The WHO chief says AVOID "endgame" talk about Covid
https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-pandemics-united-nations-world-health-organization-d500f7942d0c920912261b30ab8bfd66

New Phase Initiated by Omicron
nytimes.com/live/2022/01/24/world/omicron-covid-vaccine-tests


Recently I became acquainted with a virologist here in PDX who, working at OHSU, helped develop an antibody test for covid. The test he developed has not gained wide usage. 

The virus makes 20+ proteins for which our bodies make antibodies, but the vaccines contain only the spike protein. What this means is that we can tell if people have had the virus, or if they have just had the vaccine. IMO this would be useful information at the population level.

It is still possible for us to know how many people have had the virus. Many people have probably had it but didn't know because they were asymptomatic. Many others have probably had it but don't know because testing wasn't available--especially early in the pandemic. Of course there are pockets of population who still haven't been exposed--but Omicron is reaching many of them. We will not have a good sense of the immunity level of humans on earth until we know the proportion who've had the disease.

Tracking the proportion who've had the vaccine is easier. I have a vaccination card that shows that I've had 3 jabs so far. For me it was mandatory because I work in healthcare. It was also a no-brainer because I'm old and fat enough that covid posed a significant risk, whereas the vaccine poses a miniscule risk.  Sure, it's uncomfortable and unpleasant to deal with the symptoms after vaccination.  I have some tricks for minimizing that.  But basically I agree with the vaccine pushers that getting the vast majority of us stuck makes good sense.

Infection does confer a higher level of immunity than the vaccine. This is because the virus makes those 20+ proteins and our immune systems recognize all of them. The vaccine only contains one protein, the spike. When you've had the virus, your body knows 19 more ways to recognize the virus than if you've just had the vaccine.

Our bodies have T-cells that remember viral proteins that they have met, and go on attack whenever the virus is in us. T-cell immunity is different from antibodies. T-cells last 10-20 years after an infection. B-cells make antibodies and some of them stick around a long time too. "Memory" B-cells live for years and make antibodies for an infection for about 6 months, then they go on break. They are still there to make more antibodies if needed.

Years after vaccination you still have memory B-cells that can resume antibody production, and T-cells that can go on the attack. Unless. Unless you are immune compromised somehow. Unless you get measles, which actually KILLS memory B-cells. This is why I recommend that most people get the MMR vaccine too. It protects you from the damages done by measles, which are more than most people realize.

The nugget here is that the immune system is complicated and managing a pandemic is even more complicated. The public messaging is simplistic. Public health officials are trying to get everyone to take the jab. This is for the benefit of the population; we do it for each other. What I wish that public health as an institution would do for us is invest in antibody testing AND some ways of evaluating immune function so that we can move forward and leave this pandemic era behind.

The world will never be the same again. Those of us who've lived through this pandemic are changed. So many people are dead. Some near to me. Some far away. Wearing a mask is hard. Being isolated from people is hard. But in spite of this we are resilient and we who have survived so far have a good chance of continuing to survive. Let us unite in caring for each other, in being decent to each other.

Let us plan ahead for the possibility of another pandemic in our lifetimes. The increasing density of humans on the planet increases the odds of pandemics. The crowding of our food animals also increases the odds. Rather than pretending that the conditions for pandemic-making are the same as they were in the past, we need to collectively recognize the reality of our situation and do our best to be prepared. It is never over.

WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE ADVERSE EFFECT
https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2020/09/14/vaccine-transparency
It is not OK for vaccine manufacturers to hide the specifics of adverse effects, any more than it is OK for governments to hide the specifics of nuclear incidents.  If the people is to trust the makers of vaccines or the governments of countries, we need to hear prompt, factual information from them.

STURGIS WAS A MISTAKE
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/515453-sturgis-motorcycle-rally-was-superspreading-event-that-cost-public
I understand that riding motorcycles is all about freedom.  We all want freedom.  But freedom involves being alive.  The people who traveled to Sturgis made a mistake.  The people who didn't wear masks when they were going to bars and concerts made a mistake.  The mistake causes innocent people to die.  I've been in Flagstaff AZ where a spike is happening, like many places, due to the mixing of college students.  One young man visited his father without realizing that he had the virus, and his father died.  This really does happen and it is a tragedy every time.

