When COVID-19 first appeared over two years ago and then infection rates quickly swelled to pandemic proportions, all of our efforts were aimed at “defeating” the virus. But in those early days of the pandemic, many of us actually predicted that even if we developed effective vaccines, COVID would be an ongoing, very consistent, and persistent phenomenon in our lives. And that is exactly what has happened. When you unleash a new, yet adaptive, organism like the COVID virus into a new ecosystem, that organism proliferates and becomes part of that world. It is sort of like the Burmese Pythons in Florida; they have evolved and adapted to their new environment, and are now an established part of Florida’s landscape.
Recently, Dr. Anthony Fauci announced that we are no longer in a pandemic. Around the same time, the CDC and most cities and states lifted long-standing public mask mandates. That’s wonderful. But it doesn’t mean you can’t get sick anymore. COVID infections are down, but they are not gone. The COVID virus is now part of our landscape, and it remains very possible to get very ill if exposed to the virus.
So today, I would like to talk about some of the things that you need to do to protect yourself as we are now forced to “live” with COVID. We need to help our bodies, and particularly our immune systems, be as prepared as possible to have an optimum response if faced with COVID virus exposure.
Vaccines and Antibodies
First of all, let’s discuss what has been our primary focus in our efforts to overcome COVID-19, vaccinations, and antibodies. What vaccines actually do is prime your system to produce antibodies. However, what has been left out of our conversations about the COVID vaccines is that antibodies are not meant to be around 24/7. We are encouraged to get booster shots so that our active antibody levels remain high, but this really is not always necessary.
When we are vaccinated or exposed to the virus and our bodies begin to produce antibodies, in addition, there is the production of what we call memory cells. These are like policemen or FBI agents who carry around pictures of “most wanted” criminals. In this case, our memory cells can quickly identify the COVID virus. When that virus reappears, a signal goes out throughout your entire system saying, “Bring in the Antibody Army; raise it up again and let’s go fight this invader!” If you have been vaccinated or already had COVID, your system is already primed to mount a rapid response to future exposure. You can still catch the virus, but you will likely only get a mild infection or a mild manifestation of infection.
Viral Load
I also want to talk about another factor that most people don’t consider, or even realize that they should consider viral load. In other words, the amount of exposure you have to the virus can determine how sick you become. This can be the case even if you have been vaccinated or had COVID before. We recently helped treat a patient of ours who is a teacher working in an inner-city setting. She had long-term, close exposure to several of her students who were carrying the virus. She had been vaccinated, but she still got quite ill when her COVID infection took hold. Her Antibody Army was able to fight off the infection enough that she was never in any mortal danger, but she certainly was ill enough to miss a few weeks in the classroom with her students.
So we know that the concentration of virus particles that we are exposed to can lead to more severe infections. Protection from this is simple, yet surprisingly controversial. Wearing a mask can be very helpful in decreasing the viral load, and the concentration of exposure we might have when around others who are carrying the virus. We have to be smart about giving our bodies and our systems the optimal capacity to protect us. We are not going to get antibody-boosting shots every day. It’s not practical and it’s not scientifically necessary. But we can’t sit back and say, “Well golly, nothing is going to happen to me because the government said I don’t have to wear a mask anymore.” The virus is still around. It doesn’t care what your rules or regulations are. We have to protect ourselves.
Immune-Boosting Nutrients
Speaking of protecting ourselves, perhaps the best protection of all is to have a strong, fortified immune system. When our immune systems are working well, we are best able to fight off or minimize COVID infections. Anyone who has followed this blog or has been a patient of ours knows that any conversation about boosting our systems must start with Zinc.
While Zinc is usually a key component in the nutrient therapy protocols we write for patients who come to us for help with their cognitive concerns, this powerful nutrient is not just for your mental health. Along with Vitamin C, Zinc is one of the key ingredients of a healthy and strong immune system. Vitamin C and Zinc actually do different things as it relates to combatting COVID. Vitamin C basically helps in maintaining your ability to breathe and get oxygen to your system. It binds or ties together your red blood cells to oxygen and iron. It is like the nuts and bolts of the system to keep the machine able to work functionally. Zinc, on the other hand, is the fuel that powers your immune system. I recommend that every adult should be on 50 milligrams of Zinc Picolinate daily, and children on 20-25 milligrams.
In addition to Zinc and Vitamin C, another immune system booster we regularly promote is Melatonin. In addition to being an effective sleep aid for many people (so it should typically be taken before bed), Melatonin is a strong anti-inflammatory agent. Inflammation is not always bad, as it is the trigger for our bodies to produce those antibodies, but in the end, it is inflammation that makes us get and feel sick. Adults probably only need 1 to 3 milligrams of Melatonin for proper immune system maintenance.
Some of you might be thinking, “But Dr. Mensah, I’m already on one of your nutrient programs. Should I be increasing my dosages?” If you are already on a nutrient program, you are likely already doing pretty well. In fact, many of you have already recognized the benefits of your nutrient program in terms of your immune health. Several of our patients have told us that they were exposed to COVID, tested positive for the virus, and barely felt a thing. They perhaps had a migraine headache for a day, or felt a little bit feverish and congested for a couple of days, but after that were just fine and symptom-free. Their immune systems were primed to take on COVID and they didn’t even know it.
Diet and Exercise
There are two more important elements we need to mention in this discussion of keeping our immune systems ready to battle possible COVID exposure. The first is maintaining a good dietary balance. As many of you already know, your diet influences you quite a bit. You can become inflamed, and thus less able to fight off viral exposure, just by eating the wrong things (high-carb foods, lots of grains and sugars, etc.). Consuming a healthy, balanced diet can be very key to helping your system maintain its best fighting chance.
Lastly, I want to remind you that exercise is also vital to keeping our bodies and our immune systems in optimal shape. When you move, even if you are just doing chores in the house, you are giving your body the electron flow, that energy voltage, that it needs to turn on your cells and optimize your physical health and your immune response capacity. Whenever possible, do not just sit around the house. Do pushups and situps, lift up your milk containers, and carry stuff around the house. Now that Spring and Summer months are coming, get outside and go for a walk. There are many ways to get exercise. Find something that works for you, and just get moving.
In the end, all of this is pretty simple. Even though we know that COVID will always be around in some form or fashion, our best defense is doing simple things that we already know about and should be doing for general health anyway. Protect yourself by doing the things that you would normally do to stay healthy. This is how we will all successfully learn to live with COVID.
