General Wellness

QUERCETIN. I was asked my thoughts on quercetin as a supplement. I had read a few weeks ago about research on this flavonoid and its potential ability to impair the coronavirus’s ability to bind to cell surface receptors or possibly act as a coronavirus inhibitor, providing support for regulating the body’s inflammation response to the virus. Quercetin is a polyphenol, a plant-derived micronutrient, and is found in many foods, such as leafy vegetables, onions, oregano, broccoli, apples, berries, ginkgo biloba, green tea and red wine. Another well known flavonoid is RESVERATROL, which in addition to being a potent antioxidant, has been shown to impact on longevity in many animal models.

As with many other supplements and even medical treatments, the jury is still out on what works and what doesn’t. In general, however, flavonoids are potent antioxidants and keep inflammation in the body at bay, thus allowing our immune system to focus on more important things like, identifying and killing foreign invaders.

The best source of plant quercetin, as is the case with all phytochemicals, is still fresh fruit and vegetables. Although there are no significant side effects at regular doses (some headaches and GI upset at really high doses), it can interact with some blood pressure medications and antibiotics so be careful and consult your doctor. Any benefit you might glean from the supplement could be counteracted by uncontrolled blood pressure which puts you at greater risk of getting really sick from the virus.

MELATONIN. I forgot to mention this one in my original post. Although it is actually a hormone (it was originally developed as a contraceptive!), the sleep hormone melatonin has also been shown to potentially impact on how the coronavirus binds to cellular receptors, impairing its ability to replicate. It also acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. It does not have any side effects however be careful of the dose. 1 mg is plenty. Circulating levels are much lower normally.

Stay safe and be well.

AC 😎✌️🌱❤🐖🏃🏻🧘🏻‍♂️🌎

Reality check.
I heard a comment this morning on CNN (I do trust Sanjay Gupta) about the estimations of when this whole thing will “peak”. There are lots of estimates and models and they vary region by region because of varying degrees of isolation and hence, disease progression. In our area (Philly and surrounding suburbs), it is somewhere in the mid May to mid June timeframe.

But the “peak” does not herald the end of the pandemic. The day before the peak will be the worst day. Guess what? The day after the peak will be the second worst day. Although the rate of decrease of cases is likely to be faster than the degree of increase, there is still a curve downwards. An each region will hit a peak at a different time, meaning that people will still get infected everywhere as we start to lift restrictions.
What this means is that this will probably be going on for many months. Some out there are predicting as long as a couple of years for complete resolution but again, there is a lot we don’t know about how this virus behaves andf how the epidemiology will evolve.
Will we develop immunity if we were infected? Probably but not known.
Will a vaccine work? Maybe but who knows.
Will this become a yearly virus, just like the Flu? Maybe. It seems to be mutating at a much greater rate than influenza (as much as 1000x times faster) so that in general means that it will likely die off but we just don’t know.
A lot of questions with few definitive answers. What IS for sure, is that if you stay at home and limit your exposure to the outside world, you won’t get sick.
If you get a delivery and can do without it for a few days, let the box sit in the garage so if the contents or the box are comtaminated, the virus will die. 3 days is a good bet for cardboard.
If you must go out, wear a mask (yes that is now the recommendation) and wash, wash, wash your hands. Clean your purchased items immediately and again, if it can sit for a few days in the garage on a table, do it. Certainly things like packaged or boxed items can sit.
Stay safe and be well.
AC 😎✌️🌱❤🐖🏃🏻🧘🏻‍♂️🌎