Coronavirus and Nutritional Depletion: Zinc and the Immune System
Most medications cause nutritional deficiencies. A deficiency in folic acid is beneficial, because it leaves more zinc available for the immune system. That is one way Metformin, an incidental antifolate which causes few other nutrient depletions, has a beneficial effect for those with coronavirus. It also may decrease the body's pH (make the body more acid); coronavirus has a easier time entering cells in vitro with a higher pH (more alkaline or base.)
Obviously, a zinc deficiency weakens the body to coronavirus. The body uses zinc in a higher rate when fighting off coronavirus, which explains the loss of sense of taste and smell suffered by some coronavirus sufferers.
Losses of other nutrients required by the immune system would also be particularly detrimental. Populations which take mutiple medications - those with chronic illnesses and the elderly - would therefore be at greater risk.
There is a separate article on this page about natural or genetic nutritional deficiencies, which can cause medical conditions, a potential tripple whammy for such people: an original nutritional deficiency, one or more illnesses from it, and medications which may treat the conditionb even moderate the deficiency or balance other nutrients around it, but cause new deficiencies of its own. This combination is probably the highest mortality rate, along with poverty or cravings leading to a poor diet, stress (which also depletes nutrients), few positive social contacts (reducing antioxidants which prevent damage from free radicals, causing more cellular level repairs and thus over-use of nutients), and certainly other factors, as well. Each of these will get a separate article or page; this website will be being updated regularly.
Have any studies compared at the severity of coronavirus in elderly who do not take medications, with the elderly taking few mefications by specific medication, and with the elderly taking multiple medications?
Reference list. (I can provide hundreds more scholarly and medical references, but so can google.)
Please note the dates. This information has been known for at least a half a decade to a decade and a half, and early awareness of the problem was published in Annual Review of Nutrition, 1982.
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From the Penn State Hershey, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center's website, copyright 2011:
Drugs that Deplete: Zinc
http://pennstatehershey.adam.com/content.aspx?productid=107&pid=33&gid=000728#Diuretics
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From Beaufort Memorial Hospital's website, Review Date: 11/9/2005
Drugs that Deplete: Zinc
https://www.bmhsc.org/health-and-wellness/education-support/health-library/drug-interaction-tool?productId=107&pid=33&gid=000728
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How the Immune System is Affected by Drug-Induced Nutrient Depletion - PDF
Uploaded 2014
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://hazledrugs.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ImmuneSystemAffectedbyDrug-InducedNutrientDepletion.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwimzqvOhsLpAhVEBs0KHaE5AjE4FBAWMAN6BAgHEAE&usg=AOvVaw0rmAIBUjZoLzY8l3lwNDqh
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www.nutritional-solutions.net
Rx Deplete+Interactions - Download
by Nutritional Solutions
(Date unknown; included because it is one of the most easily readable detailed lists of nutrient depletion list by medication available.)
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.nutritional-solutions.net/images/phocadownload/Rx_DepleteInteractions.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwimzqvOhsLpAhVEBs0KHaE5AjE4FBAWMAR6BAgBEAE&usg=AOvVaw3p1bSfAZnqYh4XlbzhK_Ou
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The pharmacists role in drug induced nutrient depletion n. jones
Dated Jan 11, 2013
https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/PASaskatchewan/the-pharmacists-role-in-drug-induced-nutrient-depletion-n-jones
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Prescription Drugs and Nutrient Depletion: How Much Is Known?
Wendimere Reilly, Jasminka Ilich
Advances in Nutrition, Volume 8, Issue 1, January 2017, Page 23,https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/8.1.23
On line via Oxford University Press, academic articles:
Prescription Drugs and Nutrient Depletion: How Much Is Known
(Concerning the use of multiple prescription drugs in the aging population and how prescription drugs may lead to the depletion of key nutrients.)
https://academic.oup.com/advances/article/8/1/23/4568358
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© Deborah Barges, June 2020, reprintable and usable per open access rules.
