Long Covid Can Be Handled

Find out…

• The 3 pillars functional health… Having this knowledge can lead you to a better understanding of your symptoms and developing strategies.
• The 3 pillars of tissue defense and proliferation control… OK. Few individuals understand how body, mind, spirit  balance is vital to control out-of-control diseased tissue expansion (proliferation).
• The incredible benefit of homeostasis… Homeostasis means balance. You come to me for a reason. My goal is to get you back to feeling great so you can do what you love and contribute to your community, perhaps even the world.
• A recently published study published in the journal JAMA Network Open estimates that about 50% of COVID-19 patients face long-term symptoms the same number as vaccinated individuals and their significant others. Vaccines shed between significant others. Best to take steps to improve immune function and reduce inflammation.

According to health records, between 7.7 and 23 million US individuals have COVID symptoms lasting four months beyond the viral infection.

Symptoms of long COVID vary from person to person. They may include fatigue, cognitive impairment (or “brain fog”), muscle or joint pain, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, sleep difficulties, and mood changes (see fig. 1). Long COVID can affect multiple organ systems and cause tissue damage. Everyone is different—these are the most common…

Long COVID or even chronic non-COVID symptoms are the same. It’s all about inflammation. Symptoms of chronic inflammation include:

• If you have blood tests, you’ll see your total white cell count less than 5.0 in most cases.
• High blood sugar because your liver is trying to provide energy to manage inflammation from any source.
• Liver enzymes (AST, ALT especially) lower than 20 meaning too many free radicals and not enough antioxidants.
• Women: Changes in the menstrual cycle (which usually stems from a digestive/microbiome imbalance including and especially sugar handling from processed foods)
• Fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Loss of sense of taste or smell
• Difficulty concentrating
• Muscle ache
• Headaches
• Cough
• Memory loss
• High temperature
• Sore throat
• Brain fog (which usually stems from a digestive/microbiome imbalance)

What Causes Long COVID Symptoms?

Your immune system is on overdrive but is not detecting and eradicating the residual COVID spike protein.

Why?

Once the virus infects a cell, it inserts its genetic information into the cell’s normal information. This is akin to mutations—in other words the cell’s genetic information is now damaged. Cells use a process called “autophagy” to clean up damaged organelles or protein accumulations or activate programmed cell death when the cell is severely damaged.

It’s important that cells are able to fully self regulate by handling their own damage to keep the immune system from creating compounds that cause the sickness sensations.

For some, COVID-19 may cause the body to produce an antibody that mimics SARS-CoV-2 and triggers an autoimmune response in which the immune system attacks its own antibodies. For others, SARS-CoV-2 virus may persist in the body and cause symptoms. Another possible cause is organ damage from COVID-19. Research also suggests that microclots may form in blood vessels, blocking blood flow and causing tissue damage. And COVID-19 may disrupt the immune system and reactivate other previously contracted viruses, such as Epstein-Barr (mononucleosis) or residual chicken pox (herpes symplex) or Lyme.

 

To the point: Let’s feel better and be productive!

Here’s what the research shows…

Risk factors include preexisting conditions, such as type 2 diabetes. Heart medications that increase the severity of COVID-19 although people with mild or asymptomatic infections can also develop the syndrome. Control these using dietary strategies.

Whether vaccination for COVID-19 reduces an infected person’s risk of developing long COVID—or can cause it—Is unclear. Some studies have suggested that vaccination reduces risk by a mere 15 percent. Recall, the vaccines were not tested for long and have since been retracted in Florida and other states. Due to unwanted effects, vaccines are no longer mandated despite marketing pressure.

So let’s feel better: here’s how…

Please no Self Prescription. Costly and can be dangerous depending on other medications and health situations.

There is some research starting now in this field, but it’s still in its infancy. Before starting any supplement, please consult with me so I can check it using Nutrition Response Testing—this matches a remedy to you as an individual.

Please—an anti-inflammatory diet is vital—supplements cannot out-run that. Please start here:  http://synergynutrition.info/2019/09/01/ It is vital to remove sugars and processed foods.

There are several whole food and natural strategies that help and certainly can do no harm.

Step 1: Detoxify and promote autophagy

Autophagy (pronounced “ah-TAH-fah-gee”) is your body’s process of reusing, repairing, or destroying damaged cell parts. Cells are the basic building blocks of every tissue and organ in your body. Each cell contains multiple parts that keep it functioning called organelles. Over time, these parts can become defective or stop working entirely. By repairing or making new organelles many cells can heal and regain function. If they are too damaged they may start a cycle of programmed cell death.

In SARS-COVID-19, it is thought that in the early spread of infection—basically the virus inserting itself into the cell and then providing genetic instructions to hijack cell functions and cause the cell to make more of the virus—the infection can be less if the cells are given the genuine building blocks to heal and repair themselves. Lacking these each can become so damaged it commits suicide or programmed cell death.

This is a nonimmune response and is managed by each individual cell. Therefore the immune-driven cytokine storm SARS-COVID-19 made infamous is minimal.

There are certain foods and habits that support genuine building blocks and minimize other stressors including removing toxic waste from the body.

