I get the distaste you seem to show with those discarding the 70+ demographic. However, it’s not like you to not look at the other side of the ledger. What is saving those 70+ year olds going to cost; and I don’t mean in fiat. Especially the young? It’s a horrible consideration, and it does feel wrong to even ask, but it really needs to be asked.
Chris, can you explain why it is that the US has 4.25% of the world’s population and has approximately 25% of the world-wide deaths from the virus? What’s going on here? Is is over-counting because hospitals make money from recording that people have died from the virus? Can you please speak to this topic?
Mohammed, Although New Zealand top soil may be deficient in these minerals, the surrounding ocean is not, and the subsoil and bedrock probably are not. If the people eat some seafood, or if the ocean generates aerosols that land on crop leaves (like a foliar amendment), or if soil management or other farming methods take advantage of roots or symbiotic fungi that reach deep into the soil structure (eg no till annual crop farming, or perennial crops, or livestock grazing on perennial grasses), then they might have more access to trace elements than the topsoil analysis suggests. So there are ways around the top soil deficiency, even without supplements, and to see if the people are deficient you would have to measure the people’s levels, which can be tricky. Of course, these caveats to your observation are irrelevant in the continental USA, where nearly all we grow are annuals in annually tilled, lime & NPK supplemented topsoil.
I suggest reading the research
- Low-dose-> (600 (15 mcg) IU/day to 4000 (100 mcg) IU/day) are insufficient to mount a sustained protective host immune response including AMP production in the face of an overwhelming infection such as coronavirus. Risk to benefit ratio, low expense, + broad availability clearly favor use of vitamin D in doses of 10,000 (250 mcg) IU/day in adults during the coronavirus pandemic.
- Lower doses may be sufficient in younger people. Treatment with supra-recommended doses of vitamin D may save lives + prevent needless suffering, with very little downside risk. Potential benefits of this cost-effective intervention appear to clearly outweigh the risks.
- https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202005.0265/v1
- Vitamin D is effective at killing mycobacterium tuberculosis + other microorganisms such as proteus vulgaris, bacillus aerogenes, staphylococci + non-hemolytic streptococci, several viruses including rotavirus, respiratory syncytial virus, Kaposi Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus, dengue virus + possibly HIV.
- Mechanisms of action-> After sensing microorganisms via toll-like receptors on their surface a signal transduction pathway is activated, causing intracellular production of calcitriol + VDR, leading to production of antimicrobial peptides.
- Innate immune system makes antimicrobials on demand, + vitamin D is the switch turning on production. Different cell types are capable of making antimicrobial peptides in response to sensing microorganisms by upregulating vitamin D regulated genes, + several different types of antimicrobial peptides have been identified, including cathelicidin, alpha defensins, beta defensins, S100 proteins, ribonucleases (RNases) + dermcidin.
- Antimicrobial peptides exhibit a wide range of activity against a host of microorganisms via antimicrobial peptides that vitamin D causes to be produced in its action as a steroid hormone.
- Antimicrobial peptides also display immunomodulatory properties, including induction of cell migration, proliferation + differentiation; regulation of cytokine/chemokine production; promotion of angiogenesis + wound healing; + maintenance of skin barrier function.
- https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202005.0265/v1
- Oral vitamin D was effective in treating several diseases with higher intakes than are in use today, + which are significantly higher than amounts made in skin in response to 1 MED of UVB radiation:
- Asthma -> 60,000 (1500 mcg) IU/day - 300,000 (7500 mcg) IU/day.
- TB -> cured with 100,000 (2500 mcg) IU/day to 150,000 (3750 mcg) IU/day for 2- 3 months with no toxicity.
- RA-> 150,000 (3750 mcg) IU/day - 600,000 (15,000 mcg) IU/day.
- Psoriasis-> 20,000 (500 mcg) IU/day.
- https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202005.0265/v1
It was on PP that I learned from early posts of the European strain. Almost as soon as it got out of China the stabilizing mutation occurred leading to increased transmissibility due to stabilization of a “salt bridge” that always the spike protein to be more flexible. Then came other mutations now referred to as hitch hikers that have over lapping genes.