AGE IS STILL THE BIGGEST RISK FACTOR FOR COVID DEATH
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02483-2
Of course there are the 100 year olds that survive the virus but they are outliers.  Basically the risk of mortality is near zero until age 50 and then it skyrockets.  This has been shown in lots of different human populations.  Protect your elders.

One thing that has become increasingly apparent is that this pandemic virus is deadly to those who are already weakened by life, and harmless to many who are young and strong.  There are many possible explanations to this phenomenon, and I want to share with you my thoughts on why.

Very young children for the most part don't get the infection at all.  This is likely because their mucosal immunity is strong.  Mucosal immunity is the defenses that live in our noses, throats, and intestine, specifically defensin, cryptidin, and secretory IgA.  There are antibodies called IgA in our saliva.  These things are capable of disposing of a virus before it even gets started infecting our cells.  Most American adults don't have strong mucosal immunity, but in children it is highly effective.  "Secretory IgA can be measured directly in stool, saliva, and breast milk to assess the degree of mucosal immunity," but in modern medicine this parameter is rarely if ever measured.  It is however possible to make it stronger in adults, by the way that we live.

Older children and young adults can be infected and carry the virus but they are less likely to get badly sick.  This is at least in part because the T-cells of their immune system are strong and active and can find the virus and kill it, and because they have lower levels of inflammation so they don't go into cytokine storm.

Middle aged adults are starting to have more chronic health problems, and this is what makes a person susceptible to a very bad case of the virus.  Being obese is one of the worst risk factors.  In the news they talk a lot about heart conditions and diabetes, but these things are strongly linked to obesity.  Obese people have higher levels of inflammation throughout the body, including in the liver which clogged with fat, and the brain which responds by getting depressed. Obesity also impairs the immune system, reducing mucosal immunity as well as the T-cell response and letting the virus get a foothold and grow.

Older adults most often have an assortment of health conditions.  The ones who've gotten overweight or obese are unlikely to survive when they get the virus.  The ones that are lean and active might survive, like the 100 year old veteran in Portland who got it and came out topside.

The lesson from these patterns is clear.  If you are declining into the diseases of abundance which are so common in America, you are at risk.  Being medicated for your high blood pressure and excessive blood sugar will not save you.  If you maintain a healthy body weight and exercise vigorously you are less at risk.  Covid-19 is a lifestyle disease, it is sorting us out by our most basic level of health.

If you would like to work on your basic health, nobody is better suited to help you than a naturopathic doctor.  Conventional physicians are too busy fulfilling the requirements of their network and insurances to really study on diet and lifestyle.  They want to do what we do, but they can't, not in a 15 minute visit.  Changing your diet and lifestyle and increasing your base health, is a gradual process.  You can start today by cutting out some sugar and moving your body just a little bit more.  Good luck!! 

If you'd like a health assessment and tips on how to improve your particular situation, feel free to touch base with me.  I'll ask you to do a diet diary (you can download the form on the bring page in this website) first so I know what you eat.  I'll want a full list of the medications you take, and the supplements.  Then we can talk on the old fashioned telephone.

Covidly: another place to watch the numbers, hover to see more
​https://covidly.com/

Inoculating Dose Matters: Bigger Exposure-->Faster Onset, Worse Disease
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/opinion/coronavirus-viral-dose.html​

The CDC comes around: wear a mask in public 4/3
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/world/coronavirus-news-updates.html

The WHO lists bogus labs and recommends no cures 3/31
https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/essential-medicines/drug-alerts20/no3-2020-falsified-mp-forcovid-en.pdf

Turmeric/Curcuma longa May Reduce Cytokine Storm
https://info.bioticsresearch.com/researchforum/curcumins-influence-on-cytokine-storm

