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Preserve your muscle mass by consuming THIS vitamin
Reproduced from original article:
www.naturalhealth365.com/muscle-mass-3401.html
by: Lori Alton, staff writer | October 10, 2021
(NaturalHealth365) Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is so essential for protecting and enhancing immune function that it is often referred to as “the muscle of the immune system.” However, new research published in The Journal of Nutrition shows that it may also help people over 50 retain muscle mass.
For the graying population of the United States, this could be welcome news indeed. Experts say that people over age 50 lose up to one percent of their skeletal muscle each year, potentially leading to age-related loss of muscle mass and muscle wasting. While natural healers have long lauded vitamin C for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immune system-boosting properties, the study is among the first to investigate the importance of dietary vitamin C intake for older people. So let’s take a look.
Large study highlights the ability of vitamin C to protect muscle mass
The study, which involved more than 13,000 middle- and older-aged participants between the age of 42 and 82, examined whether people eating more vitamin C had more muscle mass than other people. Maintaining muscle mass is increasingly important as we grow older – as age-related muscle wasting (known as sarcopenia) is associated with physical disability, frailty, increased likelihood of falling, type 2 diabetes, and increased mortality.
Researchers at the University of East Anglia analyzed data from the EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study, using information from a seven-day food diary to analyze dietary intake, along with bioelectrical impedance analysis to analyze muscle mass. Incidentally, the team classified blood levels under 50 umol/L (micromoles per liter) of vitamin C as “insufficient,” with levels of 50 or above categorized as “sufficient.”
The scientists found that people with the highest amount of vitamin C in their diets or blood had the greatest estimated skeletal muscle mass (compared to those with the lowest amounts), leading the team to conclude that vitamin C may be “useful for reducing age-related muscle loss.”
Researchers credit vitamin C’s antioxidant effects
Scientists know that harmful free radicals can contribute to the destruction of muscle and speed age-related decline. But this is where vitamin C can come to the rescue. Study leader Professor Alisa Welch, a researcher at UAE’s Norwich Medical School, noted, “As people age, they lose skeletal muscle mass and strength. Vitamin C helps defend the cells and tissues …. from potentially harmful free radical substances.”
Because the body does not produce vitamin C, it must be obtained through diet. (Hence, its designation as an essential vitamin.) While severe deficiencies are rare in developed nations, it’s not uncommon for people to have low or “insufficient” levels of vitamin C. For example, the researchers found that nearly 60 percent of the men and 50 percent of the women in the study fell short in consuming the Recommended Daily Allowance for vitamin C, which is advised by medical authorities as 75 to 90 mg a day for adults. (Smokers are advised to consume an extra 35 mg a day).
The team pointed out that vitamin C is easily available in fruits and vegetables – as well as in supplementary form – and called improving intake “relatively straightforward.”
Vitamin C accomplishes a major “to-do” list of life-sustaining functions
When it comes to preserving health, vitamin C juggles many tasks. For example, this important micronutrient is needed for the production of collagen, which promotes healthy skin and keeps arteries flexible and supple, thereby helping to prevent narrowing of the arteries and the development of atherosclerosis. And, vitamin C is not only a powerful antioxidant in its own right but helps to regenerate other essential antioxidants in the body, including vitamin E and the “master antioxidant” glutathione.
In addition, vitamin C also improves iron absorption and boosts immune function while promoting the production of beneficial nitric oxide.
Research shows that vitamin C helps to limits the formation of carcinogens – such as nitrosamines – in the body. And, as the study shows, it helps prevent oxidative damage that may trigger the development of cancer and heart disease.
Increasing vitamin C intake can pay a wealth of health dividends
It pays to stay “topped up” on vitamin C. Epidemiological studies have suggested that high intakes of vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables are associated with a reduced risk of many well-known (unwanted) health conditions. And a review published in Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism showed that having healthy levels of vitamin C can reduce symptoms and shorten the duration of respiratory tract issues.
You can increase dietary intake of vitamin C by eating healthy amounts of citrus fruits, kiwifruits, strawberries, and broccoli. (Sweet red peppers – at 120 mg of vitamin C per cup – are the official “high-ringers”). Other good sources are raspberries, cantaloupe, Brussels sprouts, and even baked potatoes. For maximum benefit, seek out organic fare whenever possible.
Many natural health experts reject the recommendation of the National Institutes of Health (75 to 90 mg a day for adults) as far too low. Natural healers and integrative doctors typically recommend vitamin C supplementation at levels of up to 1,000 to 3,000 mg a day. And, in some cases, it may even be more – depending on your health status.
However, check first with your trusted health practitioner before adding vitamin C to your health routine.
Experts often advise a liposomal vitamin C formulation – which is better for cellular absorption and can help to avoid the uncomfortable digestive side effects associated with higher amounts in powder or tablet form. Another important point: always look for a high-quality formulation free of fillers, additives, added sugars, and gluten.
As the saying goes, “Getting old ain’t for wimps.” But, it’s good to know that vitamin C appears to be an effective, convenient, and safe substance for preserving all-important muscle mass, as we age.
Sources for this article include:
Vitamin D May Reduce COVID-19 Infection and Mortality
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2021/10/04/vitamin-d3-for-coronavirus.aspx
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola Fact Checked October 04, 2021
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- A Spanish study found giving supplemental vitamin D3 (calcifediol) to hospitalized patients with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 — in addition to standard care — reduced ICU admissions by 82% and mortality by 64%
- People who already had higher vitamin D at baseline were 60% less likely to die
- Many are now calling for official vitamin D recommendations to be issued by their governments
- Other recent research found vitamin D is a contributing factor to COVID-19 outbreaks and infection severity. Surges in daily positive tests during the fall of 2020 in 18 European countries linearly correlate with latitude, and, hence, sun exposure and vitamin D levels
- One of the reasons vitamin D is so important against COVID-19 has to do with its influence on T cell responses. Vitamin D receptor signals regulate T cell responses and therefore play an important role in your body’s defense against viral and bacterial infections
This article was previously published February 22, 2021, and has been updated with new information.
Vitamin D plays an important role in most diseases, including infectious disease, which is why from the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I suspected that optimizing vitamin D levels among the general population would significantly lower COVID-19 incidence and death.
Since then, mounting evidence reveals this is indeed the case, as researchers have repeatedly demonstrated that higher vitamin D levels reduce rates of positive tests, hospitalizations and mortality related to this infection.
Vitamin D3 Reduces COVID Infection and Mortality
A now-retracted, preprint Spanish study1,2 found that giving supplemental vitamin D3 (calcifediol) to hospitalized patients with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 reduced ICU admissions by 82% and mortality by 64%.3 People who already had higher vitamin D at baseline were 60% less likely to die.
Another study was published in June 2021.4 In this study, researchers concluded that “vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 infection and mortality across a wide range of countries.”
Other studies have shown that “vitamin D deficiency to address COVID-19 warrants aggressive pursuit and study.”5 Retrospective data demonstrated that a deficiency was also associated with an increased risk of COVID1-19 infection.6
Renewed Calls for Vitamin D Recommendations
In response to the now-retracted study, British MP David Davis tweeted that hospitals should consider giving vitamin D3 to every COVID patient in every hospital in the temperate latitudes. Since other, peer-reviewed, studies like the ones I mentioned above support higher vitamin D levels being connected to a better chance of survival from COVID, it seems reasonable that Davis’ suggestion is not out of line, regardless of the one retracted article.
Many others are also calling for official vitamin D recommendations to be issued by their governments. Among them is Emer Higgins,7 a member of the Irish political party Fine Gael, who called on the Irish health minister, Stephen Donnelly, to include vitamin D supplementation in its “Living with COVID-19” strategy, slated for launch at the end of February 2021.
Higgins leaned on evidence from the Irish Covit-D Consortium,8 which shows vitamin D helps optimize your immune response. “There is negligible risk in this strategy and potentially a massive gain,” she said. According to the Covit-D Consortium, the nutrient can lower the risk of death from COVID-19 in the elderly by as much as 700%.9
Low Vitamin D Linked to COVID-19 Outbreaks and Severity
Another study10 published in the journal Scientific Reports confirmed vitamin D is a contributing factor to COVID-19 outbreaks and infection severity. According to the authors, the surges in daily positive test results during the fall of 2020 in 18 European countries linearly correlate with latitude, and hence sun exposure and vitamin D levels. They point out that:
“The country surge date corresponds to the time when its sun UV daily dose drops below ≈ 34% of that of 0° latitude. Introducing reported seasonal blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration variation into the reported link between acute respiratory tract infection risk and 25(OH)D concentration quantitatively explains the surge dynamics …
The date of the surge is an intrapopulation observation and has the benefit of being triggered only by a parameter globally affecting the population, i.e. decreases in the sun UV daily dose.
The results indicate that a low 25(OH)D concentration is a contributing factor to COVID-19 severity, which, combined with previous studies, provides a convincing set of evidence.”
While it’s well-recognized that most elderly individuals are deficient in vitamin D, the problem is widespread in all age categories, including children.
As noted in a February 2021 study11 comparing vitamin D levels in breast milk collected in 1989 and 2016/2017, vitamin D concentrations are consistently higher during the summer but, overall, vitamin D levels have declined since 1989. As a result, pregnant and lactating mothers and their infants may require vitamin D supplementation for optimal health.
Vitamin D Is Crucial for Optimal T Cell Responses
One of the reasons why vitamin D is so important against COVID-19 has to do with its influence on T cell responses. Animal research12 published in 2014 explained how vitamin D receptor signals regulate T cell responses and therefore play an important role in your body’s defense against viral and bacterial infections.
As noted in that study, when vitamin D signaling is impaired, it significantly impacts the quantity, quality, breadth and location of CD8 T cell immunity, resulting in more severe viral and bacterial infections.
What’s more, according to a December 11, 2020, paper13 in the journal Vaccine: X, high-quality T cell response actually appears to be far more important than antibodies when it comes to providing protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 specifically:14
“The first SARS-CoV-2 vaccine(s) will likely be licensed based on neutralizing antibodies in Phase 2 trials, but there are significant concerns about using antibody response in coronavirus infections as a sole metric of protective immunity.
Antibody response is often a poor marker of prior coronavirus infection, particularly in mild infections, and is shorter-lived than virus-reactive T-cells …
Strong antibody response correlates with more severe clinical disease while T-cell response is correlated with less severe disease; and antibody-dependent enhancement of pathology and clinical severity has been described.
Indeed, it is unclear whether antibody production is protective or pathogenic in coronavirus infections. Early data with SARS-CoV-2 support these findings. Data from coronavirus infections in animals and humans emphasize the generation of a high-quality T cell response in protective immunity.”
The authors go on to state that epitopes associated with SARS-CoV2 have been identified on CD4 and CD8 T-cells in the blood from patients who have successfully recovered from COVID-19, and that these epitopes “are much less dominated by spike protein than in previous coronavirus infections.”15
As a refresher, aside from SARS-CoV-2, there are six other coronaviruses known to cause respiratory disease in humans:16
- Types 229E, NL63, OC43 and KHU1 are quite common and cause mild to moderate respiratory infections such as the common cold.
- SARS-CoV (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus), associated with severe respiratory illness.17,18
- MERS-CoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus) which, like SARS, causes more severe respiratory infections than the four common coronaviruses.19
Understanding the Role of Epitopes
What do they mean by “epitopes associated with SARS-CoV2 have been identified on CD4 and CD8 T-cells”? Epitopes20 are sites on the virus that allow antibodies or cell receptors in your immune system to recognize it. This is why epitopes are also referred to as “antigenic determinants,” as they are the part that is recognized by an antibody, B-cell receptor or T-cell receptor.
Most antigens — substances that bind specifically to an antibody or a T-cell receptor — have several different epitopes, which allow it to be recognized by several different antibodies. Importantly, some epitopes can cause autoimmunological pathogenic priming if you’ve been previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 or exposed via a COVID-19 vaccine.21
In other words, if you’ve had the infection once, and get reinfected (either by SARS-CoV-2 or a sufficiently similar coronavirus), the second bout has the potential to be more severe than the first. Similarly, if you get vaccinated and are then infected with SARS-CoV-2, your infection may be more severe than had you not been vaccinated.
For this reason, “these epitopes should be excluded from vaccines under development to minimize autoimmunity due to risk of pathogenic priming,” a recent paper22 in the Journal of Translational Autoimmunity warns.