I thought it was posted already that most countries are now have the majority of this strain.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.29.069054v1
It may be why China is having a new struggle with the virus. Antibody against the Wuhan strain was slightly less effective against the European strain. Time will tell.
Scripps paper- I believe Chris reviewed this recently.
- Viruses with Spike-G614 were 9X’s more infectious in cell culture than those without the mutation.
- Mutation markedly increased functional spikes on viral surface by 4-5 times.
- Spikes are what allow the virus to bind to + infect cells via ACE2 receptors.
- D614G, provides greater flexibility to the spike’s “backbone” allowing newly made viral particles to navigate from the producer cell to target cell fully intact, with less tendency to fall apart prematurely.
- This conserves the S1 piece-> so there are more.
- https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.12.148726v1.full.pdf
- Additional stability is needed to compensate for the furin cleavage site
- ORF3c->predicted protein of 238 amino acids; a membrane protein with 3 transmembrane regions.
- ORF3c gained a new stop codon (G25563U) that rose in frequency; 401 sequenced samples demonstrate this mutation in multiple hosts.
- New ORF3c stop codon hitchhiked early with haplotype 241U/3037U/14408U/23403G (Spike-D614G), ->drives European + world spread.
- Results liken ORF3c to other important viral accessory genes recombined, lost, split, or truncated before or during outbreaks, including ORF3b + ORF8.
- OLGs deserve considerably more attention, their rapid evolution may be more important than is currently appreciated in the emergence of zoonotic viruses.
- “Over lapping genes) OLGs deserve considerably more attention, their rapid evolution may be more important than is currently appreciated in the emergence of zoonotic viruses.”
- https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.21.109280v1.full.pdf
@Mike from Jersey Now just imagine. Suppose the New York Times, the Washington Post, ABC, CNN and their ilk tried as hard as Adam and Chris to deliver accurate and useful information. Seriously, if those organization did that, a lot of America's problems would suddenly seem solvable.A lot? Seems to me like almost ALL of them.
@sofistek Now, both estimates are almost certainly rubbish but why Chris used the wrong figure is very strange to me. This is similar to a few other videos recently in which he's misconstrued some article or paper and to his frequent implications that NZ had mandatory mask wearing. Very disappointing and detracts from his usual great work.Interesting... Is that why they continue to censor websites on this forum? You still can't post bit-chute links! *tinfoil hat mode on*
@Thors Hammer Just maybe something good will come from the Pandemic and subsequent collapse of the US economy. It has long been my dream fantasy that the US will break into separate nations, each weak enough that it can't dream of controlling a Global Empire.That'd probably be one of the worst things that could happen to you as an American, and to all of us. How's your Chinese?
@ABMath This is just another example of nutrition before supplements. If you get nutrition right, it’s questionable whether you need supplements. If you don’t get nutrition right, it’s questionable how much supplements will help.In theory that's correct; however, we have depleted our soils of nutrients, we generally have damaged digestive systems, extra nutrients are needed to detoxify from toxins we're constantly exposed to even if we're aware of them... The benefits of supplementing with certain nutrients is tremendous, particularly vitamin D (only if you can't get enough sunshine), magnesium, vitamin K2, omega-3s (krill oil is best) unless you eat a lot of fish (and you want to avoid all large fish as they're full of mercury), B12 if you eat little animal foods (and many more nutrients than those listed here if you're vegan), and you may want to supplement with antioxidants if you don't get enough (vitamin C, curcumin, astaxanthin are probably the top 3). Then there's iodine, selenium, ... It's not enough these days to only avoid toxins. And there's non-nutrient supplements that can be highly useful too, like liver and kidney cleanser herb combos, and a large number of different categories of herbal-based nootropics (and interesting synthetic ones too)...