CDC on How to Care for someone at Home
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/care-for-someone.html

If you get sick enough to need a Ventilator, you're probably a goner
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/04/02/826105278/ventilators-are-no-panacea-for-critically-ill-covid-19-patients

Foolishness: Letting Religious People Gather in Groups during Pandemic
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/01/825667542/states-consider-whether-religious-services-qualify-as-essential

Viral Shedding Continues Long Time after Illness Resolves
https://nypost.com/2020/03/30/coronavirus-patients-could-still-be-contagious-after-symptoms-resolve-study/

Dead Bodies in the Streets: Ecuador's Dark Ages
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ecuador-bodies-streets-guayaquil-coronavirus-covid-19/

This Report Suggests that Oregon has Flattened the Curve
https://govsite-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/8arHLJI7QrqywZlmFH1X_Oregon-COVID-19-Projections-2020-03-30.pdf

Mushrooms and Oats for Immune Modulation
https://blog.designsforhealth.com/node/1219

A Different Perspective: DeGrowth and Direct Democracy
https://theecologist.org/2020/apr/03/coronavirus-and-degrowth

Mortality Rates Grim Among Elders
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6912e2.htm?s_cid=mm6912e2_w

​Your Home May Not Be Private
https://www.myidcare.com/articles/single/even-sheltering-at-home-were-not-alone
​

Happy All Souls Day! The temptation of bad holiday foods is upon us, and our ancestors would be appalled. If you are anything like me, the easy availability of candy is bad news. Let me be the first to tell you to GET RID OF IT today instead of letting it sit around and tempt you into sugar addiction.

The problem with candy is that it is made out of sugar.  Sugar has many names, but it has the same effects. It doesn't matter if it's called honey, agave syrup, corn syrup or rice syrup, it still makes us crave more. And that is BAD NEWS.

It works like this.  Eating too much sugar (and even a little it usually too much) causes an imbalance in our insulin and leptin levels.  That imbalance causes us to feel hungry when we don't need food. That false hunger feeling, which can be a very strong craving, causes us to eat more and worse foods than we normally would. Uncontrolled eating worsens the imbalance which then leads to weight gain, pre-diabetes and diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia and all manner of bad news.

The GOOD NEWS is that this pattern of craving is easy to reverse. If you start your day by NOT eating sugar, you can stop the cravings for that day.  If you keep your sugar and carb intake low day after day, the cravings will disappear completely.  You will find that you aren't really a sugar addict after all.

Eggs and bacon are a great anti-craving breakfast, especially if you keep the portions of potatoes, breads and such small. Even oatmeal is a far better breakfast than a pastry, or even a bagel, sorry to say. The worst possible breakfast in the universe is Halloween candy, so get rid of it!  Throw it in the trash. Cheap sugary candy is the devil and you do not want to give it to anyone that you care about.

One small note about chocolate. People have the idea that chocolate is actually good for you, and this is true, but it has to be a certain kind of chocolate, AND you can't eat very much of it. Hershey's bars are more sugar and rancid milk than they are chocolate, so they are NOT good for you. Very dark (strong) chocolate, eaten one square at a time (not a whole bar!), is the only kind of chocolate that you can claim is good for you. And that is not the kind of chocolate that people give out at Halloween.

I hope this has been enough to get you started in the right direction.  Throw away the leftover candies, and brush your teeth.  Let your kids binge on sugar all at once until they feel sick, then get rid of the rest and make them brush their teeth too. Return to eating whole foods (fruit and veggies) as soon as possible! This Halloween curse can be beaten!

The EPA sets limits for pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and other chemicals on food, and those limits are not zero. There's no way you can avoid every toxin in or on commercial food, but it's worth some effort to minimize your exposures. Young people and children have the most to gain in terms of healthy life years.

Some contaminants are easier to remove than others. Strawberries are covered in little pores and it is impossible to get the pesticides off (out) of them, so it is important to buy those organic or choose another fruit. Apples are also hard to clean because they can have a coat of parrafin (to make them shiny) that seals in the pesticides. Potatoes may be less important to buy organic if you peel off a good layer and boil them too.  Boiling has been shown to remove or destroy some of the contaminants.