One of the reasons why mRNA gene therapy “vaccines” are causing so many problems may in fact be because they have failed to “screen out unsafe epitopes to reduce autoimmunity due to homology between parts of the viral protein and the human proteome,” according to that Journal of Translational Autoimmunity paper.23
Natural SARS-CoV-2 Infection Induces Broad Epitope Coverage
The authors of the Vaccine: X paper point out that while most COVID-19 gene therapy “vaccines” focus on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein as a natural antigen, “natural infection by SARS-CoV-2 induces broad epitope coverage, cross-reactive with other betacoronaviruses.”
Indeed, this has been demonstrated in a number of studies, including a Singaporean study24,25,26 that found common colds caused by the betacoronaviruses OC43 and HKU1 might make you more resistant to SARS-CoV-2 infection, and that the resulting immunity might last as long as 17 years.
In other words, if you’ve beat a common cold caused by a OC43 or HKU1 betacoronavirus in the past, you may have a 50/50 chance of having defensive T-cells that can recognize and help defend against SARS-CoV-2. What the Vaccine: X authors are basically warning about is that the so-called vaccines are unlikely to provide the same level of immunity as natural infection does, and may even cause pathogenic priming.
Vitamin D Speeds Viral Clearance
Other research,27 published in November 2020 in the Postgraduate Medical Journal, shows oral vitamin D supplementation also helps speed up SARS-CoV-2 viral clearance. This study included only asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals who also had vitamin D deficiency (a vitamin D blood level below 20 ng/mL).
Participants were randomly assigned to receive either 60,000 IUs of oral cholecalciferol (nano-liquid droplets) or a placebo for seven days. The target blood level was 50 ng/mL. Anyone who had not achieved a blood level of 50 ng/mL after the first seven days continued to receive the supplement until they reached the target level.
Periodically, all participants were tested for SARS-CoV-2 as well as fibrinogen, D-dimer, procalcitonin and CRP, all of which are inflammatory markers. The primary outcome measure of the study was the proportion of patients testing negative for COVID-19 before Day 21 of the study, as well as changes in inflammatory markers. As reported by the authors:28
“Forty SARS-CoV-2 RNA positive individuals were randomized to intervention (n=16) or control (n=24) group. Baseline serum 25(OH)D was 8.6 and 9.54 ng/mL, in the intervention and control group, respectively.
10 out of 16 patients could achieve 25(OH)D>50 ng/ml by day-7 and another two by day-14 … 10 (62.5%) participants in the intervention group and 5 (20.8%) participants in the control arm became SARS-CoV-2 RNA negative. Fibrinogen levels significantly decreased with cholecalciferol supplementation unlike other inflammatory biomarkers.
[A] greater proportion of vitamin D-deficient individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection turned SARS-CoV-2 RNA negative with a significant decrease in fibrinogen on high-dose cholecalciferol supplementation.”
More Evidence Vitamin D Impacts COVID-19
If you haven’t already gone to the free website I created to educate the world about vitamin D, please do now. It’s www.stopcovidcold.com. You can download the free condensed version of the paper I had published last year that is easier to read and full of graphics to illustrate the information.
October 31, 2020, my own vitamin D review,29 co-written with William Grant, Ph.D., and Dr. Carol Wagner, both of whom are part of the GrassrootsHealth expert vitamin D panel, was published in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrients. You can read the paper for free on the journal’s website.
As noted in that paper, dark skin color, increased age, preexisting chronic conditions and vitamin D deficiency are all features of severe COVID disease and, of these, vitamin D deficiency is the only factor that is readily and easily modifiable.
You may be able to reverse chronic disease, but that typically takes time. Optimizing your vitamin D, on the other hand, can be achieved in just a few weeks, thereby significantly lowering your risk of severe COVID-19.
In our paper, we review several of the mechanisms by which vitamin D can reduce your risk of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections, including but not limited to the following:30
- Reducing the survival and replication of viruses31
- Reducing inflammatory cytokine production
- Maintaining endothelial integrity — Endothelial dysfunction contributes to vascular inflammation and impaired blood clotting, two hallmarks of severe COVID-19
- Increasing angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) concentrations, which prevents the virus from entering cells via the ACE2 receptor — ACE2 is downregulated by SARS-CoV-2 infection, and by increasing ACE2, you also avoid excessive accumulation of angiotensin II, a peptide hormone known to increase the severity of COVID-19
Vitamin D is also an important component of COVID-19 prevention and treatment for the fact that it:
- Boosts your overall immune function by modulating your innate and adaptive immune responses
- Reduces respiratory distress32
- Improves overall lung function
- Helps produce surfactants in your lungs that aid in fluid clearance33
- Lowers your risk of comorbidities associated with poor COVID-19 prognosis, including obesity,34 Type 2 diabetes,35 high blood pressure36 and heart disease37
Data from 14 observational studies — summarized in Table 1 of our paper38 — suggest that vitamin D blood levels are inversely correlated with the incidence and/or severity of COVID-19, and the evidence currently available generally satisfies Hill’s criteria for causality in a biological system.39 Our paper40 also details several features of COVID-19 that suggest vitamin D deficiency is at play in this illness.
- 1 Preprints in The Lancet January 22, 2021
- 2 Preprints in The Lancet January 22, 2021 (PDF)
- 3 Preprints in The Lancet January 22, 2021, PDF page 3 (Added value of this study)
- 4 Health Security, June 7, 2021;19(3)
- 5 medRxiv, May 13, 2020; doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.08.20095893
- 6 JAMA Infectious Diseases, 2020;3(9)
- 7 Irish Times February 15, 2021
- 8 Irish Journal of Medical Science November 21, 2020
- 9 Herald December 30, 2020
- 10 Scientific Reports January 21, 2021; 11 Article number 1981
- 11 Nutrients 2021; 13(2): 573
- 12 The Journal of Nutrition October 15, 2014; 144(12): 2073-2082
- 13, 14, 15 Vaccine: X December 11, 2020; 6: 1000076
- 16 Signal Transduct Target Ther. June 10, 2020; 5(1): 89
- 17 Mayoclinic.org, SARS
- 18, 19 NBC News March 5, 2020
- 20 Creative Diagnostics Immunology
- 21, 22, 23 Journal of Translational Autoimmunity 2020; 3: 1000051
- 24 Biorxiv preprint DOI: 10.1101/2020.05.26.115832 (PDF)
- 25 Daily Mail June 12, 2020
- 26 Science Times June 12, 2020
- 27 Postgraduate Medical Journal November 12, 2020 DOI: 10.1136/postgradmedj-2020-139065
- 28 Postgraduate Medical Journal November 12, 2020 DOI: 10.1136/postgradmedj-2020-139065, Results
- 29, 30, 40 Nutrients October 31, 2020;12, 3361; doi:10.3390/nu12113361
- 31 Nutrients, 2020;12:988
- 32 Advances in Pharmacological Sciences 2018; 2018: 8494816
- 33 ATS Journals October 5, 2010; 183(10)
- 34 Medicina 2019 Sep; 55(9): 541
- 35 Diabetes.co.uk January 15, 2019
- 36 The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology September 1, 2014; 2(9): 682-684
- 37 Current Treatment Options in Cardiovascular Medicine 2012 Aug; 14(4): 414–424
- 38 Nutrients October 31, 2020;12, 3361; doi:10.3390/nu12113361, Table 1
- 39 Nutrients October 31, 2020;12, 3361; doi:10.3390/nu12113361, Table 3
Dr. Fauci Megadoses Vitamin C, Ivermectin vs. Vitamin Therapy, and Censoring the Science on Natural Healing [Dr. Saul]
© GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC.
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Reproduced from original article:
https://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/dr-fauci-megadoses-vitamin-c-ivermectin-vs-vitamin-therapy-and-censoring-science-
Posted on: Thursday, September 9th 2021 at 9:30 am
Written By: Sayer Ji, Founder
This article is copyrighted by GreenMedInfo LLC, 2021
In Sayer’s latest interview, he dives deep with one of the world’s foremost experts on vitamin C therapy, juxtaposing the extreme controversy and hype around ivermectin with this far more suppressed, effective, safe, affordable and available therapy that virtually no one is talking about despite its clinically validated role, and over 80 years of research proving its relevance to our times!
Sayer Ji interviews Dr. Andrew Saul, one of the world’s most experienced and published experts on natural medicine, orthomolecular therapy, and a huge advocate of vitamin C for addressing preventable and treatable disease. He has been subject to great censorship, deplaforming, and controversies due to his outspoken advocacy around vitamin C for addressing health concerns related to influenza/Covid-19. He is also someone who has an incredible depth and breadth of knowledge who we are honored to feature in this latest interview!
Related links: Dr. Saul’s website www.doctoryourself.com
Vitamin C research on Greenmedinfo: https://www.greenmedinfo.com/substance/vitamin-c
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service: https://www.doctoryourself.com/omns/index.shtml
Dr. Andrew Saul’s books: https://www.amazon.com/Andrew-W-Saul/e/B001JP842G?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1631203903&sr=8-1
Rationale for Vitamin C Treatment of COVID-19 and Other Viruses: www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/rationale-vitamin-c-treatment-covid-19-and-other-viruses
Shanghai Government Officially Recommends Vitamin C for COVID-19
Parsley: Five Top Benefits of This Easy-to-Grow Herb
© GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC.
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Reproduced from original article:
www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/parsley-five-top-benefits-easy-grow-herb
Posted on: Thursday, August 19th 2021 at 4:15 pm
Discover the many health benefits of parsley in its fresh and dried forms, from a rich antioxidant profile to natural properties against diabetes and eye disorders
Parsley is often used as a flavoring among the chopped greens in your salad and makes a rich addition to sauces for juicy steaks, or a trusty garnish on your favorite dishes.
However, it’s also a veritable medicine sitting in your pantry, perhaps as juice to relieve edema or a powerful antioxidant source. The possibilities are endless with Petroselinum crispum, an important culinary herb originating from the Mediterranean region.
Parsley contains a formidable lineup of constituents such as coumarins, carotenoids, ascorbic acids and flavonoids for a wide range of health uses. These constituents give parsley plenty of wellness benefits, from being antimicrobial and diuretic to antihypertensive and anticoagulant.[i]
In fact, it’s used in Morocco mostly as an elixir to treat arterial hypertension, diabetes, and cardiac and renal disorders. Here are some of the top benefits of parsley for better health.
1. Rich Nutrient Source
Parsley is a nutrient-dense food. A one-cup serving (60 grams) of fresh parsley provides 22 calories, 3.8 grams (g) of carbohydrates, 1.8 g of protein, 2 g of dietary fiber, 3.72 milligrams (mg) of iron or 22% of the reference daily intake, 332 mg of potassium or 7% of RDI, 79.8 mg of vitamin C and 82.8 mg of calcium.[ii]
Parsley can be used in many flexible forms as part of a healthy diet. You may add fresh parsley to your dressings, sauces and marinades, or simply chop a few sprigs to garnish meals or add the herb to the dish by the end of its cooking time.
You may dry your fresh parsley, too. Tie a bunch together, then hang it upside down in a cool and dry place.[iii] Once completely dry, remove the stems and store the leaves in an airtight container. You may also use a dehydrator or a slightly warm oven. Why not also use the herb as a natural breath freshener? It’s a proven folk remedy against halitosis in a number of places including Italy.[iv]
Parsley can be part of your own home garden; seeds can be planted outdoors in March or April, depending on your growing season, or in late summer for early growth the next spring.
2. Full of Antioxidants
Parsley is chock full of potent antioxidants, which are compounds that prevent cellular damage from free radicals and are required by the body to maintain optimal health.[v] Parsley and celery juices successfully restored antioxidant activity in animal models treated with the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin.[vi]
Further studies show that diets rich in antioxidants such as flavonoids may slash the risk of diseases, including colon cancer.[vii] And as oxidative stress plays a principal role in stress-induced gastric injury, parsley offers antioxidants such as flavonoids, carotenoids and ascorbic acid to combat it.[viii] It might interest you to know that dried parsley appeared in a study to be more antioxidant-rich than its fresh counterpart.[ix]
3. Antidiabetic Action
Many medicinal herbs and spices have been traditionally celebrated for helping to control glucose levels with minimal to no side effects.
