Do natural products have a role to play in the fight against Corona Viruses and, more importantly, when a person is already symptomatic with a disease caused by these viruses?

A new variant of COVID-19 has just surfaced in South Africa and is said to be 70% more transmissible than the original one. In terms of staying healthy and immune resistant there is no shortage of information and protocols. But can natural substances be of any help to individuals who have already contracted the disease?

Oshun Health Spoke to Henry Deale, Research and Development Chemist at Bioteq Natura Laboratories:

Oshun Heath: What does research about the virus show?

Henry Deale: Thanks to autopsies and other research on Covid-19, it’s been established that the virus triggers an inflammatory overreaction (cytokine storm) which can then lead to thrombosis. The lungs are often the first, and most inflamed of the body’s organs which, initially, led to the disease being wrongly classified as a ‘respiratory’ disease with pneumonia-like symptoms. The pneumonia diagnosis didn’t quite make sense in the light of numerous reports of heart attacks, strokes, and other thromboembolic disorders, as well as the fact that 9 out of 10 patients on ventilators died, however. It all started making sense with the latest evidence which showed that the disease, in fact, attacks the cardiovascular system and can cause blood clotting. It’s useless to ventilate a lung in which blood is not properly circulating. The problem is cardiovascular, not respiratory.

Oshun Health: Do natural occurring substances have a role to play in the fight against COVID-19?

Henry Deale: Prevention is always better than cure but yes, natural substances do have a role to play. However, I’d like to emphasize that the protocols I suggest haven’t been researched on COVID-19 specifically, and that my advice is based on research with the products I suggest on diseases that have commonalities with COVID-19. Ebola, for instance, has something in common with COVID-19 in that it also causes a cytokine storm. A study with curcumin, a potent anti-inflammatory, on Ebola patients showed that curcumin was effective in curbing the inflammatory overreaction (cytokine storm) so common in COVID-19 http://iv.iiarjournals.org/content/29/1/1.full. Therefore, my suggestion is to use curcumin once a diagnosis of COVID-19 has been made and symptoms are experienced. Curcumin also acts as an anticoagulant and may help with blood clotting. Curcumin is very difficult for the body to absorb, however, and absorption technology is important when choosing an effective curcumin product.

Oshun Health: Can you tell us more about the protocols you suggest?

Henry Deale: Like I said, prevention is better than cure and for asymptomatic individuals wanting to protect themselves against disease I suggest the following:

• Fulvic Acid: Research shows that, because of the strong positive charge on humic acids, of which fulvic acid forms the low molecular part, it binds so strongly to the negatively charged viruses that it can displace them from a cell’s surface. In vitro studies have shown, for example, that if you allow Herpes Simplex viruses to attach to host cells and then add Humic acid to the solution, it will displace viruses from infected cell surfaces. That is, the virus has a greater affinity for the humic acid than it does for the host cell. Thus, humic acid can displace a virus even after it has attached itself to the surface of a cell. This was eloquently explained in an interview with Richard J Laub, MS, PhD,CChem, FRSC, a chemist with nearly 150 peer-reviewed, published research papers and formerly a professor of chemistry at Ohio State University and San Diego State Universities. He was also a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in London, England. Follow the link for the full interview: http://13.244.117.220/2020/01/30/fulvic-acid-as-a-broad-spectrum-antiviral/
• Citrus C Plus: Oshun Health’s Citrus C Plus is a liposomal whole food Vitamin C (extracted from oranges, lemons, and baobab) with added Zinc and Selenium. Viral and bacterial infections are often associated with deficiencies in macro- and micronutrients, including the essential trace element Selenium. It has been shown, for instance, that if an individual is deficient in Selenium, benign strains of the Coxsackie and Influenza viruses can mutate to highly pathogenic strains. An international team of researchers, led by Professor Margaret Rayman at the University of Surrey, has identified a link between the COVID-19 cure rate and regional Selenium status in China. https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/111/6/1297/5826147 More specifically, increased viral replication (hence increased mutation rate) and higher pathogenicity or mortality in selenium deficient individuals were reported.