A review of the literature reveals that washing your veggies in tap water for 30 seconds actually removes most of the pesticides and fungicides. Unfortunately there are some that water does not remove, including chlorpyrifos (a nerve-gas pesticide) and vinclozolin (a fungicide). Thankfully these are removed by soaking in an acid solution, acetic acid being the most effective. Acetic acid is vinegar. The longer you soak your veggies the more of the chlorpyrifos is removed. My rule is to soak my cherries in a 5% vinegar solution for at least an hour.

Why do we care about chlorpyrifos? You may have heard about it in the news. It was originally developed as a nerve gas by the Nazis. Now it is used as a pesticide because it paralyzes insects. No surprise that it also wreaks havoc on the human nervous system. It was slated to be banned until Trump got elected. It's already banned for indoor use. Dow chemical (the maker of chlorpyrifos) donated a million bucks to Trump's inauguration fund to make sure that their profitable poison would remain legal. The EPA reversed course and this toxin will be sprayed on veggies and golf courses, in spite of the fact that it shrinks and deforms children's brains, lowers their IQs, and is linked to lung cancer and Parkinsons. Chlorpyrifos sticks to fruit even when it's rinsed in tap water.

For the foreseeable future we will need to work to avoid this toxin as best we can. This means seeking clean sources for our produce (gardens, farmer's markets, buying organic), washing it, peeling and boiling what can be peeled and boiled, and soaking plants that we eat with the skin on in a vinegar solution for at least an hour.

If you need a little good news to help wash off the sad feeling about all this poison, below are the kinds of food least likely to be contaminated. =-] Eat more of them.

​The photograph above is a wild ginger plant in the genus Asarum. I photographed it last week in the woods near my father's house. Don't eat it. We know this. Some plants are poison. Naturopaths know about aristolochic acid because it is part of our training in botanical medicine.

Medicine in the US today is as polarized as our politics, and just as full of talking points and bald faced lies. I find it infuriating and frustrating. Today I read a hit piece attacking naturopathic doctors. It claimed that we push herbs that contain aristolochic acid (AA). AA is a known carcinogen in the bladder and kidneys, and a new study suggests that it's causing a lot of liver cancer too. It really ticks me off when headlines say we push people to take poison. Not so. We are here to guard against such mistakes.

Chinese herbal products have often been found to contain toxins, and to be mis-labeled or not labeled at all. Herbs containing AA can be found in Chinese weight loss formulas, among other places Here in the good old US we may complain about the shady politics in the FDA, but at some level they really are trying to protect us. They're doing better than the Chinese authorities, far as I can tell.

There's been an incredible increase in the wealth of the Chinese middle class in the last 25 years. Suddenly people have jobs, cars, and disposable income. They are eating more sugar than they ever have before, and they are getting fat, even getting diabetes. The Chinese are looking more and more like US.

Combine their new obesity, disposable income, and good supply of poorly regulated herbal products, and you can understand why the Chinese are getting cancer from AA. Lots of other people in Asia, like the Taiwanese, are having the same problem.

We've known about AA for a long time. The FDA issued a warning about it in 2001 which is when it came onto a lot of people's radar.

If you would like to know if an herbal formula or a supplement is safe to take, there is no one better to consult than a naturopath. We study on which herbs are useful and which are dangerous.

It is true that the vast majority of herbal products are not very well tested. You have to do the research to find out which ones are good, or ask a naturopath. Some companies have excellent quality assurance standards, and some do not. If you are going to take a product, you want to know if it contains what it says on the label. You also want to know that it does not contain anything toxic. Third party testing of products is expensive and most companies don't do it. If you buy the cheapest herbs you can get, you are probably choosing the ones that haven't been checked. Just so you know.

The people who are dedicated to the project of smearing alternative medicine don't know much about it, but that doesn't slow them down. It has become disgustingly normal, especially online, to just say whatever you want as if it were true, and keep saying it until the dimwitted come to believe you.