Along with Egyptian balsam, parsley extract was found to exhibit antidiabetic and antioxidant properties in Type 1 diabetes mellitus cases.[x] The herbal preparations were found to significantly reduce mean blood glucose levels and significantly increase insulin and total antioxidant capacity in the treated diabetic groups versus the control group.
In a Turkish study, researchers found that parsley had a significant hepatoprotective effect in diabetic animal models, where those treated with the herb demonstrated substantially lower levels of blood glucose, among other markers.[xi]
In similar findings, a separate study concluded that due to its antioxidant properties, parsley extract had a protective effect comparable to diabetes drug glibornuride against hepatotoxicity from the disease.[xii]
4. Promotes Healthy Vision and Bones
Carotenoids such as lutein, beta carotene and zeaxanthin, all found in parsley, help protect the eyes and promote fully functioning vision. Consuming food rich in these carotenoids has been associated with a reduced likelihood of age-related macular degeneration and cataracts.[xiii]
In a study involving 77,466 female nurses ages 45 to 71, lutein and zeaxanthin, on top of foods rich in those carotenoids, were shown to reduce the risk of cataracts severe enough to require extraction.[xiv] Research also vouches for parsley’s bone health benefits. The plant is rich in vitamin K, which is essential for bone health, and in fact packs an impressive 820% of the RDI (984 micrograms) in a one-cup serving.[xv]
In a study, aqueous extracts of parsley as well as basil and chicory, showed bone protection against glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis in animal subjects.[xvi]
5. Natural Cancer Fighter
Flavonoids possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities through multiple mechanisms, including inducing cancer cell death in breast, colorectal and prostate cancers as well as inhibiting malignant cell proliferation in various types of cancer.[xvii]
In a 2020 study, parsley showed anticancer action in human glioblastoma cells alongside an outstanding antioxidant profile. The methanol extract of the herb was also seen as a potential anti-proliferative.[xviii]
Research also showed that parsley may stop breast cancer tumor growth linked to synthetic hormone replacement therapy. In a study, animal subjects exposed to apigenin, a common flavonoid found in parsley, developed fewer tumors and had significant delays in tumor formation compared to subjects not exposed to the flavonoid.[xix]
Find more scientific research on parsley benefits on the GreenMedInfo.com database.
References
[i] Mahmood S et al “Critique of medicinal conspicuousness of Parsley(Petroselinum crispum): a culinary herb of Mediterranean region” Pak J Pharm Sci. 2014 Jan;27(1):193-202.
[ii] NutritionValue.org https://www.nutritionvalue.org/Parsley%2C_fresh_nutritional_value.html
[iii] CookingChannelTV.com https://www.cookingchanneltv.com/devour/2013/06/25-ways-to-use-parsley
[iv] Madhushankari G et al “Halitosis – An overview: Part-I – Classification, etiology, and pathophysiology of halitosis” J Pharm Bioallied Sci. 2015 Aug; 7(Suppl 2): S339-S343.
[v] Lobo V et al “Free radicals, antioxidants and functional foods: Impact on human health” Pharmacogn Rev. 2010 Jul-Dec; 4(8): 118-126.
[vi] Kolarovic J et al “Antioxidant activities of celery and parsley juices in rats treated with doxorubicin” Molecules. 2010 Sep 3 ;15(9):6193-204. Epub 2010 Sep 3.
[vii] Chang H et al “Dietary Flavonoids and the Risk of Colorectal Cancer: An Updated Meta-Analysis of Epidemiological Studies” Nutrients. 2018 Jul 23;10(7):950.
[viii] Akinci A et al “Petroselinum Crispum is Effective in Reducing Stress-Induced Gastric Oxidative Damage” Balkan Med J. 2017 Jan ;34(1):53-59. Epub 2017 Jan 5.
[ix] Opara E et al “Culinary Herbs and Spices: Their Bioactive Properties, the Contribution of Polyphenols and the Challenges in Deducing Their True Health Benefits” Int J Mol Sci. 2014, 15(10), 19183-19202
[x] Khalil N et al “Antidiabetic and Antioxidant Impacts of Desert Date (Balanites aegyptiaca) and Parsley (Petroselinum sativum) Aqueous Extracts: Lessons from Experimental Rats” J Diabetes Res. 2016 ;2016:8408326. Epub 2016 Feb 25.
[xi] Bolkent S et al “Effects of parsley (Petroselinum crispum) on the liver of diabetic rats: a morphological and biochemical study” Phytother Res. 2004 Dec;18(12):996-9.
[xii] Ozsoy-Sacan O et al “Effects of parsley (Petroselinum crispum) extract versus glibornuride on the liver of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats” J Ethnopharmacol. 2006 Mar 8;104(1-2):175-81. Epub 2005 Oct 11.
[xiii] Abdel-Aal E et al “Dietary sources of lutein and zeaxanthin carotenoids and their role in eye health” Nutrients. 2013 Apr 9;5(4):1169-85.
[xiv] Chasan-Taber L et al “A prospective study of carotenoid and vitamin A intakes and risk of cataract extraction in US women” Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 Oct;70(4):509-16.
[xv] NutritionValue.org https://www.nutritionvalue.org/Parsley%2C_fresh_nutritional_value.html
[xvi] Hozayen W et al “Antiosteoporotic effect of Petroselinum crispum, Ocimum basilicum and Cichorium intybus L. in glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis in rats” BMC Complement Altern Med. 2016 ;16(1):165. Epub 2016 Jun 2.
[xvii] Hazafa A et al “The Role of Polyphenol (Flavonoids) Compounds in the Treatment of Cancer Cells” Nutr Cancer. 2019 Jul 9:1-12. Epub 2019 Jul 9.
[xviii] Aissani N et al “Anticancer Effect in Human Glioblastoma and Antioxidant Activity ofL. Methanol Extract” Nutr Cancer. 2020 Oct 29:1-9. Epub 2020 Oct 29.
[xix] Mafuvadze B et al “Apigenin prevents development of medroxyprogesterone acetate-accelerated 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced mammary tumors in Sprague-Dawley rats” Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2011 Aug;4(8):1316-24. Epub 2011 Apr 19.
This deficiency can drastically LOWER your odds of survival
Reproduced from original article:
www.naturalhealth365.com/cancer-survival-reduced-3933.html
by: Abby Campbell, staff writer | August 10, 2021
(NaturalHealth365) A paper published in Demato-Endocrinology suggests that a vitamin D deficiency may account for unexplained disparities in cancer survival rates between different ethnic groups. A large body of scientific literature supports the role of Solar ultraviolet (UVB) light and vitamin D in reducing the incidence and mortality rates of many types of cancers.
Scientific research has confirmed the obvious – sunlight exposure and healthy vitamin D levels are good for us. Interestingly enough, researchers have reported that those with higher serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations, when diagnosed with cancer, have a significantly higher cancer survival rate.
Are you at a high risk of vitamin D deficiency?
Conventional science often looks at the roles of socioeconomic status, stage of cancer development, and treatment protocols to explain why some ethnic groups have a better chance of surviving cancer or not.
But, up until now, science pretty much ignored the fact that anyone living in the United States, with darker skin pigmentation, has a lower ability to produce vitamin D through sunlight exposure. Why?
You see, a darker skin pigmentation acts as a filter – to the UVB sunlight – and diminishes our ability to produce vitamin D3.
It’s been proven that dark skin pigmentation can amount to a 95 percent reduction in vitamin D production. People with darker skin complexions (sometimes) need anywhere from five to ten times more sun exposure to synthesize sufficient vitamin D levels.
By the way, the scientific data suggests that darker skin individuals are at greater risk for 13 types of cancer including, bladder, breast, colon, endometrial, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, rectal, testicular, vaginal, and other cancers such as Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and melanoma.
New evidence suggests your survival is based on vitamin D levels
Did you know that the vitamin D nuclear receptor (VDR) influences the expression of over 1,000 genes – including those associated with diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis.
Findings from Germany’s ESTHER study revealed a lower risk of succumbing to disease when the serum levels of vitamin D levels are adequate. In addition, previously published findings show that people with higher vitamin D levels have lower risks of all degenerative diseases, including cancer.
The rising rate of cancer can be tied to lifestyle choices, including the avoidance of sunlight. Unfortunately, in these “modern” times, sunlight exposure goes largely underappreciated in preventing cancer or ensuring survival success – once diagnosed.
Even the American Cancer Society sees the correlation between healthy vitamin D levels and better outcomes in breast cancer. They reported that women with a deficiency of vitamin D had a 73 percent decrease in survival.
Patients diagnosed with colon cancer are 50 percent more likely to survive with sufficient vitamin D levels. In addition, many studies have found that patients with high vitamin D levels were more likely to have thinner skin cancer tumors.
When will the insanity stop? We tell people to avoid the sun – essential for life; feed them toxic food, and legally sell cancer-causing (chemical-laced) sunblock. Yet, we still wonder why cancer rates are so high?
Educate yourself about the best sources for vitamin D
Being exposed to the sun, your skin will synthesize vitamin D3 sulfate – the best form of vitamin D.
One of the best vegetarian sources is mushrooms, with shitake having the most vitamin D. Other foods rich in vitamin D are fish like sardines, herring, grass-fed beef liver, Atlantic cod, and raw dairy. And, yes, supplementing with high-quality cod liver oil is another good choice.
Getting to know your 25-hydroxyvitamin D level is crucial to surviving a cancer diagnosis and ensuring that any supplement you take is “vitamin D3” – not D2.
And, remember, if your primary care physician is in the dark about the value of vitamin D – then get another doctor.
Sources for this article include:
Frontline Care Doctor Shares How to End COVID
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2021/08/13/frontline-care-doctor-shares-how-to-end-covid.aspx
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola Fact Checked August 13, 2021
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- Critical care physician Dr. Paul Marik speaks with Dr. Mobeen Syed about trends in the management of COVID-19, including what he believes could have wiped out the virus early on
- The continued recommendation that people stay home and isolate while doing nothing until they’re cyanotic, or turning blue from a lack of oxygen, is a disgrace, because early treatment options are available
- The Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Working Group I-MASK+ protocol can be downloaded in full, giving you step-by-step instructions on how to prevent and treat the early symptoms of COVID-19
- According to Marik, a mass distribution program of ivermectin together with melatonin, vitamin D and aspirin could end the COVID-19 pandemic in one month
Dr. Paul Marik, a critical care doctor at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in East Virginia, is renowned for his work in creating the “Marik Cocktail,” which significantly reduces death rates from sepsis using inexpensive, safe, generic medications.1 In the video above, he speaks with Dr. Mobeen Syed about trends in the management of COVID-19, including what he believes could have wiped out the virus early on.2
According to Marik, the treatment of COVID-19 patients in the early stages of the disease was botched in the U.S. and worldwide, and the continued recommendation that people stay home and isolate while doing nothing until they’re cyanotic, or basically turning blue from a lack of oxygen, is a disgrace, because early treatment options are available.
“There is a scientific vacuum and this starts back to March of last year,” Marik said. “There’s been a complete failure of the major medical institutions across the world. Every major society has failed to provide honest useful scientific information.”3
While the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health have stated there’s no treatment for COVID-19, only supportive care to treat the fever or provide fluids, Marik describes this as an outrage:4
“While we may not have the best answers, we do have some answers and to tell people to stay at home and isolate so they go blue is an absurdity that’s actually causing lots of damage because we are now waiting for the virus to, in some people, cause the cytokine storm. And when they arrive with that state it is very difficult to reverse it and stop it and bring them back.”
FLCC’s COVID-19 Treatment Protocol
Marik and four other critical care physicians formed the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Working Group (FLCCC) early on in the pandemic. Not content to offer COVID-19 patients “supportive care,” Marik recruited some of the most knowledgeable pulmonary critical care specialists to solve the COVID-19 treatment puzzle, honing in on stopping the hyper-immune response — including multi-organ inflammation and clotting — which is what typically drives death in fatal COVID-19 cases.5
Marik told Mountain Home magazine, “As pulmonary critical care doctors we know how to treat inflammation and clotting, with corticosteroids and anticoagulants. It’s first-grade science.”6 Yet, when the pandemic began, press briefings neglected to include clinicians who were actually treating COVID-19 patients to state “these are the symptoms and this is what you have to do.”7
FLCCC released their MATH+ protocol for hospitalized COVID-19 patients in March 2020. It gets its name from:
| Intravenous Methylprednisolone
High-dose intravenous Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) Plus optional treatments Thiamine, zinc and vitamin D Full dose low molecular weight Heparin |
The MATH+ protocol led to high survival rates. Out of more than 100 hospitalized COVID-19 patients treated with the MATH+ protocol as of mid-April 2020, only two died. Both were in their 80s and had advanced chronic medical conditions.8 FLCCC also created I-MASK+, which is their mass distribution protocol for prevention and outpatient treatment of COVID-19.
