folks with asthma, as we had feared. And it’s none-a-ya’ll because hopefully you’re the people who followed the recommendations in my early March 2020 virus article and your blood levels of vitamin D and vitamin C are soaring. I’ll show you here the trends in research that are supporting those recommendations. Let’s make sure your dosing is right. 

Obesity, hypertension, and diabetes are FAR more threatening than lung disease if you’re going to get SARS-CoV-2 slobbered on you (Richardson, 2020).  If you are a person with exaggerated immune responses or you are diagnosed with obesity, hypertension or diabetes take note.  Your recommendations for health recovery may be beyond the scope of this article. Please check in with your naturopathic doctor.

By the way…

Coronavirus is the name of a family of viruses

SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the virus

COVID is the condition / disease developed by infection from SARS- CoV-2

Vitamin D deficiency

Controlling for all other conditions, vitamin D deficiency is by far looking like the deadliest condition for people infected with SARS-CoV-2.  We know that 50-70% of Americans are deficient in vitamin D (less than 30ng/mL in the blood). We here in the PNW really have almost no UVB exposure, so we are not making vitamin D.  People with darker skin are even more likely to be vitamin D deficient. Humans as a whole are living more indoor lives.

There is growing evidence that the majority of people who have more difficult cases of COVID are vitamin D deficient. A study done in the Philippines indicated that people with sufficient vitamin D in their blood are nearly 20x less likely to have a severe case of COVID. 

An Indonesian study showed that 98% of the people with inefficient vitamin D levels died from COVID-19. Only 4% of people, who died had sufficient vitamin D levels, died from COVID-19…

How does vitamin D help your body? 

Oh gosh. Vitamin D is such a huge player. Not only does it help us absorb calcium and phosphorus (we’re always building bone!), but it plays a crucial role in our innate immune response. Vitamin D has countless roles as a hormone to support healthy communication throughout the body. According to research, there is a huge list of diseases associated with vitamin D deficiency. 

Note: Obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes- all of those conditions that are at high risk of worsening COVID reaction- are all improved with vitamin D supplementation. 

Should I get my vitamin D levels tested? 

Maybe. The test can often be added to your lab order and cost between $40-$300. Insurance companies classically refuse to pay for this testing and are generally not in the business of prevention. Check with your naturopathic doctor and we can figure out how to get your levels tested.

There are so many reasons you’re deficient in vitamin D. Just take it. Consistently. All year long. You need weekly or daily dosing to keep your levels up. 5000 IU daily is a good dose (or 50,000 IU a week. Don’t take it less than weekly). If you’re in the sun all the time or have been taking vitamin D for a while, you can take 2000 IU a day. You can buy vitamin D supplements through my Fullscript online dispensary. 

Should I take vitamin C? 

The trends among vitamin C studies indicate that when dosed correctly, vitamin C is likely a huge player in our body’s immune response. Testing is possible, but I would recommend taking it no matter what. 

The vitamin C answer is less direct, because we don’t have studies trending with SARS-CoV-2 and vitamin C. Basic facts about vitamin C leave me confident at recommending this powerful antioxidant. Researcher Rhonda Patrick, PhD was recently interviewed on Joe Rogan’s podcast and highlighted her monograph on vitamin C. 

Rhonda got me to alter my dosing of vitamin C to 1 gram doses 3x a day, because it’s far more bioavailable taken this way (instead of 3 grams at a time- which doesn’t get the blood levels consistently high). Studies show vitamin C dramatically reduces the duration and intensity of the common cold. Vitamin C improves the benefits of exercise. You might recall the article where I discussed the risks of the past coronaviruses leading to neurodegenerative disease (Alzheimers, Parkinsons, etc). We don’t have long term studies with SARS-CoV-2 to know if the same risks apply, but I’ll take my vitamin C just to be sure. Vitamin C likely decreases the risk of neurodegenerative diseases.

Vitamin C in Food

Foods that are highest in vitamin C are yellow bell peppers, kiwi and guava. Due to availability, I eat yellow bell peppers every day. I love roasting them down, chopping them up, throwing them in salsas or tacos. You get more vitamin C if they’re raw.

Should I take herbal medicine for prevention?

This leads me to elderberry. We have studies of elderberry action with influenza. Elderberry blocks viral proteins and prevents propagation of viruses (Golnosh, 2019). 

We don’t have any studies for elder and SARS-CoV-2 and we have even less studies on the bioavailability of the hella antioxidants (including vitamin C) in elderberries. I’m still taking it for my immune health and nutritional boost to support my cardiovascular health. My love affair with elderberry goes back to 2006 when I started collecting it right on a railroad. That’s totally dumb because of how contaminated that soil was, but I still thought the extract I made was the most life-giving medicine I’d ever tasted. I estimate that Dr. Appleseed’s elderberry extract has about 1000x more medicine per serving than the other leading elderberry on the market.  That means you can stretch the tiny dose into your 3 daily doses and hopefully absorb the benefits even more. 

If you know of other foods rich in vitamin C, please leave a resource in the comments! I’ve shifted my dosing of elderberry from a swig a day to ¼ teaspoon 3x a day (Dr. Appleseed’s extract).

Should I get my genetics tested? 

Genetic science is growing fast. We believe there are genetic factors that play a huge role in how well someone reacts to SARS-CoV-2 infection. We are gaining enough data to make genetic testing useful. 

People with chronic health issues like hypertension, diabetes, and obesity could especially use genetic testing to make the choices that will have the biggest impact on their health.  I typically recommend you start with a 23 and Me test and work with your provider regularly to understand the latest research that is developing around your unique genetic make-up. 

Should I get my blood type tested?

