theSoulfulMofo
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2001
- Messages
- 4,490
Anh... I'm bummed out and bored.
So I guess I'll just start a thread from an email I got forwarded from my aunt whose husband is a medical doctor.
========================================
This just came in. I would not take Beta-carotene supplement though. Studies have shown that it appears to increase the chances of lung cancer among smokers. Even though we are not smokers, the fact remains that we do not yet know exactly how this form of supplement interacts with our body, so it is best not to take it. We are much better off getting Beta-carotene from bright-colored fruits and vegetables. Take care and be well.
========================================
The fact that the mysterious pneumonia has been widely spread in HK drives me to do a literature review on the suspected cause (i.e. coronavirus) of the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). As a biomedical researcher, let me show you my concerns and make the following suggestions.
The basic mechanism of viral attack is that the viruses replicate themselves using the host's (in this case,"our") DNA genetic replication system. By doing this, our body couldn't function well due to the massive viral replication. Supposely the immune cells in our body should be able to fight off the infected viruses quickly. However, the viruses are so smart that they are able to produce some chemical substances to cause our immune cells to die. Besides, this coronavirus is a new kind of virus, which belongs to a mutated strain, and our body cannot recognize it.
No antibiotics have been proved to be 100% effective in treating viral infection so far. The only effective way to get rid of it is by ourselves. It likes a prolonged battle between the viruses and our immune response. In fact, viruses couldn't kill all the immune cells in a healthy individual. The stronger the immune function you have, the less the viral injury you get. Therefore, the degree of sickness after infection and the rate of recovery mainly depend on how strong your immune function is.
You cannot avoid the infection unless you avoid those infected individuals/area. But, you can try your best to boost up your immune function by several regimes. Make sure you are "extremely healthy" at least during this critical period. Stronger immune function could keep the viral damage minimal even you were unlucky to be infected. Also, stronger immune function delays the onset of any detrimental effects from the viral infection. Scientists are now working on tracking the treatment and so make sure you are still surviving until an effective treatment occurs. The following suggestions aim to strengthen your immune function within a short period of time.
1) Antioxidant nutraceuticals: Antioxidants are chemicals found in foods that exert a great value in strengthening our immune system. Boost up your immune function by taking a cocktail of antioxidant supplements.
- Vitamin E 1000 IU per day. Alpha-tocopherol is the biological active form of vitamin E. There are two forms of it: d-tocopherol and dl-tocopherol. d- is the natural form and dl- is the synthetic form. Try to get the d- form because it is absorbed faster in our body.
- Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) 1000-milligram (mg) daily. Instead of taking supplement, you can take 2 pieces of citrus fruits (e.g. orange) a day to get the vitamin C.
- Beta-carotene, not more than 10000 IU daily
- Selenium, 200-microgram daily
- Zinc, not more than 500-milligram (mg) daily
- Lipoic acid, 50 mg daily
- Glutathione, 50 mg daily
No adverse effects have been reported from the above suggested supplementation dose.
2) Let green tea be your daily beverage because it contains tremendous amount of antioxidant flavonoid, catechins.
- Eat more tomatoes, broccoli or fruits and vegetables in red and dark green color. They carry a huge amount of antioxidant carotenoids, lycopene and carotene.
3) No intense physical activities during this critical period! It has been shown that intense exercise will suppress your immune function (related to the upper respiratory infection) even several days following your workout. Instead of intense exercise, light-to-moderate workout helps if you have been training regularly.
4) Make sure you get enough carbohydrate foods (e.g. rice, food concentrated in starch...etc) because carbohydrate is the primary food for immune cells. Do some Gatorade or Pocari if needed since they are both good sources of carbohydrate.
5) Make sure you get enough sleep and don't make yourself so stressful! Anxiety, depression, and fatigue will influence your body's stress hormones (e.g.catecholamine and glucocorticoids) and thus suppress your immune status.
6) Mouth-mask helps; it is not 100% effective, but it can still decrease the chance from infection.
All the above information is supported by peer-reviewed biomedical literature, which means they are credible and reliable! Good luck and take extremely care.