Step-by-Step Guide to COVID Prevention and Early Treatment
FLCCC’s I-MASK+ protocol can be downloaded in full,9 giving you step-by-step instructions on how to prevent and treat the early symptoms of COVID-19. The prevention protocol is for those who are at high risk of COVID-19 or know they’ve been exposed, and includes:
| Ivermectin | Vitamin D3 |
| Vitamin C | Quercetin |
| Zinc | Melatonin |
The early outpatient protocol, for those with early symptoms, includes all of the above, plus aspirin and nasopharyngeal sanitation, such as steamed essential oil inhalation three times a day along with chlorhexidine mouthwash gargles and betadine nasal spray. Fluvoxamine is also recommended in certain cases and monitoring of oxygen saturation levels with a pulse oximeter is recommended.
FLCCC also has protocols for at-home prevention and early treatment, called I-MASS, which involves ivermectin, vitamin D3, a multivitamin and a digital thermometer to watch your body temperature in the prevention phase and ivermectin, melatonin, aspirin and antiseptic mouthwash for early at-home treatment. Household or close contacts of COVID-19 patients may take ivermectin (18 milligrams, then repeat the dose in 48 hours) for post-exposure prevention.10
Marik’s original COVID Protocol, released in March 2020, recommended hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), a zinc ionophore, to decrease the duration of viral shedding, particularly in elderly patients with comorbidities.11 However, their latest I-MASK+ protocol, updated June 30, 2021,12 recommends quercetin instead. Quercetin, also a zinc ionophore, is an over-the-counter alternative to HCQ and works much like HCQ does. According to Marik:13
“Experimental and early clinical data (published in high impact journals) suggests that this compound has broad antiviral properties (including against coronavirus) and acting at various steps in the viral life cycle. It also appears to be a potent inhibitor of heat shock proteins (HSP 40 and 70) which are required for viral assembly.”
Censorship Is Keeping This Information Quiet
If you’re surprised to hear that an established protocol for COVID-19 prevention and treatment exists, it’s likely because you’ve heard nothing about it on mainstream media. This is intentional and exemplifies the censorship that has been occurring throughout the pandemic. “What we’re going through now is unprecedented in the history of science,” Marik said.14
“I mean this goes back to witchcraft and really prehistoric behaviors. Science is based on exchange of information and that has been censored. So, I think history is going to look back very unfavorably on this period.
I think this is a very dark period in the history of humanity, the history of science, the history of the press, you know the history of freedom of speech, just because of the complete lack of information, misinformation, disinformation and censorship. I mean it’s absurd … what we’re saying is being censored and labeled as scientific misinformation.”
Ivermectin is a glaring example, which continues to be ignored even though it has shown remarkable success in preventing and treating COVID-19. It was December 2020 when FLCCC called for widespread adoption of ivermectin, both as a prophylactic and for the treatment of all phases of COVID-19.15,16
In one trial,17 58 volunteers took 12 milligrams of ivermectin once per month for four months. Only four (6.96%) came down with mild COVID-19 symptoms during the May through August 2020 trial period. In comparison, 44 of 60 health care workers (73.3%) who had declined the medication were diagnosed with COVID-19. Ivermectin is safe, inexpensive and widely available, with antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties, leading Marik to describe it as the perfect drug to treat COVID-19.18
While an increasing number of doctors and countries have adopted ivermectin’s use for COVID-19, many more refuse it, even going so far as to prohibit its use for patients. Legal fights have ensued, with family members enlisting lawyers to battle hospital boards in order to give their dying loved ones the lifesaving pills — even when all other treatment options have been exhausted.19 Urgent change is needed, Marik said, because profits are being put ahead of lives:20
“Making money and profiteering is what is driving this — not saving lives — and what they’re most interested in is preserving that single organ, which may be damaged the most, which is the back pocket. They’re terrified of the back pocket being damaged. The heart, the brain, the lung, they don’t care. It’s the back pocket that’s driving this.”
‘The Most Dangerous Vaccines We’ve Ever Used’
Knowing that treatment options exist may change people’s decisions about COVID-19 vaccines, which Marik describes as “categorically and without question … the most dangerous vaccines that we’ve ever used.”21 In full disclosure, Marik himself is vaccinated, having received the Pfizer mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, which he said he received since he’s over 60, putting him in a higher risk category.
If he were 24 years old, however, Marik said he wouldn’t get vaccinated, and he doesn’t recommend it for younger children either, as he believes for people under 30 with no risk factors, the risks of the vaccine outweigh those of COVID-19:22
“I think that the risk of a bad outcome from COVID in a 12- to 17-year-old is very low and the risk of an adverse effect to the vaccine is probably much higher. So, it’s just not commonsense that you would force vaccination in such kids.
I think it’s a risk-benefit ratio. If they were a Type 1 diabetic, if they were immunocompromised, if they were severely obese, you may want to reconsider, but a healthy 12- to 17-year-old, in my opinion and obviously it’s my opinion, I would be hesitant in vaccinating these kids.”
While Marik believes the vaccines may be “somewhat effective” in decreasing cases of COVID-19 hospitalization and death, he stresses that they come with sizeable risks. “The number of side effects and deaths from these vaccines — and this is based on reportable data from the WHO and the VAERS network — the number of deaths and adverse events are an order of 10- to 100-fold magnitude than any other vaccine.”23
He refers to the mass COVID vaccination campaign as the biggest experiment done in the history of mankind, and points out that we don’t know what the long-term effects will be. “And to make it even worse,” Marik says, “the vaccine companies know a lot about these vaccines but they haven’t given us this information. It’s hidden.”
“For example, when you get the mRNA vaccine, people assume it stays in the arm but that’s not true. The spikes tend to spread throughout the body. Now the vaccine companies know about this but they don’t want to tell us about it. We have to figure this out ourselves.
… we need to respect [people’s] autonomy. We need to respect their informed consent. They should be able to decide for themselves. We should not be forcing this upon people and this mandate that colleges and some hospitals have, I think it goes against the foundation of freedom of choice, freedom to do to your own body as you respect and freedom of consent.”24
Symptoms of Long COVID ‘Identical’ to Vaccination Syndrome
FLCCC also has a management protocol — I-RECOVER25 — for long-haul COVID-19 syndrome, which includes a range of symptoms such as malaise, headaches, painful joints, chest pain and cognitive dysfunction.
The protocol is still evolving as more is learned about the condition, but of note is that it’s been successfully used to treat post-vaccine inflammatory syndromes as well. As noted by Marik, long COVID and post-vaccine inflammatory syndromes share many similarities, but the latter is taboo to talk about:26
“Post-vaccination adverse events are much more common in younger people. That’s our impression. There’s not a lot of data and if you talk to the experts about a post-vaccination syndrome they have no idea what you’re talking about because … it’s politically not correct to talk about it. They don’t want to hear about it.
So as far as I know, there are not any peer-reviewed publications on post-vaccination syndrome but we know from patients that they develop symptoms almost identical to the long hauler.
They develop severe symptoms very much similar to the post-COVID syndrome. So, you know people say, ‘Oh it’s in their head. They’re making this up. It’s a psychiatric disease. They’re trying to gain some something out of this.’ I think it’s a real disease … and these people truly have monocyte activation production of cytokines much like the post-COVID syndrome.”
This Could End the Pandemic in One Month
Syed asked Marik what he would do if given the opportunity to end the pandemic next month. His response was remarkably simple: a mass distribution program of ivermectin together with melatonin, vitamin D and aspirin. By assuming everyone is infected and treating with this safe combination of inexpensive compounds, Marik says, “We’ll eliminate SARS-CoV-2. It will be gone.”
This isn’t likely to happen, though, due to “economic and political factors that benefit from the ongoing pandemic.”27 Marik also weighed in on the lab leak theory that SARS-CoV-2 came from a laboratory in Wuhan, China:28
“I think the preponderance of evidence highly suggests this was a manipulated virus that whether it leaked on accident or by design leaked from the Wuhan laboratory … the molecular structure of the spike protein would suggest that this was a manipulated the protein was specifically manipulated and enhanced …
The diversity of the symptoms, the systems it involves, the depth of damage it does and the durability of the damage — that first it causes the acute and then it becomes long COVID and then it just keeps sitting with us — I have not seen any other virus in my lifetime, which does this kind of destruction.”
Moving forward, Marik states that health officials must learn from the enormous mistakes made during the pandemic, which highlighted a global lack of collaboration among health care providers along with a lack of honesty and openness.
“This pandemic has been an example of what not to do. I think everything that could have gone wrong went wrong,” he said. Once COVID is under control, Marik hopes to refocus his efforts on sepsis, which remains a leading cause of deaths overall and is also an important contributor to the death of COVID-19 patients.
- 1, 5, 6, 18 Mountain Home May 1, 2021
- 2, 3, 4, 7, 14, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27 YouTube June 30, 2021
- 8 Dr. Pierre Kory Senate Testimony May 6, 2020 (PDF)
- 9 FLCCC Alliance, I-Mask+
- 10 FLCCC Alliance, I-MASS
- 11, 13 COVID Protocol March 24, 2020
- 12 FLCCC, I-MASK+ Protocol June 30, 2021
- 15 FLCCC December 8, 2020
- 16 Medpage Today January 6, 2021
- 17 European Journal of Medical & Health Sciences 2020; 2(6)
- 19 American Journal of Therapeutics May/June 2021, Volume 28, Issue 3
- 25 FLCCC Alliance, I-RECOVER
- 28 YouTube June 30, 2021
Vitamin B12 Fights Nerve Pain and Defends Your Heart and Brain
© GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC.
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Reproduced from original article:
www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/vitamin-b12-fights-nerve-pain-and-defends-your-heart-and-brain
Posted on: Wednesday, November 25th 2020 at 12:00 pm
Written By: Dr. Diane Fulton
This article is copyrighted by GreenMedInfo LLC, 2020
Did you know that a deficiency in vitamin B12 could be an underlying cause of nerve pain and is associated with higher risks for heart disease and increased symptoms and severity of brain disorders? Foods rich in B12, like fish, meats and dairy, are a natural way to restore your health
A vitamin B12 deficiency or lower level of B12 has been associated with a variety of conditions including neuropathic pain, increased risks for heart disease such as obesity, high blood pressure and poor lipid profiles, and cognitive and brain disorders such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, schizophrenia, depression and tremors.
Three Benefits of Vitamin B12
1. Decreases Nerve Pain
In a review of 24 studies, researchers found evidence for the therapeutic effect of B12 in the treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia, a pain symptom of shingles (strong evidence) and the treatment of painful peripheral neuropathy, which is often associated with diabetes (strongest evidence).[i]
How does vitamin B12 impact nerve pain? B12 promotes myelination, which means it increases the protective fibers and sheaths around your neurons thus improving the efficiency of electrical transmission of neuron processes.[ii] It also increases nerve regeneration and decreases ectopic nerve firing, which is highly correlated with neuropathic pain.[iii],[iv]
Scientists performed a meta-analysis of 18 studies of serum vitamin B12 levels (1,239 cases and 1,562 controls) in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Reduced vitamin B12 levels were found in patients with diabetes and nerve pain compared with patients in the diabetes group without nerve pain, showing B12 supplementation as a potential treatment for diabetic-related nerve pain.[v]
The prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency was significantly high in diabetics, especially those treated with the drug metformin, in a study of 200 patients in Nigeria, and researchers recommended vitamin B12 supplementation to prevent the occurrence of complications such as impaired immunity, peripheral neuropathy and degeneration of the spinal cord.[vi]
In a similar study of diabetics in Oman, 248 subjects included 26 (10.5%) who were vitamin B12 deficient and 53 (21.4%) who were borderline deficient, with those taking the highest metformin dose found to be the most vitamin B12 deficient. Researchers recommend B12 level monitoring for patients with diabetes, particularly those on metformin treatment.[vii]
2. Lowers Risk for Heart Disease
Conditions that increase the risk for heart disease include obesity, imbalanced cholesterol, high blood sugar and high blood pressure (when multiple conditions are present, it is called metabolic syndrome).[viii] Research shows a strong relationship between low B12 levels and elevated heart risks.
