Category: Bacteria, Viruses, Fungi, Parasites

In our continuing series on compounds that can have a positive impact on prevention of viral infections as well as improving response to infections today I want to highlight Vitamin D.

Vitamin D not only acts as a vitamin but also as a prohormone and it influences hundreds of biochemical processes in human physiology.

Following is a press release from the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service which provides details on how Vitamin D could reduce the risk of influenza and COVID-19 infection and death.

Copyright © 2020 Robert Lamberton

All rights reserved

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, Apr 9, 2020

Vitamin D Supplements Could Reduce Risk of Influenza and COVID-19 Infection and Death

by William B. Grant, PhD and Carole A. Baggerly

(OMNS Apr 9, 2020) There are two main reasons why respiratory tract infections such as influenza and COVID-19 occur in winter: winter sun and weather and low vitamin D status. Many viruses live longer outside the body when sunlight, temperature, and humidity levels are low as they are in winter [1].Vitamin D is an important component of the body’s immune system, and it is low in winter due to low solar ultraviolet-B (UVB) doses from exposure and the low supplement intakes of most. While nothing can be done about winter sun and weather, vitamin D status can be raised through vitamin D supplements.

Vitamin D has several mechanisms that can reduce risk of infections [2]. Important mechanisms regarding respiratory tract infections include:

  • inducing production of cathelicidins and defensins that can lower viral survival and replication rates as well as reduce risk of bacterial infection
  • reducing the cytokine storm that causes inflammation and damage to the lining of the lungs that can lead to pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Vitamin D deficiency has been found to contribute to acute respiratory distress syndrome, a major cause of death associated with COVID-19 [3]. An analysis of case-fatality rates in 12 U.S. communities during the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic found that communities in the sunny south and west had much lower case-fatality rates (generally from pneumonia) than those in the darker northeast [4].

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It has been suggested that reported statistics on the severity and the number of deaths resulting from infection from the COVID-19 virus have been exaggerated:

Here is what the New England Journal of Medicine
(NEJM) recently had to say on this topic:

The prestigious New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) in an article entitled Covid-19 — Navigating the Uncharted provides the following definition:

The overall clinical consequences of Covid-19 may ultimately be more akin to those of a severe seasonal influenza (which has a case fatality rate of approximately 0.1%) or a pandemic influenza (similar to those in 1957 and 1968) rather than a disease similar to SARS or MERS, which have had case fatality rates of 9 to 10% and 36%, respectively.“

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Copyright © 2020 Robert Lamberton

All rights reserved

Continuing on with our discussion on strategies to help to protect against viruses in general and the SARS-CoV-2 virus in particular, today I want to highlight zinc.

As I have in previous posts, I want to make it clear that any of these recommendations I share are not intended to suggest that you should not access medical care if you suspect you may have contracted or been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus – or any other serious illness.

Numerous clinical trials have clearly demonstrated that zinc is effective against viruses – including the common cold.

Some MDs have started to incorporate the use of zinc in a protocol which also includes Hydroxychloroquine – an old generation malaria drug with Azithromycin – an antibiotic.

In this anecdotal report from Vladimir (Zev) Zelenko MD who is based in Monroe, NY in his protocol he prescribed 200 mg of zinc sulfate per day for five days for active SARS-CoV-2 virus infections.

Typical zinc supplements are typically approximately 15 – 30 mg per day – this would be for ongoing health maintenance but not necessarily active viral infections.

Recent feedback has shown that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can initially become very active in the nose and throat areas and a zinc spray has traditionally been used for helping to target viral infections in these areas. Zinc sprays are often combined with other ingredients such as echinacea and they are available at most health food stores.

One consideration with respect to zinc consumption is that you need to be careful because there is a balance in the body between zinc and copper.

Some zinc supplements also include added copper – typically approximately 2 mg per day.

Consult a knowledgeable health care practitioner for more precise information on recommended dosages.

Zinc is another compound that we have available to help to maintain our state of health and to help to prevent viral infections – but also it can be a valuable tool for active infections.

I want to share another in a series of simple tips you can follow to help to protect yourself from the SARS-CoV-2 virus or any viral or bacterial infection – such as the flu and colds.

However I want to make it clear that any of these recommendations are not intended to suggest that you should not access medical care if you suspect you may have contracted or been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Consumption of sodium bicarbonate – baking soda can help to alkalinize the pH of the body and microbes do not do well in alkaline environments.