@Douglas Smith Is it true that antibodies are generated by getting COVID19? Do they disappear in a couple of months, as one China study seems to indicate? If so, can any vaccine confer any lasting immunity, or can herd immunity even exist? If you are doomed to get COVID19 anyway, what is the best strategy to get it with minimal impact? Thanks.Any pathogen will be met with antibody generation by a competent immune system. Otherwise we wouldn't have survived as a species. The less subsequent exposure, and the less sick you became, the sooner acquired immunity will fade. If there's constant low-level exposure, it might last. We even have a certain level of cross-coronavirus immunity (antibodies may target a coronavirus based on previous exposure to another one). I think there's always some level of remembered immunity. The best strategy is getting your vitamin D blood level at least above 40 ng/ml, but optimally above 60 ng/ml, taking vitamin C daily (1g should be plenty if you're not fighting a disease or toxic insult), and avoiding chronically high cortisol levels (stress). Remember/realize that vaccines are, or have been for quite some time, "aluminum and other neuro-, cyto-, and immunotoxins + an attenuated pathogen", not just "an attenuated pathogen". The same people who want to sell you a vaccine are suppressing the cures and preventive factors that actually work.
@Wayne Swanson Chris, can you explain why it is that the US has 4.25% of the world's population and has approximately 25% of the world-wide deaths from the virus? What's going on here? Is is over-counting because hospitals make money from recording that people have died from the virus? Can you please speak to this topic?Yep, it's that, and Dr. Birx admitted they're counting anyone remotely suspected of possibly having had Covid, and hospitals are pressured to put "covid" in death certificates sometimes even without grounds for suspicion. This is also happening in Belgium and probably a few other countries. There seems to be more countries doing the opposite: undercounting to make their handling of the crisis seem less bad. It's also that many Chinese people traveled to the US during Chinese New Year, before Trump stopped incoming flights against the "advice" of the WHO. And, sadly, it's also that Americans have the worst health of any developed nation, and are constantly exposed to toxins from every conceivable angle. The suppression of the cures and nutrient advice contributes too, as does the higher-than-anywhere else MSM fear-mongering.
Thank you TurquoiseRose for the article on Vitamin D. It is nice to have another physician or two throwing in their 2 cents on medical issues.
https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202005.0265/v1
I increased my Vitamin D3 intake to 10,000 IU - 20,000 IU / day at the onset of the COVID pandemic and am very happy to see these authors supporting these higher doses.
Especially important for black patients, whose darker skin makes less Vitamin D3 with sunlight.
The review article was great as it showed the scope of genes activated by Vitamin D3 and the number of medical conditions where benefit has already been demonstrated. Bibliography of 147.
Vitamin D3 induces the creation of a number of antimicrobial compounds by human cells: cathelicidin, defensins, democidins and several others that I had not heard of before.
This might intersects with a recently reported finding by an Israeli team that patients with higher alpha defensins levels did much better with COVID-19 infections than those with low levels. [Curses, can’t find the link]
Thank you Turquoise and Sandpuppy. I had no idea folks were dosing that high in general… although I did see Clif High talk about dosing high quite some time ago. I have been staying in the 3000 - 5000 IU range, but I will bump that up now to 10,000, especially if there is really no downside.
From Spain:
Based on an epidemiological analysis of COVID-19 deaths in the Health Sector attended by the Hospital of Barbastro, and the study of the pharmacotherapeutic history of affected patients, it was found that the most common drug to all the deceased was Chiromas® Influenza Vaccine. This led to the hypothesis that the influenza vaccination of the 2019-2020 campaign could be associated with an increased risk of deaths by COVID-19 in people over 65 years of age, that is to say, to the suspicion of a possible iatrogenesis, suspicion that was confirmed when accessing data from another sector." https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x3pJnsalTasJ189qIF89dhT-b4bMJsqf/view
I really appreciate all of the helpful information about vitamin D. Does anyone here have any information about what either enhances or inhibits vitamin D uptake?
Hi, Suzie, good to see you. The Med Cram lectures on you tube have a lot of vitamin D info. Several days ago, Mohammed Mast recommended Med Cram #83. On fructose and high fructose corn syrup inhabition of vitamin D. I see # 74 has info., too.
After sunbathing for vitamin D, do not shower or scrub the skin as the chemicals are pretty superficial for probably 24 hours. UVB rays create vitamin D in the skin, these are most prominent in the solar spectrum between 11 AM - 1 PM, standard time. I like to expose 40% of my skin for 40 minutes, but your mileage may vary.