Parco M. Siu, MPhil, PhD Candidate, West Virginia University School of Medicine
So I guess I'll just start a thread from an email I got forwarded from my aunt whose husband is a medical doctor.
========================================
This just came in. I would not take Beta-carotene supplement though. Studies have shown that it appears to increase the chances of lung cancer among smokers. Even though we are not smokers, the fact remains that we do not yet know exactly how this form of supplement interacts with our body, so it is best not to take it. We are much better off getting Beta-carotene from bright-colored fruits and vegetables. Take care and be well.
========================================
The fact that the mysterious pneumonia has been widely spread in HK drives me to do a literature review on the suspected cause (i.e. coronavirus) of the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). As a biomedical researcher, let me show you my concerns and make the following suggestions.
The basic mechanism of viral attack is that the viruses replicate themselves using the host's (in this case,"our") DNA genetic replication system. By doing this, our body couldn't function well due to the massive viral replication. Supposely the immune cells in our body should be able to fight off the infected viruses quickly. However, the viruses are so smart that they are able to produce some chemical substances to cause our immune cells to die. Besides, this coronavirus is a new kind of virus, which belongs to a mutated strain, and our body cannot recognize it.
No antibiotics have been proved to be 100% effective in treating viral infection so far. The only effective way to get rid of it is by ourselves. It likes a prolonged battle between the viruses and our immune response. In fact, viruses couldn't kill all the immune cells in a healthy individual. The stronger the immune function you have, the less the viral injury you get. Therefore, the degree of sickness after infection and the rate of recovery mainly depend on how strong your immune function is.
You cannot avoid the infection unless you avoid those infected individuals/area. But, you can try your best to boost up your immune function by several regimes. Make sure you are "extremely healthy" at least during this critical period. Stronger immune function could keep the viral damage minimal even you were unlucky to be infected. Also, stronger immune function delays the onset of any detrimental effects from the viral infection. Scientists are now working on tracking the treatment and so make sure you are still surviving until an effective treatment occurs. The following suggestions aim to strengthen your immune function within a short period of time.
1) Antioxidant nutraceuticals: Antioxidants are chemicals found in foods that exert a great value in strengthening our immune system. Boost up your immune function by taking a cocktail of antioxidant supplements.
- Vitamin E 1000 IU per day. Alpha-tocopherol is the biological active form of vitamin E. There are two forms of it: d-tocopherol and dl-tocopherol. d- is the natural form and dl- is the synthetic form. Try to get the d- form because it is absorbed faster in our body.
- Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) 1000-milligram (mg) daily. Instead of taking supplement, you can take 2 pieces of citrus fruits (e.g. orange) a day to get the vitamin C.
- Beta-carotene, not more than 10000 IU daily
- Selenium, 200-microgram daily
- Zinc, not more than 500-milligram (mg) daily
- Lipoic acid, 50 mg daily
- Glutathione, 50 mg daily
No adverse effects have been reported from the above suggested supplementation dose.
2) Let green tea be your daily beverage because it contains tremendous amount of antioxidant flavonoid, catechins.
- Eat more tomatoes, broccoli or fruits and vegetables in red and dark green color. They carry a huge amount of antioxidant carotenoids, lycopene and carotene.
3) No intense physical activities during this critical period! It has been shown that intense exercise will suppress your immune function (related to the upper respiratory infection) even several days following your workout. Instead of intense exercise, light-to-moderate workout helps if you have been training regularly.
4) Make sure you get enough carbohydrate foods (e.g. rice, food concentrated in starch...etc) because carbohydrate is the primary food for immune cells. Do some Gatorade or Pocari if needed since they are both good sources of carbohydrate.
5) Make sure you get enough sleep and don't make yourself so stressful! Anxiety, depression, and fatigue will influence your body's stress hormones (e.g.catecholamine and glucocorticoids) and thus suppress your immune status.
6) Mouth-mask helps; it is not 100% effective, but it can still decrease the chance from infection.
All the above information is supported by peer-reviewed biomedical literature, which means they are credible and reliable! Good luck and take extremely care.
Parco M. Siu, MPhil, PhD Candidate, West Virginia University School of Medicine
