Recent research has led to a nutraceutical approach for dealing with RNA viruses, including influenza and coronavirus.
The authors point out that several human randomized studies have shown that supplements like n-acetylcysteine, which is used for acetaminophen toxicity and also as a mucus thinner to reduce bronchitis, and elderberry have been proven to shorten the duration of flu by two to four day and to reduce the severity. They also mention that nutraceuticals like spirulina and beta-glucan have been shown to either reduce the severity or death rate in influenza infected animals. In addition, a clinical study on humans using spirulina showed significant reductions in HIV viral load.
Mark McCarty, of the Catalytic Longevity Foundation in San Diego, CA and James DiNicolantonio PharmD, cardiovascular research scientist, Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, MO propose in a fascinating article in Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases published by Elsevier that nutraceuticals can help people infected with encapsulated viruses like influenza and coronavirus.
Around 30 million Americans are infected with influenza each year, resulting in around 30,000 deaths. There are some medications that are approved to treat influenza. However, these are often expensive, have side-effects, and aren’t very effective. In addition, influenza vaccinations may only be effective for around 50% of those who are vaccinated. There is a demand for more effective and safer alternatives to treat influenza.
In the last few months, an RNA coronavirus called COVID-19 has been spreading from China to more than two dozen other countries. It has infected over 76,000 people and caused more than 2,000 fatalities. The novel coronavirus has a mortality rate that is 2.92 percent, which is higher than the average flu. This means that 1 out of 33 people infected by this new coronavirus die. The annual flu only has a mortality of 0.05 – 0.1 percent. It means that 1 out of every 1,000 to 2,000 infected people with the annual influenza will die. COVID-19, on the other hand, is 30-60 times more deadly than the annual flu.
Source:
https://www.elsevier.com/about/press-releases/research-and-journals/recent-research-points-the-way-toward-a-practical-nutraceutical-strategy-for-coping-with-rna-virus-infections-including-influenza-and-coronavirus