I also dose, 1 tsp. Cod liver oil per day. Not that bad, the new lemon flavor is OK. Gives you Vitamin D, A and essential fatty acids.
Dr Mercola has a report on how to optimize your vitamin D levels:
From Mercola.com:
https://media.mercola.com/assets/pdf/ebook/vitamin-d-in-the-prevention-of-covid-19.pdfThe Most Important Paper I've Ever Written
For the last three weeks, I have been writing a comprehensive report on vitamin D in the prevention of COVID-19. The report has been reviewed by many vitamin D scientists for accuracy. This was done to develop a resource that everyone can share to help educate others. We will soon be launching a campaign to educate and inspire everyone, everywhere, to start optimizing their vitamin D level NOW. Please download my paper here, and share it with everyone you know. The purpose of this report is to help you understand why it is so important to optimize vitamin levels for healthy immune functions and then provide you with a detailed strategy of how to do that. This report can be used as a tool to teach your friends, family and community about why and how to be prepared for the next pandemic. In it, I review the science of how your immune system works, and the regulatory role of vitamin D. I also explain how vitamin D reduces your risk of COVID-19 specifically, and how it helps suppress and control both acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and cytokine storms, which is a primary cause of death in COVID-19.
Thank you gallant farms, I LOVE Dr. Mercola.
My understanding is that excess preformed Vitamin A can interfere with Vitamin D (ie. retinol rather than beta-carotene, which the body converts to retinol as needed). Apparently, many nutrient supplements currently on the market, and modern cod liver oil, contain unhealthy ratios of preformed Vitamin A to Vitamin D.
The conclusion from the following article was
Based upon our extensive research, we believe that most people require 5,000 IU to 10,000 IU of supplemental vitamin D each day to achieve optimal blood level status. The need for preformed vitamin A, on the other hand, is only 500-1,000 IU each day.For more info you can page down to the section titled ‘Excess Vitamin A Can Thwart Vitamin D’. There are sources to accompany the research described in the article. https://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2010/1/startling-findings-about-vitamin-d-levels-in-life-extension-members I have also read that as people age their ability to create Vitamin D from sunlight diminishes by up to 75% over time, so supplementation of Vitamin D3 is recommended.
Thank you, JWhite,
Interesting about xs vitamin A interfering with vitamin D. I also trust life extension for good information. It is hard to keep up with it all. Thank goodness for this active and caring community.
Having to do major research on everything to protect from what food manufacturers have changed in products is exhausting. Yes, the cod liver oil from my childhood is not what is available, today. Apparently the levels of vitamin D have dropped and cholicalciferol is added and the vitamin A is supplemented with retinyl palmitate. The cod liver oil I use is Carlson from Norway. 400 IU of vitamin D and 850 IU of vitamin A per tsp. This is not an excessive amount of vitamin A, but it is still unbalanced according to the Life Extension article. I need to boost, by supplements and sun exposure my vitamin D intake besides taking the cod liver oil. No wonder people can’t keep up.
I had been taking supplements of vitamin D and getting sun exposure. 5,000-10,000 IU per day. I just thought the cod liver oil would be more natural. Silly me.
I buy Natures Bounty D3 at Costco. Also I get my D3 level tested every 4 months due to an existing health condition. The test is Hydroxy-25 and is covered by insurance up to 3 times per year for me. My D3 stays around 80 -100 ng/mL. I take about 4000 units per day.
Taking supplements w/o testing is ill advised to say the least.
Get a micronutrient test to see where you are deficient adjust diet/supplementation accordingly, then test again after 6 months. Do your own research and consult with a trusted, knowledgeable practitioner. (MD, Naturopath, Functional Medical Practitioner, etc) Be aware most MD’s are ignorant of nutrition.
50% of doctors graduated in the bottom half of their class. And a good many don’t even keep up with reading their own medical journals, and some continue to believe whatever they learned in med school. Of course, there are many fine doctors out there too, the trick is to find them… But in any case I agree with those who have pointed out the importance of doing our own research.