In a study of 80 middle-aged women, obesity was found to negatively affect vitamin B12 levels, indirectly, by reducing their vitamin D levels, thus increasing the risk for heart disease.[ix] In a large nationally representative sample of U.S. adults (9,075), higher serum vitamin B12 levels were inversely associated with obesity.[x]
Indian patients (75) were studied and those with metabolic syndrome (obese, high lipid profile and high fasting sugar levels) had elevated blood levels of homocysteine, which can contribute to arterial damage and blood clots in your blood vessels[xi] and reduced levels of vitamin B12 compared to the control group.[xii]
An abnormal lipid profile, an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, was found in a study of 341 apparently healthy Saudi women, aged 19 to 30 years, who had low vitamin B12 levels.[xiii]
3. Improves Brain Health
Increasingly, science is showing the importance of vitamin B12 as an excellent food source or supplementation treatment to bolster brain health and decrease brain disorders and cognitive decline in subjects.
The results of a study of 89 children and adolescents with depression showed that vitamin B12 deficiency and elevated homocysteine levels are part of the pathology of depression.[xiv] In a study of 100 psychiatric patients, 25% were found to be vitamin B12 deficient when compared to the healthy control group; further studies are needed to establish the cause-effect relationship between vitamin B12 deficiency and psychiatric illness and the effectiveness of vitamin B12 treatment.[xv]
In another study of 202 vitamin B12-deficient patients with noted cognitive impairments, 171 (84%) patients reported marked symptomatic improvement after vitamin B12 replacement while Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores improved in 158 (78%) patients; in 44 patients who reported no symptomatic improvement, MMSE scores improved in 26.
Vitamin B12 deficiency was strongly linked to cognition and replacement therapy was suggested as an option to improve patient cognition and memory outcomes and symptoms like numbness and tingling.[xvi]
In 165 elderly (80 years or older) people from Brazil studied, over 35% experienced cognitive decline as measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination; those with higher B12 levels (greater than 19 but lower than 496 nanograms per milliliter) showed less cognitive decline.[xvii]
In a study of postmortem human frontal cortex of 43 control subjects, from 19 weeks of fetal development through 80 years of age, and 12 subjects with autism and nine with schizophrenia, vitamin B12 levels were significantly lower in older control subjects (greater than 60 years of age), reflecting a 10-fold age-dependent decline. Both autistic and schizophrenic subjects’ B12 levels were more than three-fold lower than age-matched controls.[xviii]
Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients with low vitamin B12 levels (less than 587 nanograms per milliliter) were over five times more likely to develop dementia, with 50% having dementia within five years of PD diagnosis compared with 11% in those with a higher vitamin B12 level; vitamin B12 is a likely treatment to lower future dementia risk for those with Parkinson’s.[xix]
In research of 55 outpatients, a low vitamin B12 level was also associated with greater production of a proflammatory cytokine called IL-6 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells compared to the control group; scientists suggest that this neuroinflammatory effect could be implicated in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease.[xx]
Both adults and infants deficient in vitamin B12 may present with chorea — involuntary muscle movement, tremors, Parkinsonism and dystonia — cramped toes or feet, or a combination, and these various movement symptoms responded well to vitamin B12 supplementation in a review of cases.[xxi]
B-vitamin treatment (folic acid, B6 and B12) reduces, by as much as seven-fold, cerebral atrophy in gray matter regions specifically vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease, including the medial temporal lobe. B vitamins lower homocysteine, which directly leads to a decrease in gray matter atrophy, and slows cognitive decline.[xxii]
In a case study of a patient presenting with progressive cognitive and functional deterioration, psychosis and seizures, which five years later was found to be secondary to pernicious anemia, vitamin B12 replacement caused a remarkable neuropsychiatric recovery.[xxiii]
Vitamin B12 is known to play critical roles during development and aging of the brain, and vitamin B12 deficiency has been linked to neurodevelopmental and degenerative disorders; Research shows the isoform-specific regulation of PTP-3/LAR PRTP expression is a key molecular mechanism that mediates vitamin-B12-dependent neuronal and glial development.[xxiv]
Food Sources for B12
Nutritional foods in your diet that are packed with B12 vitamin include mostly meats (liver, beef, chicken, turkey), fish (salmon, tuna, trout and shrimp) and dairy products (milk, eggs, yogurt and cheeses like Swiss and feta).
Fermented soy (tempeh) as well as fortified nutritional yeast can also be helpful for vegetarians with a B12 deficiency to increase their B12 intake. Some B12 may also be found in seaweed (one of the most common ones in the U.S. being the purple laver nori sheets used in sushi), shiitake mushrooms and spirulina but experts caution as to the consistency and availability of B12 in these products.
Those who are allergic to or wish to avoid dairy products from cows may find fortified B12 substitutes such as almond milk, coconut milk and cheeses like buffalo mozzarella or feta. Dietary B12 is recommended as the best way to increase your B12 level, but supplements such as chlorella tablets may be a good alternative if nutrition does not adequately address a B12 deficiency.[xxv] See Table 1 for a handy reference to dietary sources of vitamin B12.[xxvi]
Table 1 – Foods with High Vitamin B12 Content (Descending Order)
|
Foods High in Vitamin B12
|
Micrograms (mcg) |
|
Clams, cooked, 3 ounces |
84.1 |
|
Liver, beef, cooked, 3 ounces |
70.7 |
|
Mussels, 3-ounce |
20.4 |
|
Nori, dried purple laver seaweed, 10 sheets, 26 grams |
15.6 |
|
Crab, steamed, 3-ounces |
9.8 |
|
Lean beef, cooked, 3-ounces |
6.9 |
|
Trout, rainbow, wild, cooked, 3 ounces |
5.4 |
|
Salmon, sockeye, cooked, 3 ounces |
4.8 |
|
Trout, rainbow, farmed, cooked, 3 ounces |
3.5 |
|
Tuna fish, light, canned in water, 3 ounces Cheese, feta, 1 cup |
2.5 |
|
Nutritional yeast, 100% fortified with vitamin B12, 1 serving Coconut milk, 100% fortified, 1 cup |
2.4 |
|
Shrimp, steamed, large, 4 ounces Haddock, cooked, 3 ounces |
1.8 |
|
Beef, top sirloin, broiled, 3 ounces |
1.4 |
|
Milk, low-fat, 1 cup |
1.2 |
|
Yogurt, fruit, low-fat, 8 ounces |
1.1 |
|
Skim milk: 1 cup Cheese, Swiss, 1 ounce Beef taco, 1 soft taco |
0.9 |
|
Turkey, 3-ounces |
0.8 |
|
Tempeh, fermented soy, 1 cup |
0.7 |
|
Breakfast cereals, 25% fortified with vitamin B12, 1 serving Egg, whole, cooked 1 large, yolk has most B12 |
0.6 |
|
Chicken, breast meat, roasted, 3 ounces |
0.3 |
B12 — Essential Vitamin for Nerve Pain, Brain and Heart Health
Vitamin B12 plays essential roles in decreasing nerve pain, lowering risks for heart disease and improving brain health and brain disease symptoms such as tremors, dementia and cognition.
Many people experience a deficiency in vitamin B12, caused by drugs, aging, diet or other precursors to diseases, which compromises their body. If you would like to read more about the scientific evidence of B12’s benefits, see:
- Vitamin B12 Deficiency
- Vitamin B12 and Cardiovascular Diseases
- B12 Deficiency and Brain Health
- Vitamin B12
References
[i] Thomas Julian, Rubiya Syeed, Nicholas Glascow, Efthalia Angelopoulou, Panagiotis Zis. B12 as a Treatment for Peripheral Neuropathic Pain: A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2020 Jul 25 ;12(8). Epub 2020 Jul 25. PMID: 32722436
[ii] Medline Plus. Encyclopedia. Myelination. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002261.htm#:~:text=Myelin%20is%20an%20insulating%20layer,efficiently%20along%20the%20nerve%20cells
[iii] Sun Q, Tu H, Xing GG, Han JS, Wan Y. Ectopic discharges from injured nerve fibers are highly correlated with tactile allodynia only in early, but not late, stage in rats with spinal nerve ligation. Exp Neurol. 2005 Jan;191(1):128-36. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2004.09.008. PMID: 15589519.
[iv] Holmes SA, Barakat N, Bhasin M, Lopez NI, Lebel A, Zurakowski D, Thomas B, Bhasin S, Silva KE, Borra R, Burstein R, Simons LE, Borsook D. Biological and behavioral markers of pain following nerve injury in humans. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31890990/ Neurobiol Pain. 2019 Dec 4;7:100038. doi: 10.1016/j.ynpai.2019.100038. PMID: 31890990; PMCID: PMC6926375.
[v] Dan Wang, Jun-Xia Zhai, Dian-Wu Liu. Serum folate, vitamin B12 levels and diabetic peripheral neuropathy in type 2 diabetes: A meta-analysis. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2017 Jan 9. Epub 2017 Jan 9. PMID: 28081987
[vi] Sampson Omagbemi Owhin, Tomisin Mathew Adaja, Olumuyiwa John Fasipe, Peter Ehizokhale Akhideno, Olufunto Olufela Kalejaiye, Michael Olufemi Kehinde. Prevalence of vitamin B deficiency among metformin-treated type 2 diabetic patients in a tertiary institution, South-South Nigeria. SAGE Open Med. 2019 ;7:2050312119853433. Epub 2019 May 23. PMID: 31205703
[vii] Ahmed Al-Hamdi, Mohammed Al-Gahhafi, Shihab Al-Roshdi, Sanjay Jaju, Ali Al-Mamari, Abdulaziz M Al Mahrezi. Vitamin B12 Deficiency in Diabetic Patients on Metformin Therapy: A cross-sectional study from Oman. Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J. 2020 Feb ;20(1):e90-e94. Epub 2020 Mar 9. PMID: 32190375
[viii] Heart.org. Health Topics. Metabolic Syndrome. Symptoms and Diagnosis of Metabolic Syndrome. https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/metabolic-syndrome/symptoms-and-diagnosis-of-metabolic-syndrome
[ix] Nikola Curic, Branislava Ilincic, Natasa Milic, Velibor Cabarkapa, Stanislava Nikolic, Milica Medic-Stojanoska, Rinaldo Pellicano, Ludovico Abenavoli. The relationship between the vitamin serum 25(OH)D and the B12 concentrations in obese women. Minerva Med. 2017 Nov 7. Epub 2017 Nov 7. PMID: 29115801
[x] Yangbo Sun, Minxian Sun, Buyun Liu, Yang Du, Shuang Rong, Guifeng Xu, Linda G Snetselaar, Wei Bao. Inverse Association Between Serum Vitamin B12 Concentration and Obesity Among Adults in the United States. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2019 ;10:414. Epub 2019 Jun 27. PMID: 31316466
[xi] Healthline.com. Health. Homocysteine Levels. https://www.healthline.com/health/homocysteine-levels
[xii] Moninder Narang, Mukul Singh, Shruti Dange. Serum Homocysteine, Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid Levels in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome. J Assoc Physicians India. 2016 Jul ;64(7):22-26. PMID: 27759338
[xiii] Sara Al-Musharaf, Ghadeer S Aljuraiban, Syed Danish Hussain, Abdullah M Alnaami, Ponnusamy Saravanan, Nasser Al-Daghri. Low Serum Vitamin B12 Levels Are Associated with Adverse Lipid Profiles in Apparently Healthy Young Saudi Women. Nutrients. 2020 Aug 10 ;12(8). Epub 2020 Aug 10. PMID: 32785129
[xiv] Erman Esnafoglu, Deniz Deniz Ozturan. The relationship of severity of depression with homocysteine, folate, vitamin B12, and vitamin D levels in children and adolescents. Child Adolesc Ment Health. 2020 Apr 18. Epub 2020 Apr 18. PMID: 32304285
[xv] Rashmi Sagar, Nitin Aggarwal, Nimmi Jose. A Cross-Sectional Study of Serum Folate and Vitamin B12 Levels in Psychiatric Inpatients. Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. 2019 Oct 10 ;21(5). Epub 2019 Oct 10. PMID: 31617966
[xvi] Shazia Jatoi, Abdul Hafeez, Syeda Urooj Riaz, Aijaz Ali, Muhammad Ishaq Ghauri, Maham Zehra. Low Vitamin B12 Levels: An Underestimated Cause Of Minimal Cognitive Impairment And Dementia. Cureus. 2020 Feb 13 ;12(2):e6976. Epub 2020 Feb 13. PMID: 32206454
[xvii] M I da Rosa, W O Beck, T Colonetti, J Budni, A C B Falchetti, L Colonetti, A S Coral, F O Meller. Association of vitamin D and vitamin Bwith cognitive impairment in elderly aged 80 years or older: a cross-sectional study. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2019 Feb 28. Epub 2019 Feb 28. PMID: 30821057
[xviii] Yiting Zhang, Nathaniel W Hodgson, Malav S Trivedi, Hamid M Abdolmaleky, Margot Fournier, Michel Cuenod, Kim Quang Do, Richard C Deth. Decreased Brain Levels of Vitamin B12 in Aging, Autism and Schizophrenia. PLoS One. 2016 ;11(1):e0146797. Epub 2016 Jan 22. PMID: 26799654
[xix] Stuart J McCarter, Cole Stang, Pierpaolo Turcano, Michelle M Mielke, Farwa Ali, James H Bower, Rodolfo Savica. Higher vitamin B12 level at Parkinson’s disease diagnosis is associated with lower risk of future dementia. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2020 Mar 16 ;73:19-22. Epub 2020 Mar 16. PMID: 32203914
[xx] Antonis Politis, Paolo Olgiati, Petros Malitas, Diego Albani, Alessandra Signorini, Letizia Polito, Stefania De Mauro, Aikaterini Zisaki, Christina Piperi, Evangelia Stamouli, Antonis Mailis, Sara Batelli, Gianluigi Forloni, Diana De Ronchi, Anastasios Kalofoutis, Ioannis Liappas, Alessandro Serretti. Vitamin B12 levels in Alzheimer’s disease: association with clinical features and cytokine production. J Alzheimers Dis. 2010;19(2):481-8. PMID: 20110595
[xxi] Aaron de Souza, M W Moloi. Involuntary movements due to vitamin B12 deficiency. Neurol Res. 2014 May 22:1743132814Y0000000396. Epub 2014 May 22. PMID: 24852503
[xxii] Douaud G, Refsum H, de Jager CA, Jacoby R, Nichols TE, Smith SM, Smith AD. Preventing Alzheimer’s disease-related gray matter atrophy by B-vitamin treatment. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Jun 4;110(23):9523-8. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1301816110. Epub 2013 May 20. PMID: 23690582; PMCID: PMC3677457.