Nutritional strategies backed by scientific literature

Green Tea has a compound called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) that may do both. Furthermore it supports a balanced gut microbiome. Drink many cups per day. Also see Quercitin below as it is found in many teas.

Resveratrol is a polyphenol with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and resveratrol has been found to protect against oxidative damage in high-risk conditions like cancer, diabetes, heart diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and microbial infections. Resveratrol is enriched in peanuts, berries, and red grapes.

Consider the Standard Process 21-day cleanse

One of the few natural products that have been tested in COVID patients includes prebiotics (their food) and probiotics (the various strains). Long COVID patients often complain of digestive problems, including abdominal discomfort and diarrhea. This may be caused by disruption to their gut microbiota, with significant losses of good bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. It is likely that using prebiotics and probiotics can regulate the balance of intestinal microbiota and reduce the risk of secondary infection in those patients.

While no studies so far evaluated the use of probiotics for the management of long COVID-19, according to the International Scientific Association of Probiotics and Prebiotics, there are a number of trials occurring using various blends—all of which contains Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus.

In my practice, I have great success with blends of various strains that perform the functions of a healthy gut microbiome after the existing one has become imbalanced.

Foods high in arginine and ornithine are converted into spermidine and spermine in us. These are a family of compounds that come primarily from plants including nuts and seeds. They have been shown to protect against age-related memory loss and in many can even rescue memory, they are cardioprotective, anti inflammatory, and antioxidants. It is thought these protective characteristics are due to increased autophagy. Both nutrients inhibited SARS-CoV-2 infection and appeared to do so by inducing viral degradation in endolysosomes—basically a part of the membrane that breaks off and carries the internalized cell resource or in this case SARS-COVID to other parts of the cell.

Turmeric is a spice with many medicinal properties and is a rich source of curcumin naturally found in the rhizome of turmeric (Curcuma longa). Curcumin has antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties, and it has been used against arthritis, bacterial infections, metabolic syndrome, anxiety, and high cholesterol. Curcumin has anti-viral effects against a broad spectrum of viruses including herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), HIV-1, zikavirus, influenza virus, hepatitis virus, and human papillomavirus (HPV). It’s thought curcumin does this by causing the endolysosomes to become more acidic thus suppressing viral function.

You must try my Turmeric Latte here: https://ournutritionkitchen.com/drinks-smoothies/turmeric-latte/ it includes ginger and cinnamon that also have anti-inflammatory and antiviral activities. It tastes so good!

One more thing regarding Turmeric use the root or make sure you get very high quality supplements. They have to be formulated just right to be absorbed. It also has to be very high quality. Go with a turmeric from a professional who understands this. If it is not sold through a professional, it most likely isn’t good.

Quercetin is a flavonoid present in many plants and foods including onions, red wine, berries, green tea, apples, ginkgo biloba, and buckwheat. Quercetin has a broad range of usefulness including being anti-inflammatory, attenuating lipid peroxidation (oxidation—rancidity), inhibiting blood platelet clotting, inducing cell death in cancer cells by enhancing autophagy and lysosomal activity. Quercetin displays a broad range of antiviral properties; it interferes with virus entry, replication, and assembly. Quercetin can suppress SARS-CoV-2 infection but has yet to be tested against COVID-19.

Despite a lack of robust clinical trials, these are all foods and the only good reason not to consume them is a true allergy.

And More: Elimination and Detoxification are Vital—10 options—pick a few that fit your lifestyle

• Make sure to get enough water. Less, and your intestines will conserve by reabsorbing water leaving tighter stools that don’t move through well. Half your weight in ounces of clean and hydrating water every day. but that’s not enought…
  • Electrolytes; here’s my recipe approved my sports physician: https://ournutritionkitchen.com/drinks-smoothies/electrolyte-replacement-drink-goodbye-gatorade/
• Movement and lymphasize—gentle, relaxing movements help internally too. Do this old yoga posture: Before getting out of bed in the morning, bring your knees to your chest for several deep breaths. Alternately, squat for a minute in the morning while relaxing your abdominal muscles to stimulate and help produce bowel movements.
• Minimize stress. Really. Stress causes the “fight or flight” sympathetic nervous system to dominate. This tightens abdominal muscles and slows intestinal rhythm.
• Dress your food with plenty of clean oils (like the olive oil in the lemon tonic) Healthful fats and oils lubricate and exchange for rancid oils being eliminated by the body, all helping bowel movement.

• • Combine: 1 tablespoon of organic extra virgin olive oil and half a squeezed lemon. Do not use bottled lemon juice, it lacks live enzymes. Most effective if you drink it. Can also be used as salad dressing or drizzled on veggies, fish…

• Chew your food—slow down! Enjoy your meal.
• Stimulate your bile—eat bitter greens (It’s always dandelion season LOLI other bile stimulating foods such as artichokes (actually the stem is more active),
• In addition to helping us digest fats, bile acids and salts are laxative, help kill infections and parasites in the intestines, have been shown to kill cancerous cells, and unlike most digestive aids which are “sympathetic dominant” bile salts invoke a relaxed, healing, parasympathetic state.

