Strong, documented, linking (in SPADES!!!) heads-up about the ongoing Covid-19 epidemic

Charmonium

Diamond Member
May 15, 2015
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This why we all need to make sure our own immune systems are up to the challenge. Our bodies have evolved over millennia to fight disease with layers of defenses. But it has to have the nutrients it needs to do this.

We know that zinc and D3 are two important ones. Just don't overdo either since both can be toxic in very high doses. As the old saying goes, 'the dose makes the poison.'

I take a mix of zinc oxide (harder to absorb) and chelated zinc (zinc bound to an amino acid). The oxide comes from a cheap daily supplement. The chelate comes from a body builder supp which is a mix of zinc and magnesium (ZMA fuel). Those are 2 minerals that are difficult to get strictly from your diet especially if you don't have a very good one.

The amount of D3 you need can vary substantially. So get a D3 test. In NJ, you can request (and pay for) a lot of your own blood tests. There are also mail-in D3 tests.

I mention this because for me, I need to take about 7-8k IUs per day to keep my D3 blood levels near the high end of the range. Conventionally, that would be considered a very high dose and for you that might be toxic, so get your blood levels checked.
 
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Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
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This why we all need to make sure our own immune systems are up to the challenge. Our bodies have evolved over millennia to fight disease with layers of defenses. But it has to have the nutrients it needs to do this.

We know that zinc and D3 are two important ones. Just don't overdo either since both can be toxic in very high doses. As the old saying goes, 'the dose makes the poison.'

I take a mix of zinc oxide (harder to absorb) and chelated zinc (zinc bound to an amino acid). The oxide comes from a cheap daily supplement. The chelate comes from a body builder supp which is a mix of zinc and magnesium (ZMA fuel). Those are 2 minerals that are difficult to get strictly from your diet especially if you don't have a very good one.

The amount of D3 you need can vary substantially. So get a D3 test. In NJ, you can request (and pay for) a lot of your own blood tests. There are also mail-in D3 tests.

I mention this because for me, I need to take about 7-8k IUs per day to keep my D3 blood levels near the high end of the range. Conventionally, that would be considered a very high dose and for you that might be toxic, so get your blood levels checked.
The amount of D3 you need can vary substantially. So get a D3 test. In NJ, you can request (and pay for) a lot of your own blood tests. There are also mail-in D3 tests.

I get some in my multivitamin tablet, but I also take a D3 stand-alone, a roughly spherical soft capsule. I think it's 1000iu. My cousin M.D. general practitioner made mention of D3 when I saw him in person early in the pandemic. I figure I'm OK without D3 supplementation during much of the year because of the sun I get but in colder weather quite possibly not. I may just keep taking it.

I still haven't caught covid-19 AFAIK. Haven't felt sick at all since Nov. 2019, when I came down with some URI that seemed pretty fierce and hard to beat. I think it could have been Sars-cov-2, although it wasn't officially known to be here that early. We get a ton of tourism from Asia here in the Bay Area.
 

Charmonium

Diamond Member
May 15, 2015
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@Muse - about d3 and sun. I'm not sure that your skin will produce d3 if your blood levels are adequate. We tend to have pretty effective feedback mechanisms for such things. A quick google should provide an answer. Just be wary of your sources.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
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plos gibe TLDR version?
The link in the OP is vast, potentially, because of the links, which are quite great, at least the ones I have checked out. The story itself, without going to the links, is excellent and not TL if you give a shit. The point of the story, if you boil it down completely to a dry residue is that Covid is a big health concern still and will be for the foreseeable future. People want to disregard it, partly because it disrupted everybody's life. But if you want to know what's really going on, the link in the OP is an excellent place to start.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
38,363
8,675
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@Muse - about d3 and sun. I'm not sure that your skin will produce d3 if your blood levels are adequate. We tend to have pretty effective feedback mechanisms for such things. A quick google should provide an answer. Just be wary of your sources.
Well, there's this:


5. Conclusions​

Our study is unique in its utilization of a group of healthy participants. The study thus puts forward the supplementation regimens that are suitable for a young healthy population during the winter months; a time when vitamin D production in the skin is low. The study is limited by its use of a relatively simple model of supplementation, without a cross-over or placebo control. It should, however, be noted that studies with a more complicated design are not common in vitamin D research.

Our results show that a daily dose of either 1000 IU or 2000 IU of vitamin D3 is an adequate choice for maintaining sufficient vitamin D levels during the winter months. A daily dose of 2000 IU was, however, observed to maintain the desired levels of serum vitamin D concentration for a longer period than a daily dose of 1000 IU and can thus be recommended for supplementing young healthy individuals during the winter months.
- - - -
Personally, beyond my 1000iu capsules (almost daily), and a multivitamin tablet, I get some sun, especially in warmer months, and also daily consume milk (made from nonfat dry milk powder) which is likely fortified with D.
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
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I'm not gonna wade into all that crap, most of which is above my head anyway, but I firmly believe these things.

1) COVID is "man-made" by the Chinese Communist Party. (I'm still not sure if it's release was accidental or intentionally to test its effectiveness)
2) COVID will be with us forever, just like the various flu strains and common cold strains. How it mutates remains to be seen, but I HOPE, as it does, it becomes less and less problematic.
3) For MOST of us, either via vaccination or by getting sick from the COVID, we will build a natural immunity to MOST strains, and for MOST of us, it won't be much different than catching a cold of flu bug.

Does any of that mean we shouldn't take some precautions? Nope. I'm not a masker under normal circumstances...but WILL wear one when it's necessary...or when I get sick and have to go out in public.
Does any of that mean we shouldn't take care of ourselves? Nope...proper nutrition, at least as much as possible helps the body...and if you're a believer in supplements/vitamins beyond food, go for it. To me, they always just seemed like they make expensive piss...but that's me. You do you.
 
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