Nature Fresh Data Base for COVID-19 pandemic – June 2020 preparation for the peak
By Sue Visser Health Researcher www.naturefresh.co.za
Introduction to the South African pandemic situation:
In South Africa the Covid-19 pandemic is all about masks, social distancing and sanitizing your hands. I know what you are thinking – what about fortifying the immune system? The average person has wallowed in a state of lockdown laziness, with minimal exercise and a steady supply of unhealthy takeaways. The middle to upper classes make do with cell phones, computers, Cokes and sweets for company. There is little concern for antioxidants, zinc, Vitamin C and D or at best, a course of chloroquine and some herbal tea. They complain about conflicting lockdown regulations, weight gain, the price and quality of black market cigarettes and no alcohol. Herbal tinctures and cough mixtures are no substitute for a sundowner. (We noticed that the demand for our Parasite Remedy tincture exceeded the capsules during Level 4 of the enigmatic lockdown.)
From day 1, a number of people have died at the mercy of ventilators while the rest of the world anxiously awaits vaccines and drugs. My neighbour works as a nurse in the intensive care unit at Groote Schuur hospital. I’m still waiting to hear if any of the patients have survived the ventilation and gone home instead of to the morgue. There is also no guarantee that the latest vaccine will provide 100% protection to the locked down world at such short notice. A variety of novel and familiar pathogens are closing in for the winter kill. The news (the fear channel) provides no helpful information about natural alternatives and immune boosters. We do!
In the crowded hotspots they shout “fight the virus” and don their filthy damp cotton masks, to rebreathe more germs. But a mask is a mask albeit a recycled pair of nickers or a sock. Children in squatter camps sell illegal cigarettes to earn a bit of money. Their parents travel to the city in crowded taxis and stand in long queues outside shops for most of the day. They cluster together in poorly ventilated houses, waiting to be fed by well-meaning citizens who try to stave off the national hunger epidemic. Nobody has a clue about natural resources like eucalyptus or iodine that can zap viruses for a few cents. Taking comfort in sugar does more damage to their already compromised immune systems. From the Minister of Health – not even a dose of vitamin C or heaven forbid, Artemisia or olive leaves to improve their chances against the deadly virus. Glutathione did you say? “Naaaay, we sniff glue to forget.”
Glutathione is our primary antioxidant and will ward off a respiratory crisis in the first place, providing we have adequate supplies of it. Nutrients involved in the conversion of homocysteine into glutathione include folate, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, riboflavin, and choline. Vitamin C plays a vital role in maintaining glutathione levels so supplements are needed. Selenium is a cofactor for the production of glutathione. Fish, organ meats, and Brazil nuts are all selenium-rich foods that may help increase your levels naturally. Take food sources or supplements of: glutamine (all proteins), glycine and cysteine (whey protein) Oral Glutathione supplements that include the bioavailable precursors such as N Acetylcysteine can effectively increase Glutathione production. For the emergency treatment of virus infected patients, some forms can be inhaled into the lungs or used trans-dermally or intravenously, but the treatment is very costly.
Meanwhile in the townships and makeshift shacks, most of the lockdown victims are anxiously awaiting their over-publicised saviours – the vaccines, the rows of invitingly empty hospital beds, the ventilators and silver bullets that have been stockpiled around the country. In the light of this sad state of affairs we need to stand up and deliver the solutions that Natural and Integrative medicine have to offer to outwit both the virus and the bullshit. With a track record of a few thousand years our herbal kingdom has taken care of our ailments, especially respiratory ones. So who needs to make a new remedy? Traditionally tried and trusted herbs (green science) can provide safer and in most cases, more effective alternatives to experimental or redundant drugs to treat the Corona pandemic.
How do we defend ourselves from these CORONA-based infections? How do we treat them without drugs?
Very few of the existing “repurposed” drugs have achieved any measure of success in curing this Corona virus and its nefarious cousins let alone TB, pneumonia and the other ever-mutating super bugs. The oncoming winter wipe-out in South Africa is expected to reach a peak by September this year. As a health researcher and observer of conventional as well as traditional modalities I see a play-off between silver versus green bullets in the offing. For those who place their trust in vaccines and new drugs that roll out prior to thorough testing, the outcome is experimental at best. Are people really expected to hang in there without any support until a vaccine or new patent medicines arrive?
