A year ago, by now, I thought Covid would be a thing of the past. With this new Delta variant, it seems we are not out of the woods yet, though I remain hopeful that things will get better. The nasty thing about the Delta variant is that it is much more contagious, and it appears that vaccinated people can also spread the virus and become infected (though generally with a milder case, thankfully). It’s frustrating, because I think we’re all tired of this virus and restrictions and everything else.
I recently read recommendations by a group of physicians who study this virus who have published new supplement regimens that they have deemed as effective for both prevention and mild cases. I’ll mention the relevant recommendations below.
For prevention, they recommend the following: 1,000-3,000mg of vitamin D3 daily, 500-1000mg of vitamin C twice a day, 250mg of quercetin, 30-40mg of zinc, and 6mg of melatonin.
Now, none of these are groundbreaking- they’re the supplements we’d always recommend for the immune system, with the exception of quercetin which is a lesser-known supplement. Still, I just checked on our website (passhealthfoods.com) to check the date, and there’s one of my articles on there from June of 2014 about quercetin. The article goes on to say how great quercetin is for viruses and how it can calm down the inflammatory response to viruses as well as how research has shown it can prevent them from replicating. So as I said, none of these are new supplements, though I’m glad that their benefits are hopefully becoming more well known!
They also recommend taking vitamin C twice a day, which I feel like is kind of a hassle for most people (more the fact of just remembering it two times a day). We have a special type of vitamin C at the store known as Ester-C which has been shown in research to stay active in the body longer than regular vitamin C, so if you use that form we’d say it’s probably comparable to using a regular vitamin C twice a day. It’s also a non-acidic form that’s gentle on the stomach (sometimes high doses of vitamin C can bother people’s stomachs).
Melatonin seems strange to be on the list, since it’s usually known as a sleep supplement, but research has shown that melatonin can help with regulating the immune system and has anti-inflammatory effects. One recent large scale study found that melatonin significantly reduced the risk of death in Covid patients that had been intubated. The Physicians do specifically recommend using a time release formula for maximum effectiveness. Even though melatonin is frequently used for sleep, high doses can sometimes cause sleep disturbances or weird dreams in some people. To prevent those possible side effects, it’s recommended to start with a lower dose and increase gradually.
Zinc and vitamin D3 are of course on the list since they’re both great for the immune system, and we’ve always recommended them during the colder months of the year for staying healthy. Vitamin D has been reported as being incredibly important since the beginning of the pandemic since it has been found that people with low vitamin D levels are much more likely to die from Covid than people with higher levels. Zinc works to help prevent viral replication, which is why it’s often seen as beneficial against any viruses.
The nice thing about the list of supplements that they’re recommending for Covid prevention is that they’re all affordably priced (in fact, I think we have all of them marked down on “every day sale” at our store). Also, all of them are well known vitamins or supplements that have been used safely for many years.
The doses recommended above are for adults, but we do also have children’s supplements available in good tasting natural chewables or gummies for vitamin D3, vitamin C, zinc, and melatonin.
Finally, I’d definitely urge everyone who hasn’t to get vaccinated. I know that sounds strange from a health food store owner, but we do really care about people and don’t want anyone to experience suffering that could be preventable. We had one of our good customers pass away from Covid not that long ago. He was a healthy, vibrant man, and yet when he contracted Covid he became extremely sick and never recovered. I feel like so many people think that since they’re younger or healthy, they’ll be fine, but the thing is, you never know. You don’t know how your body will react to this illness, which is now so easily spread. It breaks my heart to think of the people whose lives have been permanently altered because of this disease. Please take care of yourselves, and do what you can to stay healthy.