[xxiii] Bruno Silva, Ana Velosa, J Bernardo Barahona-Corrêa. Reversible dementia, psychotic symptoms and epilepsy in a patient with vitamin B deficiency. BMJ Case Rep. 2019 May 14 ;12(5). Epub 2019 May 14. PMID: 31092496
[xxiv] Albert Zhang, Brian D Ackley, Dong Yan. Vitamin B12 Regulates Glial Migration and Synapse Formation through Isoform-Specific Control of PTP-3/LAR PRTP Expression. Cell Rep. 2020 Mar 24 ;30(12):3981-3988.e3. PMID: 32209461
[xxv] Randall Edward Merchant, Todd W Phillips, Jay Udani. Nutritional Supplementation with Chlorella pyrenoidosa Lowers Serum Methylmalonic Acid in Vegans and Vegetarians with a Suspected Vitamin B12 Deficiency. J Med Food. 2015 Oct 20. Epub 2015 Oct 20. PMID: 26485478
[xxvi] Office of Dietary Supplements. National Institute of Health. Factsheets. Vitamin B12. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB12-HealthProfessional/
The Effects of Vitamin D and COVID-Related Outcomes
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2021/07/08/vitamin-d-and-covid-19.aspx
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola Fact Checked July 08, 2021<
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- Researchers investigated the effects of Pulse D therapy — daily high-dose supplementation (60,000 IUs) of vitamin D — for eight to 10 days, in addition to standard therapy, for COVID-19 patients deficient in vitamin D
- Vitamin D levels increased significantly in the vitamin D group — from 16 ng/ml to 89 ng/ml — while inflammatory markers significantly decreased, without any side effects
- Vitamin D has multiple actions on the immune system, including enhancing the production of antimicrobial peptides by immune cells, reducing damaging proinflammatory cytokines and promoting the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines
- A growing number of studies shows that vitamin D administration significantly reduces ICU admission and death in cases of COVID-19
- Vitamin D is inexpensive, widely available and safe; getting your blood tested — and optimizing your levels — is one of the simplest and most straightforward steps you can take to improve your health, including in relation to COVID-19
Do you know your vitamin D level? If not, getting your blood tested — and optimizing your levels — is one of the simplest and most straightforward steps you can take to improve your health, including in relation to COVID-19. Vitamin D, as an immunomodulator, is a perfect candidate for countering the immune dysregulation that’s common with COVID-19.1
As early as November 2020, it was known that there were striking differences in vitamin D status among people who had asymptomatic COVID-19 and those who became severely ill and required ICU admission. In one study, 32.96% of those with asymptomatic cases were vitamin D deficient, compared to 96.82% of those who were admitted to the ICU for a severe case.2
COVID-19 patients who were deficient in this inexpensive and widely available vitamin had a higher inflammatory response and a greater fatality rate. The Indian study authors recommended “mass administration of vitamin D supplements to populations at risk for COVID-19,”3 but this hasn’t happened, at least not in the U.S.
As of April 21, 2021, the date the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) last updated their COVID-19 treatment guidelines/vitamin D page, they stated, “There are insufficient data to recommend either for or against the use of vitamin D for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19.”4 As you’ll see in the paragraphs that follow, however, the evidence for its use is beyond overwhelming.
Vitamin D Therapy Reduces COVID’s Inflammatory Storm
Vitamin D has multiple actions on the immune system, including enhancing the production of antimicrobial peptides by immune cells, reducing damaging proinflammatory cytokines and promoting the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines.5 Cytokines are a group of proteins that your body uses to control inflammation.
If you have an infection, your body will release cytokines to help combat inflammation, but sometimes it releases more than it should. If the cytokine release spirals out of control, the resulting “cytokine storm” becomes dangerous and is closely tied to sepsis, which may be an important contributor to the death of COVID-19 patients.6
Many COVID-19 therapeutics are focused on viral elimination instead of modulating the hyperinflammation often seen in the disease. In fact, uncontrolled immune response has been suggested as a factor in disease severity, making immunomodulation “an attractive potential treatment strategy.”7
In one example, researchers investigated the effects of Pulse D therapy — daily high-dose supplementation (60,000 IUs) of vitamin D — for eight to 10 days, in addition to standard therapy, for COVID-19 patients deficient in vitamin D.8 Vitamin D levels increased significantly in the vitamin D group — from 16 ng/ml to 89 ng/ml — while inflammatory markers significantly decreased, without any side effects.
“Vit.D acts as a smart switch to decrease the Th1 response and pro inflammatory cytokines while enhancing the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines in cases of immune dysregulation. It is pertinent to note that SARS-CoV-2 virus activates Th1 response and suppresses Th2 response,” researchers wrote in the journal Scientific Reports.9
They concluded that Pulse D therapy could be safely added to COVID-19 treatment protocols for improved outcomes.
Vitamin D3 Reduces COVID-19 Deaths and ICU Admissions
Another group of researchers in Spain gave vitamin D3 (calcifediol) to patients admitted to the COVID-19 wards of Barcelona’s Hospital del Mar.10 About half the patients received vitamin D3 in the amount of 21,280 IU on day one plus 10,640 IU on Days 3, 7, 15 and 30. Those that received vitamin D fared significantly better, with only 4.5% requiring ICU admission compared to 21% in the no-vitamin D group.
Vitamin D treatment also significantly reduced mortality, with 4.7% of the vitamin D group dying at admission compared to 15.9% in the no-vitamin D group. “In patients hospitalized with COVID-19, calcifediol treatment significantly reduced ICU admission and mortality,” according to the researchers.11 In response to the findings, British MP David Davis tweeted:12
“This is a very important study on vitamin D and Covid-19. Its findings are incredibly clear. An 80% reduction in need for ICU and a 60% reduction in deaths, simply by giving a very cheap and very safe therapy – calcifediol, or activated vitamin D … The findings of this large and well conducted study should result in this therapy being administered to every COVID patient in every hospital in the temperate latitudes.”
At one point, the U.K.’s National Health Service was offering free vitamin D supplements to people at high risk from COVID-19,13 but they also state, like the U.S., “there is currently not enough evidence to support taking vitamin D to prevent or treat COVID-19.”14
While their guidance does urge Britons to take a vitamin D supplement between October and March “to keep your bones and muscles healthy,” it only recommends a dose of 400 IUs a day, which is easily 20 times lower than what most people require for general health and optimal immune function.
Dose matters when it comes to COVID-19 recovery. Researchers compared daily supplementation with either 5,000 IUs or 1,000 IUs oral vitamin D3 among patients with suboptimal vitamin D levels hospitalized for mild to moderate COVID-19.15 Those in the 5,000 IUs group had a significantly shorter time to recovery for cough and loss of the sense of taste compared to the 1,000 IUs group.
According to the researchers, “The use of 5000 IU vitamin D3 as an adjuvant therapy for COVID-19 patients with suboptimal vitamin D status, even for a short duration, is recommended.”16
If You’re Hospitalized With COVID-19, Ask for Vitamin D
The evidence continues to grow that treatment with vitamin D leads to significantly better outcomes for people hospitalized with COVID-19. In another example, hospitalized COVID-19 patients who received vitamin D3 had a mortality rate of 5%, compared to 20% for those who did not. The researchers explained:17
“… [T]he protective effect of calcifediol remained significant after adjustment for multiple confounder factors related to severity disease even after selecting those subjects who were older (≥65 years) and had worse oxygen saturation levels at admission (<96%).”
Similarly, 76 consecutive patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at Reina Sofia University Hospital in Córdoba,18 Spain, were randomized to receive either standard care or standard care plus vitamin D3 to rapidly increase vitamin D levels.
Of 50 treated with vitamin D, only one person was admitted to the ICU. Of 26 who were not treated with vitamin D, 13 (50%) required admission to the hospital. Researchers noted, “Calcifediol seems to be able to reduce severity of the disease.”19 Further:
“Of the patients treated with calcifediol, none died, and all were discharged, without complications. The 13 patients not treated with calcifediol, who were not admitted to the ICU, were discharged. Of the 13 patients admitted to the ICU, two died and the remaining 11 were discharged.”
In a previous review,20 the researchers explained that vitamin D has favorable effects during both the early viraemic phase of COVID-19 as well as the later hyperinflammatory phase,21 including for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a lung condition that’s common in severe COVID-19 cases, which causes low blood oxygen and fluid buildup in the lungs.
“Based on many preclinical studies and observational data in humans, ARDS may be aggravated by vitamin D deficiency and tapered down by activation of the vitamin D receptor,” they said22 … “Based on a pilot study, oral calcifediol may be the most promising approach.”
Even regular “booster” doses of vitamin D, regardless of baseline vitamin D levels, appear to be effective in reducing the risk of mortality in people admitted to the hospital with COVID-19, particularly for the elderly.23,24 Those researchers noted, “This inexpensive and widely available treatment could have positive implications for the management of COVID-19 worldwide, particularly in developing nations.”25
Lower Vitamin D Levels May Increase Death Risk
Researchers in Indonesia, who looked at data from 780 COVID-19 patients, found those with a vitamin D level between 21 ng/mL (52.5 nmol/L) and 29 ng/mL (72.5 nmol/L) had a 12.55 times higher risk of death than those with a level above 30 ng/mL.26
Having a level below 20 ng/mL was associated with a 19.12 times higher risk of death. A “majority of the COVID-19 cases with insufficient and deficient Vitamin D status died,” they added,27 suggesting that research is needed to look into the role of vitamin D supplementation on COVID-19 outcomes.
One such study, a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the Journal of Endocrinological Investigation,28 included 13 studies involving 2,933 COVID-19 patients. Again, vitamin D was a clear winner, with use in COVID-19 patients significantly associated with reduced ICU admission and mortality, along with a reduced risk of adverse outcomes, particularly when given after COVID-19 diagnosis.