We need practical ways to fight the symptoms of a virus – the fever, sore throat and a dry cough. For doctors who have to treat patients who have a penchant for kitchen remedies and herbal teas, the safest way is to forestall the danger of duplicating their current medications. (e.g. Olive leaf lowers blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar. Fresh ginger also kills viruses, but it competes with Warfarin.) Should one adjust a prescription accordingly or forbid the use of anything besides a regular medication? Our Ministry of health insists on scientific evidence and has waved herbal remedies such as Artemisia aside. They foster the scrutiny of random, isolated chemicals from a huge data base that includes herbs but most of them only look good on paper. By now most of us know that isolates require a synergy in order to be effective. So a tea, decoction, tincture, capsule or pill made from the actual herb provides all the complimentary factors as a safer and more reliable remedy. Antibiotics dished out for “just in case complications” do more harm than good, especially to an already compromised immune system. If there are no medications that can kill viruses as effectively as elenoic acid then your patient may be right about Olive leaves.
Herbal remedies to consider for protection, symptomatic relief or treatment for COVID’s
By Sue Visser Health Researcher www.naturefresh.co.za
Over 60% of our local population prefer to take traditional medicines. What do doctors of integrative medicine have to offer them? Tried and tested herbal remedies like Artemisia Annua offer some light at the end of the tunnel. Even prior to Madagascar’s bold march forward with COVID organics – a time honoured cure for malaria; we saw how well it worked in China. It was used during the initial Wuhan protocols based on TCM (traditional Chinese medicine). Their interactive approach albeit unwieldy, took into consideration the treatment of the causative factors and also offered symptomatic relief to their patients. The most successful remedies included liquorice, ginger, Artemisia and other blends of herbs to suit what they called wet coughs, dampness, heat, dryness and so on.
Traditional herbs have served the world for countless generations. Artemisia Afra is being used successfully in Madagascar and other African countries to cure Covid-19 patients and the tea is dished out daily to long queues of people, as is the habit for the treatment of malaria. It works despite the derision of scientists, the WHO and politicians alike. Traditional herbal remedies have additional health benefits and adverse effects are rare. The COVID series is also responding to the discarded anti-malarial drugs such as chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine and arteminisin to name a few. Quinine salts are not a safe all-round remedy, especially for heart patients with irregular heart rates and arteminisin is an isolate (often a synthetic analogue) that can cause oxidative stress if unaccompanied by protective antioxidants and the other supportive components like polyphenols and alkaloids that are present in the leaves.
The scientific obsession with isolates is questionable as we learn from history about the failure of artemisinin to treat drug resistant malaria as opposed to using the Artemisia Annua or the Artemisia Afra leaf tea. Ironically, Artemisia Afra does not even contain artemisinin! Using the whole leaf provides anti-malarial chemicals such as chlorquinone that are also present in the leaf. Oleuropin, another component converts to elenoic acid and plays an important protective role against reactive oxygen species-induced oxidative injury in RBCs – one of the COVID hazards that doctors have observed. The key to the success of Olive leaf and Artemisia is thus due to their anti-malarial properties that according to new studies, are equally effective against the ever-mutating coronaviruses that drive this global 2020 pandemic.
From Nature Fresh: new Anti-VIRUS products: sanitiser spray, tincture, tea and capsules
Here is the technical lowdown, should one require scientific evidence that Artemisia and Olive leaf can destroy the COVID virus. Firstly, arteminisin and oleouropin isolates inhibit Heme Polymerization, a pathway that is unique to the malaria parasite (and Covid-19 related infections) as effectively as chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine. This requirement for anti-malarial as well as anti-covid remedies needs to be met according the latest studies (virtual drug screening, molecular docking and supervised machine learning algorithms to identify novel drug candidates against COVID-19). So too, their docking scores in the ACE-inhibitor receptor molecular crystalline studies prove that these natural substances have similar and often superior bonding energies to the chloroquine’s.