Don't let them brainwash you. Keep your wits sharp. Gather information and challenge your own assumptions. There is disinformation on all sides, and medicine is as rich a medium for BS as politics.

Just because something is natural does not make it safe.  Just because something is herbal does not make it dangerous. If you're going to experiment with herbs, do your research--or get some help from someone who has. And don't buy imported herbs online. Please.

I just completed a training at NCNM and what I learned is that there ARE other people in the community who are impassioned about social justice. Sometimes, when I'm walking down the street, and the people around me are completely closed off from each other, I wonder. I feel good every time that I am the one to stop and ask if someone is OK, offer a hand with something, or otherwise step up to be part of the kinder gentler world that civilization is supposed to bring.

I feel our common humanity more deeply than I fear our external differences. I do not care what color you are, or what you think is sexy, or which religion you think is the right one.  What I care about is joy.

So presume only that I will take you as another human, doing the best you can. I hope you will see that I am no different.

The irony is rich. The term "snake oil" has come to mean everything that is fraudulent. The reference is to the infamous "snake oil salesman" who pitched and sold his wares out of the back of a wagon to the unsuspecting villagers of the American west.

Snake oil has real medicinal value. It was used as medicine before the North American continent was on the map. Centuries ago the Chinese used an oil made from a cold water snake called Enhydris chinensis to treat joint pain and bursitis. It was introduced to the US by Chinese laborers who worked on the Transcontinental Railroad in the mid 1800's. There's evidence that the ancient Egyptians used it too. In the early 1700's the English had a patent medicine made from snake oil. Snake oil was sold here as a panacea in the early 1900's, but the products sold were probably more filler and adulterant than they were actual snake oil.

So what's in it that's good for you? Snake oil, depending on the snakes used to derive it, can be a rich source of an fatty acid known as EPA, eicosapentanoic acid. EPA is used by the body to synthesize series 3 prostaglandins, which are anti-inflammatory and pain relieving. You can know EPA is important because it's in human breast milk.  EPA is effective for treating depression, improving cognitive function, autoimmune diseases including rheumatism, high cholesterol, hypertension, and more. 

EPA can be derived in the body from other fatty acids, but it's much easier to eat in your food. The richest sources are fish: herring, mackerel, salmon, trout, pilchards, menhaden and sardines. Fish do not make their own EPA. They get it from eating algae like spirulina, which we also can eat. Plant foods don't contain any EPA at all.

Part of the reason it's easier to eat EPA than to make it in your body has to do with human genetics. Some people have the gene to make the enzyme which lets them convert ALA (alpha linolenic acid) into EPA. Other people have mutations in their genes that limit their ability to do the conversion. Diabetes and some allergies also limit a person's ability to convert ALA to EPA. ALA is an essential fatty acid, meaning that no humans can make it; we have to get it from the diet.

If we don't make it very well, and we don't eat much fish, we need to get our EPA some other way to keep our cell membranes happy.  Many healthcare professionals recommend that we take fish oil.  Fish oil contains 12-18% EPA.  Salmon oil tops the list at ~18%.  Chinese water snake oil contains ~ 20% EPA, whereas rattlesnake oil is said to contain 8.5%. Cod liver oil has more DHA than EPA and is best reserved for specific uses, like building baby brains or healing brain injuries.

The reason why some snakes have more EPA than others has to do with the temperatures that they live in. Snakes and fish are both cold blooded, so they have to function with their bodies at the same temperature as their environments. Omega 3 fats like EPA don't harden in cold temperatures like omega 6s do. They help keep cell membranes flexible. Flexible membranes don't get injured as easily, and are able to function better. Cold water fish, or cold water snakes, will have more EPA than those that live in warm sunshine, like rattlesnakes.

The next time someone tells you that a treatment is "snake oil", remember this. Public attitudes and language reflect our history, not our future. Science continues to give us reason to revise belief systems, erase myths, and sometimes to welcome old treatments back into the fold.