• Focus on fiber—but not hard fiber additives that can actually cause abrasions to your intestinal lining.
  • Add 1 Tablespoon of chia seeds to some coconut or almond milk (or kefir) and allow to sit overnight in the fridge—then make your AM breakfast smoothie with this.
  • A staple of health, add even more cooked vegetables to your day: greens that stimulate bile and bowel include chard, kale, artichoke (all cooked).
• Again, never use hard, intestine-abrading fibers.
• Take your Toxin Eliminator bath. The bath should be at least 20 minutes long, hot water and one cup of unscented Epsom salt—the magnesium you absorb from the Epsom salts can help with bowel movement (and a long list of other things). You also begin to eliminate toxic waste through your skin. These things start happening best until the water just begins to cool, about 20 minutes.

If you don’t have a full bathtub, use a foot soak.

• Drink a cup of plain filtered or spring water, then lie on your right side for about 30 minutes (read a good book?) your stomach and your small intestine should begin to relax and the liquid helps move things through.
• Harness the relaxing power of Epsom Salts to help move the bowels if they’ve become ‘stuck’. Dissolve 1-3 teaspoons of Epsom Salts in a glass of chilled water & drink before bed—expect a purge within 12 hours although some people report cramping as the stools move through. Drink plenty of fluids, especially chamomile tea.

Step 1 with 2: Repair

“They (spike proteins) can trigger blood coagulation, and they are neurally toxic.”

–Pfizer former vice president & worldwide head of respiratory research, Dr. Mike Yeadon.

You’ve done the hard part—changed up some habits and routines. Hopefully you are feeling better already. Repair includes keeping as many of these steps going as you can.

Next up, is to use specific systemic enzymes to resolve cardiovascular and circulatory systems damaged from the spike proteins. These also fix fibrous blood clots and microclots.

What is a systemic enzyme? Most of us think of digestive enzymes as those that help digest food: Digestive. Enzymes are used throughout the body to support many functions. If it goes systemic, it supports better circulation, cardiovascular health, and basically helps the body clean out. A good systemic enzyme will be a blend that breaks down fibrins that hold blood clots together, helps the body break down fats that may be building up on blood vessel walls and lowers blood pressure by inhibiting angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) the very target that helps the COVID virus invade the cells.

There are two quality formulations that I know by a company that does nothing but enzyme preparations:

• Natto LP—a blend of Nattokinase, proteases, lipases, amylases to break down the main nutrients of protein, fats, carbohydrates.
• Cardio Support—a blend of many of the herbs listed above along with digestive enzymes.

Because these are supplements, I highly recommend you use Nutrition Response Testing to get the right fit for you.

Step 3: Restore—Take care of your genetic health

There is no more horrible feeling than being deprived of the full joys of life and living. We need to take care of our genetic health.

But how? Weren’t we born with our unique DNA and it is hardwired into us at birth?

No. This is a tough concept for many who have been told… “My mom had it, my dad had it, his dad had it…” and it is logical to think you received your genes from them which is why you have it. Yes, you received their genes—it’s not true you have to get their health issues.

There is something called the epigenome, which controls gene activation and expression. Here’s how it works: Most of us have seen images of the 23 pairs of human chromosomes. If not, look below. See how tightly wound they are? Only those genes on the surface are accessible by the other cell parts that can “read” the genetic blueprint and make those things the cell, and ultimately, the human body needs. Any gene buried inside the structure will not be expressed. Not even all on the surface will be expressed. Elements called histones (see diagram) are either tightly wrapped together by the DNA or spread apart. If they are tightly wrapped together, the DNA they hold is inaccessible; if there are exposed sections, those instructions can be seen and become our health status. This is very changeable depending on environmental conditions.

Several factors control this and  this starts before conception.

• If the environment in the mom’s and dad’s world is hostile the child is more likely to be born with “protective” DNA exposed. This could mean anything from food and environment allergies, psychological stress… anything.
• If the environment is happy, healthy, good activities, the individual at any age is more robust and balanced.
• The main ones we know are nutrition, behavior, stress, physical activity, working habits—especially shift work, smoking and alcohol consumption.
• All that said, epigenetic changes occurred with SARS-COVID-2 and have with many other viruses as well as pneumonia and other health situations. Some have been measured with COVID-19.

Using diet, lifestyle, activity, stress management is how you use epigenetics to control your health despite any genetic predisposition. For example, the virus infects the cell and the cell cannot win this wrestling match because it is already set up to see itself as defective. The “cytokine storm” is the result of a fairly immediate epigenetic shift both to create the cytokines and then as a cellular response to it. People who were generally healthy did not have such an extreme response. People who were already ill in other ways, whose bodies already understood the environment was dangerous, did poorly.

You control how your cells change and what is their starting point. By maintaining the proper diet, lifestyle, and specific nutritional supplements unique to you, your epigenome can be restored and improved which will protect you from many unwanted physical effects.

Once you are feeling well, Keep doing as many of the good habits we’ve discussed.

 

Be Brilliant!  XO

 

References

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