15/07/2020
A message from our partners in the USA, OC Breast Wellness
July 2020 Update from Dr. Hough
COVID-19 What is in Your Medicine Cabinet?
You would think by now we would know a great deal about the disease Covid-19 and the virus that causes it. Unfortunately, we don’t.
Some things we do know for sure. The vast majority of antibody tests that were on the market were worthless. The exception appears to be the one provided by Labcorp. We also know that there are no proven treatments for Covid-19. But there is compelling data now regarding transmission. The data points to airborne transmission from micro droplets.
Think of second hand smoke in a restaurant. Everyone is affected. Face masks do work to lower transmission. A quote from a recent NPR report "Clearly, the data shows that every model and study that we have seen, every public health policy in the world has said exactly the same thing," says Abba Gumel, who led the ASU project, 'We have to wear a face mask.' Another quote from that same article “A model from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation shows that near-universal wearing of cloth or homemade masks could prevent between 17,742 and 28,030 deaths across the US before Oct. 1. Masks and physical distancing work.
We also know that those with the worse outcomes from Covid-19 are those like me over 70 and those with comorbidities like high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, insulin résistance and chronic lung issues. Hmmm that’s the majority of us. So what else can we do? You have heard of silent carriers, those that have the virus but don’t have symptoms. The experts seem to be at a loss as to why. I’m certain that there is more than one reason but in my opinion those people that have no symptoms or very mild ones have an immune system that is operating sufficiently to ward off the virus. So what can we do to give our immune systems what they need for optimal functioning?
This is what I do every day to optimize my immune system. First and formost, I’ve optimized my levels of Vitamin D to a level between 60 and 80 ng/ml by taking a sublingual dose of vitamin D of 5000 international units. I also take vitamin C with quercetin from Life Extension Foundation 500 mg twice a day, Vitamin K2, a chelated zinc, vitamin A, a high quality fish oil from Apex Energetics, and a scoop of a blend of mycelia called Stamets 7.
I also take some extra quercetin and green tea extract to help move the zinc into the cell. I use low dose melatonin at night. I try to keep my gut microbiome in good shape by eating fermented foods and taking a probiotic from Life Extension called FLORASSIST® GI with Phage Technology. (BTW there is some debate as to how they help. Apparently it’s not by recolonizing the gut but by other mechanisms). I exercise daily, eat a plant based diet, get adequate rest and try not to get too stressed.
At the first sign of any illness I’m going to up my Stamets 7 to 3 scoops a day, I’ll switch my zinc to a zinc acetate lozenge from LEF, take garlic, elderberry, andrographis, and lactoferrin and increase my melatonin a lot, some recommend as much as 20 mg and more. I’ll add NAC to my protocol. I keep all of these on hand just in case.
I will also cut out all sugar as we know that even a little has a dramatic negative effect on our immune system. I’ll use some technology from Germany that has the potential to really improve my immunity but that’s way beyond the scope of this article as is a discussion of our genetics and in particular a genetic mutation that I have known as MTHFR. I’ll leave that for another post.
Have you wondered why the elderly have such bad outcomes as opposed to those that are younger? No question they have more of the issues I mentioned previously including low levels of vitamin D but they also have an impaired immune system called immune senescence that begins in many at age 60 and for some earlier in life. Immune senescence is a leading cause of death and disability in the elderly. Fortunately, there’s an herb called Cistanche that appears to have a rejuvenating effect on our immune systems. I’ve just read about this and plan to add this to my protocol. For more on this please see: https://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2020/7/when-your-immune-function-falls.
And for references to the supplements, herbs, etc. please see these articles from the Institute of Functional Medicine. https://www.ifm.org/news-insights/the-functional-medicine-approach-to-covid-19-virus-specific-nutraceutical-and-botanical-agents/
https://www.ifm.org/news-insights/functional-medicine-approach-covid-19-additional-research-nutraceuticals-botanicals/
If these are too technical they have these articles for the layperson on their website.
To recap there is more that we don’t know about Covid-19 than we know. Even the experts like the CDC and WHO are not on the same page about everything. But I think something we can all agree on is that physical distancing and face coverings lower transmission rates and save lives.
Yours in good health,
Dr. Charles Hough
FDA Disclaimer. The statements made regarding these products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The efficacy of these products has not been confirmed by FDA-approved research. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Standardized botanicals improve protective immune factors while reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6). Cistanche counteracts immune senescence.
