Covid: Reducing Folate, A Zinc Cofactor
Zinc and folic acid are co-factors for some bodily processes. The body has to use, excrete or store every nutrient that it absorbs. Because folic acid and zinc are often co-factors, used together by the body, reduction of folic acid would allow more zinc to be prioritized to the immune system.
People who are losing their sense of smell while fighting off coronavirus are using their sense of smell as a "zinc bank." Their bodies are treating it as storage for zinc which the body does not otherwise have. As a result, they have better control of the amount of zinc that is going to the immune system, both in quantity and keeping the amount steady when either a nutritional supplement or zinc in food stops being absorbed.
That is a critical moment for the immune system. That's the moment when the immune system is unable to function correctly, and a pathogen has a chance to proliferate if the cells of the body do not immediately shift gears to remove zinc from cells, using cortisol, or instead allow copper to proliferate in the body, potentially causing oxidative stress, and prioritizing it instead to the immune system. If the body has undermethylation, if the cells cannot read their DNA quickly enough and shift gears, retool themselves like little factories to adapt to the sudden reduction in zinc absorption, the immune system will be shorted, and the body will not be able to protect itself.
Since the body does not usually store zinc, it is important to make sure that there is no gap in zinc availability to the immune system while the body is fighting off Coronavirus. This is usually via absorption from food or nutritional supplements.
Therefore, reducing folic acid, because it is a zinc cofactor, could be beneficial by allowing zinc to be reprioritized to the immune system. Unfortunately, most doctors are not trained sufficiently to think about nutrition in this way, and most hospitals are not crafting a diet aimed at supporting their patients' bodies in fighting Coronavirus.
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Metformin has been found to be beneficial for Coronavirus. Metformin is one of a number of Auntie folates, called incidental Andy full it's because it's not used as a treatment, but merely is a side effect which can actually cause low folic acid as a detriment.
People who are losing their sense of smell while fighting off coronavirus are using their sense of smell as a "zinc bank." Their bodies are treating it as storage for zinc which the body does not otherwise have. As a result, they have better control of the amount of zinc that is going to the immune system, both in quantity and keeping the amount steady when either a nutritional supplement or zinc in food stops being absorbed.
That is a critical moment for the immune system. That's the moment when the immune system is unable to function correctly, and a pathogen has a chance to proliferate if the cells of the body do not immediately shift gears to remove zinc from cells, using cortisol, or instead allow copper to proliferate in the body, potentially causing oxidative stress, and prioritizing it instead to the immune system. If the body has undermethylation, if the cells cannot read their DNA quickly enough and shift gears, retool themselves like little factories to adapt to the sudden reduction in zinc absorption, the immune system will be shorted, and the body will not be able to protect itself.
Since the body does not usually store zinc, it is important to make sure that there is no gap in zinc availability to the immune system while the body is fighting off Coronavirus. This is usually via absorption from food or nutritional supplements.
Therefore, reducing folic acid, because it is a zinc cofactor, could be beneficial by allowing zinc to be reprioritized to the immune system. Unfortunately, most doctors are not trained sufficiently to think about nutrition in this way, and most hospitals are not crafting a diet aimed at supporting their patients' bodies in fighting Coronavirus.
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Metformin has been found to be beneficial for Coronavirus. Metformin is one of a number of Auntie folates, called incidental Andy full it's because it's not used as a treatment, but merely is a side effect which can actually cause low folic acid as a detriment.
There are intentional antifolates, medications whos beneficial effect is to reduce folic acid, Methotrexate being one. It is prescribed to people who have psoriasis and cancer, because starving the cells of some of folic acid stops the body from creating psoriasis skin overgrowth), and starves the fast-growing and high folic acid using cancer cells so that they die without being able to reproduce. For this purpose, folic acid is prescribed to be taken later, so that the body doesn't starve its slow growth cells.
Why isn't Methotrexate being looked at for Coronavirus? The dose would have to be much much smaller then the dose for cancer, but even a tiny Improvement might a tiny reduction of folic acid, to the point that the loss of the sense of smell, could give the body the option of using the sense of smell as a zinc bank. This is not going to work for everyone because of different epigenetic marks, but it could be tested and might cause an improvement even in those who do not lose their sense of smell as a result.
The concept might be sound, but putting it into action would require care. Nevertheless, this technique could be used in people with severe illnesses that are similar to SARS in the future. So it's a concept which would be portable to the next SARS outbreak.
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©Deborah Barges Sept 2020 open access
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©Deborah Barges Sept 2020 open access
