HAPPY EARTH DAY! (IT'S 50 YEARS OLD, THE DAY THAT IS, NOT THE EARTH)

In prior  newsletters, I talked a bit about the "inflammasome" which is the biochemical signaling mechanism that causes the run-away inflammation that is part (a big part) of the dangerous stage of a viral infection. And last week I posted links to the Harvard Review Paper on why specific nutrients(C, D, and Zinc) might work for the current viral infection. You can find all prior newsletters on the Potomac Integrative Medicine website, under the "Suggestions" tab from the home page.

And, as promised, in this newsletter I will tell a part of the story of zinc and the current world situation (but, since this lovely mineral is involved in at least 300 enzymatic reactions in the body and there are at least 24 genetic variations in how an individual uses zinc, this is not the whole story). But I will tell you the truly amazing story of zinc and how it is gaining some traction in the world.

But, first I'd like to "riff" a bit on nutrients and infections in general, using the zinc situation as an example.  All of my comments are documented in the research literature (basic science and/or clinical trials) but I am going to just give some facts (see numbered notes' citations at the end of this email) and then my opinion on a couple of issues.

First, only about 56% of the US population meets the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) for zinc.(1) And "The body's immune system needs zinc to do its job. Older people and children in developing countries who have low levels of zinc might have a higher risk of getting pneumonia and other infections." (2).

Second, the RDA is defined loosely as "the population average of what is needed daily to prevent nutrient deficiency diseases" with the most well-known example of a nutrient deficiency disease being vitamin C and scurvy.(3)

Third, many, many factors can s ignificantly change an individual's need for nutrients including:

genetics, impaired transport into cells*, diet, exercise, cooking methods, health status (including infections) 

and, often a  big one,

PHARMACEUTICAL DRUGS

(but, that last one is a secret, so don't tell anyone) (4).

For more on this, send me an email and I will send you links to my lecture notes from the courses I teach at the George Washington University School of Medicine. 

And here's my opinion: Maybe, just maybe, some of the determination of who gets really sick with an infection is a function of individual's nutrient status!?! And maybe other factors, like prior unresolved "hidden" infections, overload the immune system, and thus the second infection creates more impact? 

* Impaired transport means something is blocking the cell's ability to take up a nutrient; this can be caused by toxins (solvent, agrichemicals, bacteria, virus, parasites, heavy metals) and other factors, even including simply dehydration.

So here is the (partial) story of zinc

The take-home message of why zinc is important now is:

Intercelluar (inside a cell) zinc has been shown to quickly block viral replication and inhibit SARS (which is much more lethal but less contagious than the current virus in circulation and which shares 79-89% of the SARS genome).

And for an extra interesting point, zinc deficiency's symptoms looks a lot like those of the current viral infection in the world.

But to get into the cell, zinc needs a shuttle, called an ionophore.

Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine (and perhaps other quinone/quinine forms) work, to a large extent, as a zinc ionophore.

Quercetin (a bioflavonoid found in many foods and herbs) is also an ionophore.

And extra, extra - the interesting thing is the quercetin is also directly anti-viral. And quercetin alone appears to inhibit 3CL protease, an enzyme used by SARS and the current similar virus (sometimes labeled SARS2) to infect healthy cells.

And, really extra news - quercetin does the job of facilitating zinc's entry into cells without any (yes, I said any) side effects. Unlike  Hydroxychloroquine and similar drugs/substances. Oh, and quercetin appears to greatly reduce the "cytokine storm" which is the serious phase of any viral infection, and is highly correlated with hospital deaths from the current virus.

Oh, right - and zinc status has been shown to be predictive of severity to seasonal flu. And there is developing evidence that zinc participates in lung tissue repair after viral infection

And that's not the whole story.  Go to Google Scholar and put in any mix of the words above and see what you find.  Be prepared to READ!!!

Reading the non-drug literature, which includes tens of thousands of papers in big journals is not what doctors have time for. And it's not what drug reps sell, because on average the non-drug solution is 1/16 of the drug solution to a medical problems.  Anyone want to model the implications of this on health care costs?  Check Kenneth Pelletier at Stanford to get started. Look at his work on head-to-head comparisons of drugs to nutrients/herbs to solve health problems.

Anyhow, the story of zinc and quercetin is even more interesting. So, I WILL add it to the Basic Plan on the website. See the note below about how to find and order specific products on via website.

And so maybe you want to know if your zinc and quercetin status is up to the challenge of today's world?  It's hard to measure zinc on regular labs (or even specialty labs) but we can get an estimate from white blood cell levels of zinc. Quercetin status is not available from any lab (that I know of).  

But we can test for zinc and quercetin and other factors of that affect an individual's immune status using our biofeedback-like system, called Autonomic Response Testing, in clinic (via a telemedicine using phone/skype/WhatsApp).

We assess for a wide range of factors including:

Key nutrient needs

Toxins (of several kinds and sources)

Hidden infections (viral, bacterial, parasitic, fungal)

Drug depletion and interaction issues

Food allergies and sensitivities

Un-needed and counterproductive supplements

And we have recently added genetic testing through "NutriGenetic Research Institute" when indicated.

 n the next newsletter we will be taking  a bit of a dive into Andrographis, the "King of the Bitters" in East Asian Indian (Ayurvedic) Medicine.  If you have questions you think should be in one of our newsletters (or you want to discuss anything in prior or this current newsletter) let me know via email (see below for address).

There are no sections of the website that include the words "Covid" or "Coronoavirus" and please read the following note:

According to FDA policy, nothing in this information serves as medical advice and nothing in these recommendations or those posted on the Potomac Integrative Medicine website has been approved by the FDA. These suggestions do not imply a cure for COVID-19 or any disease. There is the potential for drug/herb/nutrient interactions, so please check with your doctor before taking supplements.

REFERENCES FOR THE "RIFF"

1. NHANES study: 

https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/130/5/1367S/4686375

2. NIH fact sheet on zinc: 

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Zinc-Consumer/

3.  NIH site on RDA (DRI, which is similar to the old RDA): 

4. Charts of depletions and possible corrections

https://www.aafp.org/dam/AAFP/documents/about_us/sponsored_resources/Nature%20Made%20Handout.pdf

And to look up your nutrient depletions by drug go to:

https://naturalmedicines.therapeuticresearch.com/tools/nutrient-depletion.aspx

THESE DEPLETION CHARTS ARE NOT COMPLETE. IF YOU NEED A NUTRIENT DEPLETION SCREEN OR DRUG/HERB INTERACTION EVALUATION, PLEASE CALL THE OFFICE AT 443-721-1074. We run full evaluation using interactive tools at the GWU School of Medicine.

If you are not receiving these emails directly and would like to or need help accessing information or products, send an email to:

hannahvancebradford@gmail.com

https://www.potomacintegrativemedicine.com/