Nutrients That may Prevent Or Mitigate COVID-19

Understandably, there is a lot of concern and anxiety about COVID19 and for good reason–it is a very contagious virus. It is our goal to give you actionable things you can do to take care of yourself and your loved ones. First and foremost, it is important to follow the CDC guidelines.

Many of you have been wondering if there is anything else you can do to mitigate the effects of COVID19 and the answer is yes! Eating a whole food diet has never been more important. Move every day. Get 7-9 hours of sleep at night. Get the essential nutrients that we will summarize for you below.

Actions you can take that may prevent or mitigate COVID-19 include these 5 key nutrients:

• Vitamin C 500mg/day

  Vitamin C has anti-viral, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties.

  Food sources of Vitamin C include oranges, red and yellow bell peppers, kiwi, strawberries, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, papaya, Brussels sprouts, grapefruit, spinach, kale, cherries and lemons.

  Recipes made with ingredients that contain vitamin C include Vegetable Frittata, Paleo Strawberry Jam, and No Potato Salad.

• Zinc 75-100mg/day Zinc inhibits viral RNA.

  Food sources of Zinc include oysters, grass fed beef, dark chocolate, almonds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, chickpeas, lentils, cashews, crab, lobster, and pastured pork.

  Recipes made with ingredients that contain zinc include Paleo Meatloaf and Cacao Fudge Bars.  

• Quercetin 500-1000mg/day Quercetin has anti-viral properties, anti-inflammtory as well as being a powerful anti-oxidant

  Food sources of Quercetin include kale, capers, dill, cilantro, fennel leaves, red onion, organic tomatoes, radicchio, watercress, apples (especially with the skin), cranberry and lingonberry

  Recipes made with ingredients that contain quercetin include Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad.

• Melatonin (slow release) 1-3 mg at night Melatonin shows anti-viral benefits.

  Melatonin levels drop in even healthy people over age 40 and may be a reason this age group is more susceptible to the virus.

  Food sources of Melatonin include eggs, walnuts, fish, pistachios, legumes and mustard seeds

  Recipes made with ingredients that contain melatonin include Tuna Tartar and Vegetable Frittata.

• Vitamin D3 1000-4000 iu/day Vitamin D is an immune booster and hormone regulator.

  Try to get 10-15 minutes of sunshine each day, if you can. 

  Food sources of Vitamin D include salmon, tuna (look for mercury safe), and mackerel.

  Recipes made with ingredients that contain Vitamin D 3 include Tuna Tartar.

Although it is best to get your nutrition through whole foods, if you are concerned you are not getting enough of any of these nutrients, you can always take a supplement. I would add to the above list a daily multi-vitamin, a probiotic and Omega 3. This is what we are currently doing for our family, including our parents. Look for trusted functional medicine brands such as Pure Encapsulations, Equilibrium Nutrition, Integrative Therapeutics, Trace Minerals, and Thorne Research to name a few. We use mostly Equilibrium Nutrition supplements for our family and their shipping times have been good recently.

Be well,

Michael Bollinger, MD and Beth Bollinger, Integrative Health Practitioner

reference: Paul Marik, MD, Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care a recommended approach

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