Vitamin C concentrations in the body rapidly decline during infections and stress, and supplementation with Vitamin C was found to improve the human immune system. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16373990

Zinc homeostasis is crucial for the adequate function of the immune system. Zinc deficiency as well as zinc excess result in severe disturbances in immune cell numbers and activities which can result in increased susceptibility to infections and development of especially inflammatory diseases. Impaired immune function due to inadequate zinc status may be the most common cause of secondary immunodeficiency in humans. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5666901/.

A large number of trials document that adequate intakes of Vitamin C and Zinc improve symptoms and shorten the duration of respiratory tract infections including the common cold. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16373990

In conclusion, Vitamin C, Zinc, and Selenium play important roles in immune function and the resistance to infectious agents. They can reduce the risk, severity, and duration of infectious diseases. Citrus C offers all three in one.

• Pro32 Probiotic: It’s common knowledge that 70 to 80% of the immune system is located in the gut. An unhealthy gut microbiome means that the immune system is compromised. With the gut microbiome under constant threat by factors such as radiation, food crops sprayed with Glyphosates (Roundup), and other agricultural chemicals, as well as too much sugar and salt in our diets, a good probiotic is needed to keep the gut, and by implication, the immune system healthy.

Oshun Health’s Pro32 Probiotic contains 9 strains and 32 different species of live, soil-based probiotics that live on a food source of fulvic acid and molasses.

The microbes in Pro32 was carefully selected to establish a sound habitat for beneficial gut microbes. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095809917301492

Studies have shown that Microbes are extremely useful in fighting off the flu.https://www.nature.com/articles/news.2011.159

Henry Deale: For symptomatic relief I suggest the following:

• Curcumin Boost: As mentioned before, curcumin has been shown to be effective in curbing the cytokine storm which can be triggered by the virus http://iv.iiarjournals.org/content/29/1/1.full and it is, therefore, worth taking a good curcumin product with absorption technology that ensures proper absorption. Oshun Health’s Curcumin Boost, not only, contains piperine which makes it 2000 times more bioavailable, it’s also based on cutting edge liposomal technology which maximises absorption.
• Pro32 Probiotic: As mentioned above, a good probiotic is important to support the immune system.
• Fulvit C 1000: Although we don’t believe that healthy individuals should be taking high doses of ascorbic acid, there are situations, such as COVID-19, where high doses of ascorbic acid has been shown to be helpful and is, therefore, justified. Fulvit C 1000 is a short (2 weeks) course of high dose ascorbic acid with added fulvic acid. Fulvic acid renders the L-Ascorbic Acid in the product 4 – 6 times more absorbable.
• Fulvic Acid with Zinc and Selenium: As explained above, fulvic acid is a potent antiviral and, in the case of other viruses, has been shown to be effective even after a person has become symptomatic. Refer to the above section on fulvic acid. I’ve also explained why Zinc and Selenium are important for the immune system.

Henry Deale: For recovering individuals I recommend the following:

• Phyto Fuel: Phyto Fuel is a whole food extract of organic aloe vera, beetroot, curcumin, ginger, lemon, piperine and fulvic acid in a liposomal base. Beetroot is a very good source of nitrate and provides a natural way of increasing nitric oxide levels in the body. Several pathologies are associated with diminished nitric oxide bioavailability, especially hypertension and endothelial function. Furthermore, beetroot is a promising therapeutic treatment for many illnesses associated with oxidative stress and inflammation which is typical of COVID-19. The betalain pigments in beetroot have potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and chemo-preventative activity in vitro and in vivio https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4425174/
• Fulvic Acid with Zinc and Selenium: Fulvic acid has many properties other than the fact that it’s an antiviral. It naturally contains 75 different minerals and trace elements, is the most potent natural electrolyte known, is a very strong antioxidant and helps the body with detoxification. All of these properties will help someone with the disease on the road to recovery.

Disclaimer: Oshun Health does not provide medical advice or medication for ailments. Oshun Health does, however, provide essential elements to wellbeing through its products which, in turn, help the body to heal itself