Plants have combined defences against viruses (colds and flu and modified coronaviruses), bacteria (pneumonia and tuberculosis), protozoans (malaria) and other pathogens. Using them offers superior protection – as opposed to single-target drugs with unavoidable side effects. Phytochemicals (within the context of whole leaf remedies) deserve further recognition as studies have now demonstrated their superior activity against SARS-CoV-2 as well as malaria. They also provide anti-inflammatory, cardio protective (against blood clots) and immuno-regulating effects. Furthermore, nobody was able to detect any acute or chronic toxicity for the consumption of these plants, which have been utilized for thousands of years without any severe side effects other than a die-off or Herxheimer reaction.
Although broad spectrum antiviral drugs can be effective against novel coronaviruses and their constant mutations, their side effects may do more harm than good. They do not help to control inflammation or blood clotting, let alone cytokine storms. The inappropriate use of antibiotics or antivirals can destroy natural colonies of viruses, especially inside the lungs – the strains that control pathogenic respiratory bacteria that cause pneumonia and tuberculosis. As we know, antibiotics (including Zithromax) used against viruses are not effective and they wipe out the gut flora that form a major component of the immune system. Surely we need to strengthen – not weaken it?
https://www.who.int/bulletin/online_first/20-255943.pdf Identification of novel compounds against three targets of SARS CoV-2 coronavirus by combined virtual screening and supervised machine learning
CPD articles by Sue Visser
Herbal malaria remedies https://www.medicalacademic.co.za/integrative-medicine/can-herbal-treatments-for-malaria-work/
Iodinehttps://www.medicalacademic.co.za/integrative-medicine/preventing-and-treating-diseases-with-iodine/
Biofilms https://www.medicalacademic.co.za/courses/biofilms-and-antibiotic-resistance/
Natural remedies for Covid-19 https://www.medicalacademic.co.za/integrative-medicine/natural-remedies-for-covid-19/
Full documentation on 3 herbal ingredients that work against Coronavirus, malaria and other pathogens
1 Artemisia Annua
Initial studies in China showed the alcoholic extract of sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua) was the second most potent herbal medicine used on the 2005 Sars-CoV. Aqueous infusions of A. annua significantly decreased levels of inflammatory cytokines including interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 in human intestinal cells in vitro. Rosmarinic and chlorogenic acids in the herb seemed primarily responsible for this effect. (Nature Fresh Parasite Remedy contains 25% in an alcoholic tincture and has been used for over 2 decades to treat malaria, schistosomiasis and HIV/Aids but only as evidence based from patients without clinical trials.)
Artemisia annua extracts show very little toxicity and artemisinin-based drugs are widely used to treat malaria even in newborns. Evaluation of the plant extract was non-toxic with LD50 values no greater than 5000mg/kg.9” Artemisia (Wilde Als / Umhlonyane) Chinese Wormwood, Ging Hoa is a traditional African remedy for fever and colds and flu. It is also used to clear inflammatory and infectious conditions, referred to as ‘Internal Heat’ in TCM. This is why most of the herbs in this category will have both antibacterial and antiviral properties. It was first used in traditional Chinese medicine 1000 years ago. Tu Youyou received a Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2015 for her work and achievement in fighting malaria in Africa, Latin America and Asia with Artemisia. Artemisinin in Artemisia annua tea absorbs faster than pure artemisinin alone.
From other sources: “Olive leaf combines well with Artemisia Afra. Traditionally people take Artemisia Annua for cough, stomach and intestinal upset, the common cold, measles, diabetes, yellowed skin (jaundice), anxiety, irregular heartbeat, and muscle weakness. It is also used for parasitic infections such as roundworms, pinworms, tapeworms, hookworms, and flukes.”
