28 February 2020

Zinc ion preparations help reduce corona virus replication?

This may seem less than totally scientific, but it falls in the category of "what do you have to lose?" which is the same basis on which I take certain supplements like CoQ10 and Nicotinamide Riboside/PQQ/Pterostilbene, which have been shown to have some efficacy even if not definitively so. Since thanks to the decimation of public health by the Trump administration our public health response to the coming epidemic is pathetic, and doesn't promise to get any better, we need to do what we can as individuals to try to lessen the impact. 

Anyway, everyone legitimately wonders what they can do to decrease the likelihood that they will become severely ill or even die from the now-likely epidemic of COVID-19. (Not here yet, but responsible experts say "when not if.") It occurred to me to wonder whether zinc compound containing prophylactics like Airborne might have some effect, and there is at least some research to suggest that Zn compounds like pyrithione which make zinc ions bioavailable may indeed inhibit the replication of RNA viruses like coronaviruses. Not definitive, but it's enough for me. If the disease reaches a level of widespread "community spreading," such that health experts start advising people not to shake hands, not to go to public gatherings or ride public transportation if symptomatic; to self-quarantine if ill, etc., I intend to not only maintain a heightened hand washing and avoidance of face-touching hygiene routine, but to take something like Airborne if anyone around me is sick of at the slightest sign of illness. I believe I have actually experienced the avoidance of colds, or reduction in their duration and/or severity, from use of these kinds of preparations, so if there's any chance it's actually true that they inhibit viral replication, seems to me it's worth it to take them. 

See this

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