Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is the United States’ top expert on the Covid-19 pandemic. He is the voice of reason and solid, reliable science at a time when politicians and a cacophony of other voices are spreading confusion and outright misinformation. Supplements, herbs, and other nostrums are being promoted as preventatives, and a host of drugs are being tested as possible treatments. Some people are even talking about “cures,” although that is a mighty strong word for something whose long-term effects are, at this point, far from fully known or understood.
Fauci is 79 years old, which puts him in a high-risk category, based solely on his age. He does all the recommended things to protect himself and other people.
- He wears a mask whenever his is out in public.
- He practices social distancing
- He washes his hands frequently
- He avoids touching his face
There are a few things that he doesn’t do. He doesn’t take any drugs, herbs, or advertised immune-system boosters, in the hope that they will protect him from contracting a Covid-19 infection. However, there are two substances that he does take to protect himself. Both are cheap and widely available. The first is vitamin D.
There have been several studies that have looked at the effect that Vitamin D has on Covid-19. Dr. Fauci has revealed that he consumes 6000 International Units of Vitamin D every day. One study looked at 469 people who had been admitted to a hospital. All these people had been checked for Vitamin D level some time in the year before admittance. Those who had been deemed deficient in their blood level of Vitamin D formed the deficient in D group and those deemed sufficient in blood level of Vitamin D formed the sufficient in D group. The people in the “deficient” group were 1.77 times more likely to test positive for Covid-19 that was the case for the “sufficient” group.
Another study, this one in Spain, tested to see if administration of Vitamin D reduced the number of hospital patients who were moved to the intensive care unit (ICU) because their condition had worsened. Of those who received Vitamin D, 2% were later admitted to ICU. Of those who did not receive Vitamin D, 50% were admitted to ICU. None of the patients in the treated group died, but in the untreated group receiving only standard care, 15% died.
Your body can manufacture Vitamin D if you get sufficient sun exposure. However, many people do not. During the winter months, people tend to cover up and not expose much skin to the sun. Even in summer, people apply sunscreen that blocks the rays that would cause the conversion of precursors into Vitamin D. Finally, some people have naturally dark skin. The melanin that causes the darkening also blocks the rays that give rise to Vitamin D. For all these reasons, it makes sense to take a Vitamin D supplement. I typically take 2500 IU of Vitamin D3 per day, but now that Dr. Fauci has stated that he takes 6000 IU, I am considering updating my intake. The object is to raise the level of Vitamin D in the blood to the point where it is protective against the SARS-Cov-2 virus.
The second substance that Dr. Fauci recommends for building your defenses against Covid-19 is Vitamin C. Like Vitamin D, Vitamin C is also inexpensive and widely available. You can get it from citrus fruits and other foods, but supplements can give you the one to two grams per day that will give you maximum protection.
Aside from Vitamins D and C, Fauci also recommends getting good sleep and vigorous exercise. His exercise of choice is power walking. Mine is jogging, but I might give power walking a try.
BIO:
Allen G. Taylor is a 40-year veteran of the computer industry and the author of over 40 books, including Develop Microsoft HoloLens Apps Now, Get Fit with Apple Watch, Cruise for Free, SQL For Dummies, 9th Edition, Crystal Reports 2008 For Dummies, Database Development For Dummies, Access Power Programming with VBA, and SQL All-In-One For Dummies, Third Edition. He lectures internationally on astronomy, databases, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He also teaches database development and Crystal Reports through a leading online education provider. For the latest news on Allen’s activities, check out his blog at wwwallengtaylor.com or contact him at allen.taylor@ieee.org.