“These proof-of-concept trials suggest that a sustainable supply of locally grown Artemisia Annua could be maintained in Africa as a way to deliver life-saving medicine, and that pharmaceutical companies and synthetic, isolated artemisinin’s are not necessary for the treatment of malaria.”
https://herbalmateriamedica.wordpress.com/2014/04/20/artemisia-annua/ Artemisia Monograph
https://www.meandqi.com/herb-database/sweet-wormwood-herb
https://medcraveonline.com/PPIJ/artemisia-afra-and-hypertension.html
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1074552102001175 Artemisia Heme-Artemisinin Adducts Are Crucial Mediators of the Ability of Artemisinin
https://www.mpg.de/14663263/artemisia-annua-corona-virus Artemisia annua to be tested against coronavirus. Artemisia annua extracts show very little toxicity
https://www.rxlist.com/artemisia_herba-alba/supplements.htm
https://artemisiaannuatea.com/about-artemisia-annua/
YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oCCZdenOHo by Manfred Taege Artemisia annua – Malaria, Cancer and a Nobel Prize A tea made from the leaves, containing, apart from Artemisinin nine other anti-malarial substances can help to fight malaria in regions where people have no access to medical care or are too poor to buy the expensive pharmaceutical products – which particularly in Africa are often either fake or of substandard quality.
YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvC4uSYprU8 The malaria business: Big pharma vs natural medicine, WHO banned Artemisia in France and Belgium. Studies by Prof Pamela Weathers and Congolese doctors prove it is not Artemisinin exclusively.
You tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uCNurvdJVM Full instructions on how to grow and take Artemisia by Martin Hurt of Anamed.
YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52-tw-G8Yag the story of ANAMED Presenters : Dr. Hans-Martin Hirt and Richard Tsimba Kandu Dr. Hans-Martin Hirt is pharmacist and the founder of an international NGO called “anamed” or “action for natural medicine in the tropics”. Their main area of research is to have an exchange of knowledge with local people how to produce medicine themselves out of medicinal plants…by this, far money may be left to fight hunger in the family!
2 Black Cumin (Nigella Sativa / Kalonjie)
This is a traditional remedy for treating what Islamic people refer to as: “every ailment except your inevitable death”. This time honoured and much studied remedy can help any of our ailments, either as a stand-alone remedy or to support the effects of other medications. It is also an anti-malarial remedy, (similar to chlorquinone) due to the presence of thymoquinone. It has been used successfully by theTaibah University anti-COVID-19 treatment as a novel evidence-based approach (using natural products) for treating COVID-19 patients. The 5ml (2g) dose of Nigella sativa seeds mixed with honey and chamomile helped infected patients, even on ventilators to recover within 7 days. It was confirmed that: “Nigella sativa enhances immunity, exerts tissue protective effects and effectively treats co-morbidities.
High levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and lymphopenia or a lack of macrophages are common to patients who are severely affected by coronaviruses, yet Nigella Sativa (Kalonjie) can provide both lympho protective activity and immune modulation. According to Doctor Saki Moidin,” Future clinical trials will unravel how exactly we can use Nigell Sativa (thymoquinone) for treating the current COVID-19 pandemic state.” Our endocannabinoids (CBD’s that are also present in Black Cumin) and their receptors influence the immune system, viral pathogenesis, and viral replication.
Black Cumin’s immune-suppressing (in states of inflammation) or immune-boosting (in states of infection) ability plays a key role in protecting us from pathogens as well as cytokine storms. It is a versatile supplement and helps to maintain the major aspects of our health. Benefits include immunomodulation, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, anticancer, hypoglycaemic, antihypertensive and anti-asthmatic. It has a broad antimicrobial spectrum including malaria, Gram-negative, Gram-positive bacteria, viruses, parasites, Schistosoma (bilharzia) and fungi. Apart from helping to control pain, epilepsy, Parkinsonism and anxiety Black Cumin (kalonjie) improves learning and memory, alertness and is mood elevating.
https://pharmacologyonline.silae.it/files/newsletter/2019/vol2/PhOL_2019_2_NL007_Molla.pdf Pharmacology Online August 2019 A review on antiviral effects of Nigella Sativa.