It is important when consuming sodium bicarbonate that you use a baking soda without aluminum – this will typically be stated on the packaging.

Arm & Hammer is the most popular brand which is aluminum free.

It is also important to monitor your pH when you are doing this with pH paper strips for both the urine and saliva.

pH strips are available from most medical supply companies.


Dr. Sircus has a great article on this topic on his blog

His suggestion is to raise your urinary pH up to 8.0 being guided by testing with the pH strips and typically the infection will resolve within a few days.

Here is some of the information from his article:

The dosage varies with one’s pH readings of both urine and saliva and the condition being treated. Maximum dosage is right on the Arm & Hammer box, which is seven half-teaspoons a day for a full grown adult under age 60 and three half-teaspoons for people over age 60. One has to check their pH daily in the morning and after a bicarbonate bath, which can be made quite strong.

“The proven value of Arm & Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda as a therapeutic agent is further evinced by the following evidence of a prominent physician named Dr. Volney S. Cheney, in a letter to the Church & Dwight Company:

“In 1918 and 1919 while fighting the ‘Flu’ with the U. S. Public Health Service it was brought to my attention that rarely any one who had been thoroughly alkalinized with bicarbonate of soda contracted the disease, and those who did contract it, if alkalinized early, would invariably have mild attacks. I have since that time treated all cases of ‘Cold,’ Influenza and LaGripe by first giving generous doses of Bicarbonate of Soda, and in many, many instances within 36 hours the symptoms would have entirely abated. Further, within my own household, before Woman’s Clubs and Parent-Teachers’ Associations, I have advocated the use of Bicarbonate of Soda as a preventive for “Colds,” with the result that now many reports are coming in stating that those who took “Soda” were not affected, while nearly everyone around them had the “Flu.”

Recommended dosages from the Arm and Hammer Company for colds and influenza back in 1925 were:

  • During the first day take six doses of half teaspoonful of Arm & Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water, at about two hour intervals.
  • During the second day take four doses of half teaspoonful of Arm and Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water, at the same intervals.
  • During the third day take two doses of half teaspoonful of Arm and Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water morning and evening, and thereafter half teaspoonful in gladss of cool water each morning until cold is cured.

I will share more simple techniques in the days ahead that you can use to help to protect yourself from infections – or to help to heal from infections if you contract them.

There are many simple steps that can be taken to help protect oneself from the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

One of these would be to take some supplemental melatonin.

Melatonin levels decrease as we age and low melatonin levels may be a contributing factor as to why older individuals have more serious health issues with the virus if they become infected.

Melatonin provides many health benefits however one of the key ones as it pertains to the virus is it helps to prevent the cytokine cascade which is typical in those who develop lung damage.

The cytokine cascade is an overreaction of the immune system which can cause significant inflammation and result in the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) .

Here is a link to a good article on this topic from the

Deep Roots at Home website

So taking some melatonin in the evening – approximately 3- 5 mg about an hour before bed will not only help with your sleep but help to protect you from the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

  • IF you are taking ACE inhibitors, have cardiac conditions, hypertension, you need to consult your physician before taking high doses of melatonin.  Melatonin may lower blood pressure and cause hypotension at higher dosages.  
  • IF you are diabetic, or have insulin resistance, DO NOT TAKE MELATONIN before 3 pm.  Melatonin is able to suppress insulin. 

I wrote a newsletter article several years ago documenting an apparent link between a common parasitic infection sourced from cats – toxoplasmosis and schizophrenia.

Further evidence of this link has been shown with the recent publication of a large cohort study – over 80,000 individuals done in Denmark.

Results from the study suggested that infection from not only Toxoplasma gondii but also CMV – Cytomegalovirus may be responsible for an increased incidence of schizophrenia as well as other conditions  including a range of neurological disorders, including epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s, among others – as well as potentially increasing suicide rates.

This correlation has been suspected and documented in previous published research (see links at the end of this article) however this study was the first one to examine ‘temporality’ – which meant only looking at participants who hadn’t yet been diagnosed with schizophrenia when T. gondii was found in their blood.

“The association was even stronger when accounting for temporality and considering only the 28 cases who were diagnosed with a schizophrenia disorder after the date of blood collection,” the authors write.

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