Interesting trend of research:
Your Blood Type might help or hurt you when it comes to SARS-CoV-2. 
Do you have type O blood? Looks like you have a superpower here.
People with type O blood might be less likely to have COVID symptoms.  Our science around blood type impacting our immune system is growing. I often recommend the blood type diet for people who have goals for improving their immune function.  Type A blood folks have increased risk of difficult outcomes.

Is SARS-Co-V-2 viral testing important? 

Notice that I’ve talked about vitamin D testing, genetic testing, and blood type testing before bringing up SARS-CoV-2 testing? 

We just simply don’t have accurate testing available. 

By the looks of it, WAY more people get SARS-CoV-2 exposure than we know of. The PCR tests are most likely to catch the presence of viruses within the first 5 days of the virus entering the body, and even then, they might miss it. Symptoms often do not show up until 5 days into the virus. We only have a 40% chance of catching it if testing after day 5 (American Society for Microbiology, 2020). Our current return-to-work policies are based on whether or not people have tested positive. So, if we’ve been around people, we’ve probably been exposed to a hidden virus. 

I don’t like these statistics claiming the percentage of people who are likely to have severe COVID. How do we count the millions of people who have likely had the infection, but they don’t have positive SARS-CoV-2 test results? The actual percentage of people with SARS-CoV-2 infection who have severe symptoms is far lower than fear statistics might imply. 

Let’s say you had symptoms of coronavirus in February. Is there a way to confirm you’ve had it? No. The antibody testing we have is barely accurate. So, don’t bother.  And, no. We won’t be scanned for our antibodies in order to travel any time soon. (WHO does not recommend “immunity passports”.)

Will Vaccinations Save Us? 

The SARS- CoV-2 pandemic has been amazing for directing the attention of a broad scientific community. But, even with this, I don’t anticipate a miracle vaccine becoming available soon. 

Viruses are very difficult to control with vaccinations. We have some new CoV-2 mutations and we’re not sure if we’ll end up with new strains. Hopefully, science will reign with an effective vaccine. But, it could also go the way of the flu vaccine. According to a Cochrane Review, the 2014 flu is an example of a vaccine with little use: flu vaccinations had a 1.4% response rate. 

Viral vaccinations make me nervous because it’s difficult at this stage of scientific development to know who will respond well and who will not. The SARS-CoV-1 virus vaccination studies showed unhealthy enhancement of immune function and even death. Luckily, the current vaccine efforts are going at it in a completely different way.  Many citizens are concerned that even with these circumstances, congress would recommend mass vaccination.

My family is in the vaccine business. Uncle Dr. Ervin is a primary investigator for one of the Gates-funded SARS Cov-2 vaccination studies. That is brave work, but hopefully less dangerous and different enough from the CoV-1 vaccinations.  In privileged societies such as our own, we don’t need to sit in our isolation chambers and wait for a vaccination to work. 

Join me! Let’s see if the naturopathic way can work. 

1. I’m eating vegetables at every meal. 

2. I’m taking 50000 IU vitamin D weekly.

3. I’m eating vitamin C rich foods and dosing 1 gram of Vitamin C 3x a day. 

4. I’m washing my hands at least 5x a day (see study report). 

5. I clean with only products from EPA’s safer-choice list.. 

Oh, a moment with sanitation and hygiene! 

Our antibacterial society is destroying the biosphere. Be the solution. 

Focus on keeping your hands off your face and wash your hands 5x a day or more with old fashioned soap (try Dr. Bronner’s). 

If the virus can survive on a surface for 3 days, some of us jump to the conclusion that surfaces should be sterilized regularly. But, actually, bleach and ammonia are unsafe for our indoor air health, can worsen lung infections, and further lead to superbugs. We have ample evidence that the antibacterial approach to home care is detrimental to the future health of children.

Thank you to everyone who is trying to teach America that we should de-militarize our society and train our police to be peace makers.

Thank you to the politicians who are trying to stop viral transmission. 

Thank you to the scientists who are conducting studies. 

Thank you to the emergency medicine workers who are keeping people safe. 

Dedicated to my loving friends at the Lookout Arts Quarry who show me that living your truth comes in all kinds of sparkling colors. Thank you healthy people for the movement, the expression, and the weirdness.



Sources: 

Coronation: https://charleseisenstein.org/essays/the-coronation/?_page=3

Demicheli  V, Jefferson  T, Al‐Ansary  LA, Ferroni  E, Rivetti  A, Di Pietrantonj  C. Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2014, Issue 3. Art. No.: CD001269. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001269.pub5.

Golnoosh Torabian, Peter Valtchev, Qayyum Adil, Fariba Dehghani. Anti-influenza activity of elderberry (Sambucus nigra). Journal of Functional Foods, 2019; 54: 353 DOI: 10.1016/j.jff.2019.01.031

Karlen, Arno. Man and Microbes: disease and plagues in the history and modern times. New York : Simon & Schuster,1996.

Krasner, Robert; Shors, Teri. The Microbial Challenge: A Public Health Perspective. Jones and Bartlett Publishers,  2014. 

Raharusun, Prabowo and Priambada, Sadiah and Budiarti, Cahni and Agung, Erdie and Budi, Cipta, Patterns of COVID-19 Mortality and Vitamin D: An Indonesian Study (April 26, 2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3585561 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3585561

Richardson S, Hirsch JS, Narasimhan M, et al. Presenting Characteristics, Comorbidities, and Outcomes Among 5700 Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19 in the New York City Area. JAMA. 2020;323(20):2052–2059. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.6775

Roden DM, Harrington RA, Poppas A, Russo AM. Considerations for Drug Interactions on QTc Interval in Exploratory COVID-19 Treatment [published online ahead of print, 2020 Apr 14]. Heart Rhythm. 2020;S1547-5271(20)30347-7. doi:10.1016/j.hrthm.2020.04.016