When it comes to data to support the use of vitamin D for COVID-19, 87 studies have been performed by 784 scientists. The results show:29
- 53% improvement in 28 treatment trials
- 56% improvement in 59 sufficiency studies
- 63% improvement in 16 treatment mortality results
A number of clinical trials are also underway looking further into the use of vitamin D for COVID-19,30 including one by Harvard Medical School researchers looking into whether taking daily vitamin D reduces COVID-19 disease severity in those newly diagnosed as well as reduces risk of infection in household contacts.31
‘A Simple and Inexpensive Measure’
Some positive advances have already occurred that could make this potentially lifesaving strategy more widely used. The French National Academy of Medicine released a press release in May 2020, referring to the use of vitamin D as a “simple and inexpensive measure that is reimbursed by the French National Health Insurance” and detailing the importance of vitamin D for COVID-19.32
For COVID-19 patients over 60, they recommend vitamin D testing and if deficiency is found, a bolus dose of 50,000 to 100,000 IU. For anyone under the age of 60 who receives a positive COVID-19 test, they advise taking 800 IUs to 1,000 IUs of vitamin D per day. A vitamin D review paper published in the journal33 Nutrients in April 2020 recommends higher amounts, however, stating:
“To reduce the risk of infection, it is recommended that people at risk of influenza and/or COVID-19 consider taking 10,000 IU/d of vitamin D3 for a few weeks to rapidly raise 25(OH)D concentrations, followed by 5000 IU/d.
The goal should be to raise 25(OH)D concentrations above 40-60 ng/mL (100-150 nmol/L). For treatment of people who become infected with COVID-19, higher vitamin D3 doses might be useful.”
The best way to know how much vitamin D you need is to have your levels tested. Data from GrassrootsHealth’s D*Action studies suggest the optimal level for health and disease prevention is between 60 ng/mL and 80 ng/mL, while the cutoff for sufficiency appears to be around 40 ng/mL. In Europe, the measurements you’re looking for are 150 to 200 nmol/L and 100 nmol/L respectively.
- 1, 5, 8, 9 Scientific Reports volume 11, Article number: 10641 (2021)
- 2, 3 Sci Rep. 2020; 10: 20191
- 4 NIH, COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines, Vitamin D
- 6 Lancet. 2020 May 9;395(10235):1517-1520. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30920-X. Epub 2020 Apr 17
- 7 medRxiv June 10, 2020
- 10, 11 J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2021 Jun 7;dgab405. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgab405
- 12 Twitter, David Davis February 13, 2021
- 13 NHS, Free vitamin D
- 14 NHS, Vitamins and Minerals, Vitamin D
- 15, 16 Nutrients Volume 13, Issue 7
- 17, 23 Nutrients. 2021 Jun; 13(6): 1760
- 18, 19, 21 J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2020 Oct; 203: 105751
- 20, 22 J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2020 Sep; 202: 105719
- 24 Nutrients. 2020 Dec; 12(12): 3799
- 25 Nutrients. 2020 Dec; 12(12): 3799, Conclusion
- 26, 27 Emerginnova.com June 4, 2020
- 28 Journal of Endocrinological Investigation June 24, 2021
- 29 C19VitaminD.com, Vitamin D, Rotating banner at top
- 30 ClinicalTrials.gov, vitamin D/COVID-19
- 31 ClinicalTrials.gov Vitamin D and COVID-19 Trial (VIVID)
- 32 French National Academy of Medicine May 22, 2020 (PDF)
- 33 Nutrients April 2, 2020; 12(4): 988
Air Pollution Is Making Your Allergies Worse
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2021/06/19/allergies-worsened-by-air-pollution.aspx
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola Fact Checked June 19, 2021
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- Air pollution attaches to pollen and can damage your lungs, which may help drive protein allergens deeper into your pulmonary system to trigger a significant allergic response
- Rising levels of carbon dioxide gas have lengthened the growing season, contributing to more pollen in the air. However, the pollen has less protein, which may be contributing to the collapsing bee population
- The number of people with food allergies is also rising, including adults who develop food allergies
- Your allergic response is mediated by your gut microbiome. Another physiological biomarker tied to seasonal and food allergies is vitamin D; consider testing your level twice a year to identify your vitamin D requirements
With each passing year, more people are affected by seasonal allergies. In the quest to identify the mechanism behind the growing number of people experiencing allergies, scientists have identified several factors that play an important role. One of these is air pollution.1,2
According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America,3 more than 50 million Americans have experienced a variety of types of allergies each year, and that number only continues to rise. The annual cost exceeds $18 billion for allergic rhinitis and $25 billion for food allergies.
The most common types of seasonal allergies are reactions to tree, grass and weed pollen. Allergic rhinitis, which is also called hay fever, affects 5.2 million children and 19.2 million adults. Although these numbers are staggering, scientists expect them to continue to rise as increasing levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) have affected plant growth and pollen production.
The most common symptoms of allergic rhinitis include sneezing, stuffy, runny nose, watery and itchy eyes and itching in your nose, throat or mouth. A sizable number of allergy sufferers experience noticeable brain fog as well. Food and seasonal allergies are your body’s reactions to particles it considers foreign.
The first time your body meets a protein allergen, plasma cells release immunoglobulin E (IgE).4 This attaches to the surface of mast cells, which are found in great numbers in your surface tissue such as skin and nasal mucus membranes. Mast cells release important chemical mediators, one of which is histamine.
The next time your body encounters this allergen, your mast cells become activated within minutes and release a powerful cocktail of histamines, leukotrienes and prostaglandins. This triggers the cascade of symptoms that you associate with allergies.
Rising Levels of CO2 Feed Flowering Plants
One of the major components of air pollution is carbon dioxide. According to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions,5 carbon dioxide makes up 76% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Trees and other plants use carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. You might think rising levels of carbon dioxide may be good for plant life, but like most things, plants need a balance.
Gilles Oliver is an engineer from the National Aerobiological Surveillance Network, which tracks pollen throughout France. He spoke with a reporter from Vice France about the interaction between CO2 and plant life, saying,6 “But when the proportion of this CO2 in the air increases, plants grow faster and produce more pollen.”
An increase in pollen production raises your exposure to pollen, and thus produces more severe seasonal allergies. Changes in temperature and CO2 have also extended the frost-free season and thus lengthened pollen season.7 However, the pollen being produced by these plants may be contributing to the collapse of the bee population.
Scientists have found that increases in CO2 produce more pollen, but the pollen has lower protein levels.8 When bees harvest from flowers they first drink the nectar and then collect the pollen. Nectar is high in carbohydrates, while pollen offers long-term nutrition and provides the bees’ only natural source of protein.
When scientists compared flowers from Canada Goldenrod collected from 1842 to the present, they found the percentage of protein dropped by 33%.9 Over the same number of years, CO2 levels have risen by 30%. This increased the carbohydrates in the pollen making it essentially junk food for bees.10
The researchers confirmed the CO2 change in the environment played a role in dropping protein levels through testing published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.11
More than 100 past studies have demonstrated the change in atmospheric carbon dioxide reduces the nutritional value of plants, but this study was the first to examine the effects on bees. Mathilde Renard, an agricultural engineer at the Environmental Department of the Paris City Hall, also spoke with the Vice France reporter about the rising pollen counts in Paris.12
She attributes some of the urban pollen to the city’s planting efforts. One of the main strategies Paris is now using is to diversify the species to reduce the pollen concentration for each plant, in the hope of reducing citizens’ allergic response.
Other gardening choices that affect pollen count include preferentially planting male trees.13 Female trees shed more seeds and fruit, which need to be cleaned, but male trees tend to produce more allergic pollen. Some city planners have also chosen species based on their aesthetic value. For instance, birch trees are pretty, but birch tree pollen is one of the largest allergic triggers in the northern hemisphere.14
Pollution and Allergens Interact in Rising Allergies
Oliver attributes the increase in allergies in France to air pollution, saying,15 “It does two things. If you have allergies, it weakens your respiratory tract so you can get ill more easily. It also breaks up the pollen particles in the air, which allows them to penetrate deeper in our respiratory systems.”
The effect of air pollution on your body is insidious. The World Health Organization16 determined 92% of the global population is breathing polluted air. Most people associate air pollution with respiratory conditions since it has a significant impact on your pulmonary health.
However, while the damage to your lungs is significant, it’s important to remember air pollution affects more than your pulmonary system. For example, a study17 published in Environmental Health found a link between living close to busy roads and developing non-Alzheimer’s dementia and Parkinson’s disease.
According to the WHO, by 2016 air pollution was already responsible for respiratory diseases that killed 543,000 children aged 5 years and younger every year.18 Air pollution is also responsible for asthma in 14% of children around the globe. In April 2019, London launched an ultra-low emissions zone in central London in an attempt to reduce emissions by 45%.19
Researchers found that children living in these areas had a reduction in lung capacity by about 5% when pollution rose above legal levels.20 Dr. Ben Barrett commented on studies evaluating the effect air pollution has on pulmonary health in children, saying:21
“Air pollution has been found to restrict lung growth in children. Low lung function in childhood can persist into adulthood and is often associated with other health problems including chronic obstructive lung disease in later life.”
Air Pollution May Also Drive Pollen Deeper Into Your Lungs
As Oliver commented, air pollution increases the ability of pollen to penetrate your lungs. This can happen through several mechanisms.22 These include the facilitation of pollen release, stimulating the IgE-mediated response and enhancing the expression of allergens within pollen grains.
Grains of pollen do not only carry allergens, but can also elicit allergic responses in individuals who are sensitized. Pollen grains are too large to penetrate deep into the respiratory tract, so symptoms observed with patients who are allergic to pollen are more likely due to particles that are smaller than pollen grains. According to researchers:23
“Interestingly, air pollutants bind to these particles and exacerbate allergic disorders. Moreover, pollen grains release biologically active lipids, which activate immune cells in vitro.”
Researchers postulate that the interaction between air pollution and pollen grains outside the body may increase the amount of allergen released into the environment. This may happen through a variety of mechanisms that researchers have been studying in the lab and with human participants.24
They found that allergic reactions to grass pollen are greater in cities than in rural areas. Several types of air pollutants act “as adjuvants through binding to allergens and stimulating IgE synthesis, resulting in exacerbation of asthma symptoms.”25
A Clean Society May Increase Risk of Food Allergies
The number of people experiencing food allergies is also on the rise. One paper26 published by Yale University27 proposed the rising number may be the result of an exaggerated activation of the system that protects you against eating toxic foods. As many as 8% of children28 have a potentially deadly response to the major eight food allergens, often referred to as the “Big 8.”29
These include milk, eggs, wheat, soybeans, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts and peanuts. Your body uses multiple sensory mechanisms to monitor what you eat, including chemosensory processes in the gut. The Yale University scientists argue that the body has a food quality control system in which an allergic response plays a significant role.
One prevailing theory for this rise in food allergies is living in a too-clean environment. This is also called the hygiene hypothesis, which some scientists have expanded to include processed foods, dishwashing detergent and other environmental chemicals.
In a paper30 written in Clinical and Experimental Immunology, the researchers argue these factors also play a role in disrupting your internal food quality control system.
There is a difference between a food sensitivity, intolerance and a food allergy.31 A true allergy is mediated by the immune system and triggered by a reaction to proteins found in your food or drink. Food intolerances are also called food sensitivities. These are usually an unpleasant gastrointestinal reaction, but the reaction is not mediated by your immune system.
Although most food allergies develop in childhood, it’s not unheard of for adults to develop a food allergy. Data32 gathered from October 2015 to September 2016 suggest 10.8% of adults are allergic to food. Scientists believe this contradicts the long-held belief that most allergies develop in childhood.
In a survey of 40,443 adults, 38.3% had food allergies that sent them to the emergency room and 48% had at least one triggered after the age of 18. Your gut microbiome is vital to the functioning of your immune system, which mediates an allergic response to food. You’ll find suggestions on how to optimize your gut microbiome in “How Your Gut Health Impacts Your Disease Risk.”
