COVID-19 is a virus that attacks cells. Winning the battle begins at the cellular level. Strengthening the cells builds resistance. Increasing the levels of micronutrients in the cells improves their overall health.
Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals. Macronutrients are fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. Deficiency of micronutrients does not necessarily give any outward appearance of a problem.
Most of the body’s micronutrient content is intracellular. These substances are critical for cellular health, resistance, and proper function. Except for calcium, we do not have a useful method to evaluate intracellular vitamin and mineral levels.
Calcium is unique because it is radiopaque. Doctors take advantage of this property by doing bone density testing to estimate bone calcium levels to diagnose osteoporosis. No other vitamin or mineral can be monitored this way.
Understanding osteoporosis gives insight into how the body manages micronutrients. Osteoporosis is not an isolated and unique example of how tissue responds to injury and aging. It is an illustration of a pattern that trends through the entire body of how all cells metabolize vitamins and minerals. We learn from the patterns we observe.
There are several important lessons that can guide our understanding of how we can enhance our health. These are as follows:
There is no known relationship between the blood and tissue levels of these nutrients. The blood level of calcium is regulated by several hormonal systems and maintained within a narrow range. Bone calcium levels are independent. A doctor would never measure a serum calcium level to diagnose osteoporosis. Hence, blood micronutrient assessment is not a means of determining cellular or tissue levels of these substances.
Nutrients in the blood act directly on tissues. The serum nutrients affect organ function. Intracellular levels maintain good health and resistance within.
Aging is associated with cellular reductions of nutrients. Illness also increases the demand for these materials within cells. Acute disease of any kind, therefore, reduces the amounts of these important components. If someone has chronic symptoms, vitamin and mineral deficiencies ensue. The lower levels become the new normal. This makes it difficult to overcome.
Preventing osteoporosis requires very high levels of nutrient supplementation over many years. The current recommendation is, for someone at risk, to take 1,500 mg. of calcium and 800 units of Vitamin D a day beginning at age 16. Alternatively, drinking three eight-ounce glasses of skim milk daily for decades is another approach.
Although prevention over many years is the ideal solution, it is still possible to affect the course and prognosis from osteoporosis once it is already established. For example, the earlier the prevention of developing bone density problems is begun, to more successful will be the result. This model suggests that we should all work to build intracellular micronutrient levels beginning in youth. This action will help prevent the expected deficiencies that aging, illness, and injury promote.
In treating patients with chronic fatigue and associated symptoms, a large part of my success came from vitamin and mineral supplements. Many people felt better soon after starting taking them. The longer patients were on these supplements, the better the healing and symptoms improvement. I found that a six-a-day supplement (6 pills in divided doses of 2 or 3 at a time) is by far the most effective. It may seem like a burden, but it’s not simple to reinforce cellular health.
In the course of time, most people gradually become cellular deficient in all of these micronutrients. At first, the percentages are small. But these minor reductions are significant. They allow functional, immune, and structural weaknesses that make us prone to illness. People do not suddenly become sick. Most illnesses have a long pre-clinical (asymptomatic) phase. Subtle changes in the makeup at the cellular level is an important factor in this genesis.
An example of what I consider to be a truly comprehensive vitamin/mineral supplement contains approximate dosages of these nutrients in 6 pills as follows:
Vitamin A. — 7,500 mcg.
Vitamin C — 1,200 mg.
Vitamin D. — 2.5 mcg. (100 IU)
Vitamin E – 200 mg.
Vitamin K – 60 mcg.
Thiamine – 100 mg.
Riboflavin – 50 mg.
Niacin – 200 mg.
Vitamin B6 – 50 mg.
Folic Acid – 800 mcg.
Biotin – 300 mcg.
Pantothenic acid – 400 mg.
Choline – 150 mg.
Calcium – 500 mg
Iodine – 150 mcg.
Magnesium – 500 mg.
Zinc – 20 mg.
Selenium – 200 mcg.
Copper – 2 mg.
Manganese – 20 mg.
Chromium – 200 mcg.
Molybdenum – 150 mcg.
Potassium – 99 mg.
Inositol – 50 mg.
Vanadium – 40 mcg.
Boron – 2 mg.
Para-aminobenzoic Acid – 50 mg.
Citrus bioflavonoids complex – 100 mg.
One should not take six capsules of a one-a-day multivitamin because of the risk of Vitamin A toxicity. The container should say that 6 is the recommended daily dosage.
These nutrients work synergistically. The effect of the entirety is much greater than the effect of one taken in isolation. This approach enhances cellular, systemic, and bodily energy and resistance. It also works to slow the aging process.
In my practice, I have recommended a supplement called “BASIC PREVENTIVE 5” from Douglas Laboratories in Pittsburgh, PA. This supplement contains the above nutrients and doses. This particular formulation may have been altered or renamed. Look for an approximation fo the doses.
Scientists would prefer we prove the value of this form of preventive therapy before recommending it. Scientific studies of micronutrients involve a single element as the lone variable to determine efficacy. That is logical because a scientific study usually involves just one variable. But these substances naturally act in concert. Studying thirty or more nutrients at one time is an almost impossible task. Too many variables to draw valid conclusions.
Therefore, we must seek understanding and applicability through a different process. Expanding upon recognized patterns is another way to learn how we can stay healthy. Advising that people regularly ingest vitamin and mineral supplements based on the above patterns is reasonable. There is likelihood of great value in fighting the coronavirus and other similar threats. We are hearing good advice for limiting this virus. We need to talk more about how we can make ourselves healthier.
Health and Spirit by Dr. Jack Zoldan 