http://www.sciepub.com/AJPHR/abstract/11658 The Evidence-Based TaibUVID Nutritional Treatment for Minimizing COVID-19 Fatalities and Morbidity and eradicating COVID-19 pandemic: A novel Approach for Better Outcomes (A Treatment Protocol)
https://thescipub.com/PDF/ajptsp.2007.46.50.pdf In Vivo Anti-malarial Tests of Nigella sativa (Black Seed) Different Extracts
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4052177/ Black cumin oil effects on haeme
https://thecognate.com/nigella-sativa-every-disease-has-a-cure-decelerating-the-covid-19-pandemic/ The Cognate Nigella Sativa: Every Disease Has A Cure – Decelerating The COVID-19 Pandemic by B yDr. Shakil Moidin 22 March 2020
https://naturefresh.co.za/32905-2/ How can we benefit from kalonjie Mar 26, 2020 by Sue Visser
https://naturefresh.co.za/ramadan-2020-in-lockdown-april-radio-talk-with-zulaikha-and-sue1/ Ramadan 2020 in Lockdown: April Radio talk with Zulaikha and Sue
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/kalonji-nigella-seeds 9 Impressive Health Benefits of Kalonji (Nigella Seeds)
https://www.medicalacademic.co.za/post-summary/?post_refered=22174 Natural alternatives to CBD
http://www.phytojournal.com/archives/2015/vol4issue4/PartB/4-3-79.pdf Black Cumin / Nigella Sativa MONOGRAM
3 Olive leaf
Olive leaves contain a natural anti-malarial component called chlorquinone. Olive leaf also inhibits blood clotting and maintains optimal viscosity. A natural built-in benefit as an alternative to blood-thinning medications. This can help to protect high-risk patients against the formation of tiny clots that occur as a complication of the coronovirus infections. Olive leaf has been used successfully for diabetic and cardiovascular patients as an alternative to medications that lower blood pressure, thin the blood and lower blood sugar. Although it was first believed that ACE inhibitors may be harmful to coronavirus patients the verdict is that these drugs are of more benefit to help the heart and lungs of an infected patient.
Extracts from olive leaves have been shown to treat infection caused by a large number of viruses as well as bacteria, parasitic protozoans, and fungi. A phytochemical in olive leaf, call oleuropein, is able to stop viruses in their tracks. Oleuropein neutralizes the enzymes that are important for the virus to replicate itself and spread. Oleuropein also has the ability to interfere with the critical amino acid production that is essential for viruses. Another component from the whole leaf is elenolic acid that inactivates viruses and bacteria without damaging the host cells by:
- Interference with specific amino acid production processes vital to the life cycle of the virus
- Interference with viral infection and/or spread by inactivating the virus or by prohibiting shedding, budding or assembly at the cell membrane
- Immune activation of host defence through direct stimulation of phagocytosis
- Neutralization of the production of reverse transcriptase and protease (relates to retroviral ability to alter the host cell RNA)
- Penetration of infected host cells while achieving an irreversible inhibition of viral replication.
- The antiviral activity of elenolic acid was shown to be greatest in an alkaline environment (pH 7.5), which is very close to the normal human pH range of 7.35-7.45.
http://www.altmedrev.com/archive/publications/14/1/62.pdf Olive leaf MONOGRAM
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8279931/Common-blood-pressure-pills-NOT-make-coronavirus-worse-three-studies-find.html Common blood pressure pills DO NOT make coronavirus worse
https://doctorsnutrition.com/the-natural-antiviral-effects-of-lysine-and-olive-leaf-extract/
YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WedVlJCB6tE did you know that olive leaves also have some wonderful health benefits? By Ryan Taylor – how to use olive leaves medicinally
https://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=38381
YOU TUBE: Sue updates on Artemisia 2000 – 2020. Clips from ETV series on Nature’s Health
A 6 minute collection of material from the series made over 13 years ago that shows how timeless herbal remedies are. They still work, despite drugs and chemical isolates that come and go because of pathogens that develop a resistance to them. No wonder Artemisia also works for novel infections like Covid. So do olive leaves because they are complete medicines!
https://www.google.com/search?q=you+tube+sue+visser+artemisia+2000+2020&oq=you+tube+sue+visser+artemisia+2000+2020&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60l3.24087j0j8&client=tablet-android-samsung&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#