Vitamin D — Links to Seasonal and Food Allergies
One physiological biomarker tied to the risk of seasonal and food allergies is vitamin D. Researchers have found there is both experimental and clinical evidence that vitamin D is linked to allergic rhinitis.33
One double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial34 evaluated the combined effect of vitamin D supplementation with an antihistamine medication. The study found that the people who received vitamin D and the medication had a significant decrease in their symptoms as compared to those who only received the medication.
The researchers measured vitamin D levels after eight weeks, finding those who received the supplement had a mean serum level of 24 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) and the level in the group who did not get vitamin D supplementation was 15 ng/mL.
It is important to note that the researchers did not use the supplement as a basis for concluding the vitamin D had a positive effect, but rather the serum level of vitamin D. The rising level of food allergies also corresponds to the increasing number of people with vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D plays a significant role in the regulation of IgE, important in the development of food allergies.
The link between vitamin D deficiency, which has almost doubled in just over 10 years in the U.S.,35 and poor regulation of IgE responses, may be a significant factor. Both play a role in the development, severity and course of allergic diseases and may help explain, at least in part, why so many adults are developing food allergies.
Vitamin D deficiency has become so widespread it’s been called a pandemic by a Harvard Medical School researcher.36 The short list of health benefits attributed to vitamin D optimization include improving your immune system, strengthening muscles, bones and teeth and improving your cardiovascular health.
I recommend you get your vitamin D level tested twice each year — once when the level is likely to be at its lowest (midwinter) and once when it’s at its highest (midsummer). Grassroots Health offers vitamin D testing through its D*Action Study and has an online vitamin D calculator you can use to estimate your vitamin D requirements.
To read more about the interaction between vitamin D deficiency and allergies, how to optimize your vitamin D and the synergy between vitamin D3, magnesium, calcium and vitamin K2, see “Vitamin D Deficiency Can Lead to Increased Allergies.”
- 1, 6, 12, 15 Vice, June 4, 2021
- 2 Environmental Epidemiology, 2019;3
- 3 Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Allergy Facts and Figures
- 4 Medical News Today, October 10, 2017
- 5 Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions
- 7 Climate Central, April 8, 2015
- 8 Science News for Students, April 29, 2016
- 9, 10 Yale Environment360 May 10, 2016
- 11 Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2016; doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.0414
- 13 The Guardian, May 16, 2020
- 14 Allergy, 2019; doi.org/10.1111/all.13758
- 16 World Health Organization, September 27, 2016
- 17 Environmental Health, 2020;19(8)
- 18 World Health Organization, Air Pollution and Child Health July 10, 2018
- 19 The Guardian, April 6, 2019
- 20 The Lancet, 2018; doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(18)30202-0
- 21 London.gov, March 19, 2019
- 22, 23, 24, 25 Reports of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2018;6(2)
- 26 Cell, 2021; doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.12.007
- 27, 28 Science Daily, January 14, 2021
- 29 The Food Institute May 8, 2020
- 30 Clinical and Experimental Immunology, 2010;160(1)
- 31 Harvard Health Publishing, January 30, 2020
- 32 Journal of the American Medical Association, 2019;2(1)
- 33 Asia Pacific Allergy, 2017;7(2)
- 34 Rhinology, 2019;276
- 35 BBC, September 13, 2019
- 36 Drugs and Aging, 2007;24(12)
Quercetin: What It Is and Why You Need It
© May 25th 2021 GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC.
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Posted on: Wednesday, May 19th 2021 at 4:15 pm
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This article is copyrighted by GreenMedInfo LLC, 2021
Find out more about quercetin and how this potent antioxidant flavonoid offers significant therapeutic benefits against a wide range of conditions, from diabetes to DNA damage
Flavonoids are one of nature’s many therapeutic gifts. Widely found in fruits and vegetables, these phenolic substances have antioxidant properties that protect cells from free radical damage.[i] One of the most well-known and studied flavonoids is quercetin, a flavonol mostly found in onions, berries, citrus fruits, broccoli and grapes.
A potent antioxidant, quercetin boasts of anti-inflammatory, anti-hypertensive, antiobesity and anti-atherosclerotic actions. Since free radicals figure into the development of diseases, quercetin holds promise for benefitting conditions such as high blood pressure, vascular disorders and metabolic syndrome.[ii] Here is compelling evidence of the health benefits of quercetin.
Potential Anti-Diabetes Aid
The development of Type 2 diabetes has been linked to oxidant stress caused by an unhealthy diet.[iii] Toona sinensis leaves, which are rich in quercetin, may reduce the risk of diabetes by reducing oxidative stress in the liver.
A topical compound containing substances such as quercetin, ascorbyl palmitate and vitamin D3 was formulated to reduce the oxidative stress contributing to peripheral diabetic neuropathy.[iv] A preliminary study in 2005 showed that the compound may safely relieve the symptoms of diabetic neuropathy and enhance quality of life.
Quercetin displayed protective effects in the kidneys and liver of obese animal models with Type 2 diabetes.[v] Together with quinic acid, quercetin also helped ameliorate hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia and insulin resistance in diabetic rats.[vi]
Protection From DNA Damage
A 2011 study investigated the potential protective effects of quercetin against DNA damage and oxidative stress induced by methylmercury in animal subjects.[vii] For over 45 days, animal models were orally treated with methylmercury and the flavonoid with doses reflecting human exposure. The team then measured DNA damage in liver cells called hepatocytes and peripheral leukocytes (white blood cells).
The results revealed that methylmercury reduced the concentration of glutathione in the body by 17% and caused DNA damage to liver and blood cells. With quercetin, no such effects manifested. “In summary, our results indicate that consumption of quercetin-rich foods may protect mercury-exposed humans against the adverse health effects of the metal,” the researchers wrote.[viii]
What makes this benefit particularly crucial is that the prevention of DNA damage is involved in preventing cancer via dietary compounds. An aqueous horseradish extract and its main flavonoids kaempferol and quercetin, for instance, demonstrated potential for DNA damage protection likely by acting as antimutagens.[ix]
Chemopreventive Properties
Epidemiological studies vouch for the protective effects of phytochemicals against cancer risk. As a ubiquitous flavonoid, quercetin is an ideal candidate to fight cancer due to its antioxidant and antiproliferative actions.[x]
It is known to modulate a plethora of molecules for multitargeted cancer prevention and therapy. Here are examples of quercetin’s chemopreventive abilities:
- Incorporated in liposomes along with resveratrol, quercetin may be valuable in treating inflammation or oxidative stress associated with precancerous or cancerous skin lesions.[xi]
- Quercetin exhibited a preventive effect on liver cancer in animal models.[xii] Hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer, is on the rise in many countries, with an estimated 905,677 new cases globally in 2020.[xiii]
- Quercetin inhibited tumor growth and enhanced the sensitivity to thermotherapy, indicating a potential treatment option for hepatocellular carcinoma.[xiv]
- The combination of quercetin and ionizing radiation might be a promising therapy for colon cancer treatment through targeting colon cancer stem-like cells and inhibiting the Notch-1 signaling.[xv]
- Quercetin suppressed the metastatic ability of lung cancer, with potential therapeutic applications for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer in particular.[xvi]
Prevention and Treatment of Various Infections
Quercetin may protect against the antibiotic-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae infection mainly through inhibiting pneumolysin, a pore-forming cytotoxin and a major determinant of virulence.[xvii] Separate findings previously highlighted quercetin’s therapeutic potential in treating sepsis as well.[xviii]
The flavonoid derivative quercetin-3β-O-D-glucoside (Q3G) also showed promising antiviral activity against two distinct species of Ebola, outbreaks of which occur frequently in African countries.[xix]
Hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, curcumin and quercetin taken together were also effective in preventing recurrent urinary tract infections in postmenopausal women.[xx]
Read more about scientific proof of the therapeutic value and significance of quercetin across numerous health issues and conditions in the nearly 600 abstracts with quercetin research found on the GreenMedInfo.com database.
References
[i] David A et al “Overviews of Biological Importance of Quercetin: A Bioactive Flavonoid” Pharmacogn Rev. 2016 Jul-Dec; 10(20): 84-89.
[ii] David A et al “Overviews of Biological Importance of Quercetin: A Bioactive Flavonoid” Pharmacogn Rev. 2016 Jul-Dec; 10(20): 84-89.
[iii] Zhang Y et al “Quercetin Isolated from Toona sinensis Leaves Attenuates Hyperglycemia and Protects Hepatocytes in High-Carbohydrate/High-Fat Diet and Alloxan Induced Experimental Diabetic Mice” J Diabetes Res. 2016 ;2016:8492780. Epub 2016 Nov 15.
[iv] Valensi P et al “A multicenter, double-blind, safety study of QR-333 for the treatment of symptomatic diabetic peripheral neuropathy. A preliminary report” J Diabetes Complications. 2005 Sep-Oct;19(5):247-53.
[v] Lai L et al “Protective effects of quercetin and crocin in the kidneys and liver of obese Sprague-Dawley rats with Type 2 diabetes: Effects of quercetin and crocin on T2DM rats” Hum Exp Toxicol. 2020 Oct 6:960327120954521.
[vi] Arya A et al “Synergistic effect of quercetin and quinic acid by alleviating structural degeneration in the liver, kidney and pancreas tissues of STZ-induced diabetic rats: a mechanistic study” Food Chem Toxicol. 2014 Sep ;71:183-96. Epub 2014 Jun 19.
[vii] Barcelos G et al “Protective properties of quercetin against DNA damage and oxidative stress induced by methylmercury in rats” Arch Toxicol. 2011 Feb 1. Epub 2011 Feb 1.
[viii] Barcelos G et al “Protective properties of quercetin against DNA damage and oxidative stress induced by methylmercury in rats” Arch Toxicol. 2011 Feb 1. Epub 2011 Feb 1.
[ix] Molecules. 2014 ;19(3):3160-72. Epub 2014 Mar 14. PMID: 24637991 www.greenmedinfo.com/article/aqueous-horseradish-extract-and-its-main-flavonoids-kaempferol-and-quercetin-h
[x] Priyadarsini R et al “The flavonoid quercetin modulates the hallmark capabilities of hamster buccal pouch tumors” Nutr Cancer. 2011 Feb 2:1. Epub 2011 Feb 2.
[xi] Caddeo C et al “Effect of quercetin and resveratrol co-incorporated in liposomes against inflammatory/oxidative response associated with skin cancer” Int J Pharm. 2016 Nov 20 ;513(1-2):153-163. Epub 2016 Aug 5.
[xii] Seufi A et al “Preventive effect of the flavonoid, quercetin, on hepatic cancer in rats via oxidant/antioxidant activity: molecular and histological evidences” J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2009 ;28:80. Epub 2009 Jun 11.
[xiii] Medscape January 31, 2021 https://www.medscape.com/answers/197319-39196/what-is-the-global-incidence-of-hepatocellular-carcinoma-hcc-worldwide
[xiv] Dai W et al “Quercetin induces apoptosis and enhances 5-FU therapeutic efficacy in hepatocellular carcinoma” Tumour Biol. 2015 Dec 1. Epub 2015 Dec 1.
[xv] Li Y et al “Quercetin pretreatment enhances the radiosensitivity of colon cancer cells by targeting Notch-1 pathway” Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2020 Jan 18. Epub 2020 Jan 18.
[xvi] Chang J et al “Quercetin suppresses the metastatic ability of lung cancer through inhibiting Snail-dependent Akt activation and Snail-independent ADAM9 expression pathways” Biochim Biophys Acta. 2017 10 ;1864(10):1746-1758. Epub 2017 Jun 23.
[xvii] Lv Q et al “Quercetin, a pneumolysin inhibitor, protects mice against Streptococcus pneumoniae infection” Microb Pathog. 2020 Mar ;140:103934. Epub 2019 Dec 17.
[xviii] Cui W et al “Quercetin Exerted Protective Effects in a Rat Model of Sepsis via Inhibition of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and Downregulation of High Mobility Group Box 1 (HMGB1) Protein Expression” Med Sci Monit. 2019 Aug 4 ;25:5795-5800. Epub 2019 Aug 4.
[xix] Qiu X et al “Prophylactic efficacy of Quercetin-3-β-O-D-glucoside against Ebola virus infection” Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2016 Jun 13. Epub 2016 Jun 13.
[xx] Torella M et al “Efficacy of an orally administered combination of hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, curcumin and quercetin for the prevention of recurrent urinary tract infections in postmenopausal women” Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2016 Dec ;207:125-128. Epub 2016 Nov 1.