Surge Protection

A confession: I’ve never done well with authority figures. Those who know me, the mildest and gentlest of souls, would never guess that years back I had issues with various medical associations and physician groups about such “controversial” notions as having conventional and alternative practitioners working together or actually treating (again, “controversial”) diagnoses like chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and chronic Lyme.

Believe me, I’m no pioneer in this field. Andrew Weil, Deepak Chopra, Christiane Northrup, and dozens of others were long established in what Dr. Weil eventually named “integrative medicine” and biochemist Jeffrey Bland, PhD, called “functional medicine” well before I opened our place in 1993.

My anti-authoritarian hackles were raised once again when WholeHealth Chicago and hundreds of other websites around the country received cease-and-desist orders from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) demanding that we stop giving “unproven clinical advice” to help people cope with a terrifying pandemic.

I recommended vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc based on solid clinical studies, and explained why I’d chosen them. I also suggested readers could add any good mushroom blend (there are several) to their daily roster of supplements.

Vitamin D was especially important because levels of D run low in people with darker skin tones and since this group is one of the most affected, adding extra D could only help.

So in my hand was the FTC letter that was asking us to cease and desist…doing what we’ve always done for our patients. Threatened by serious financial fines and worse, at a time when our income was in freefall and we had a payroll to meet, we complied.

So imagine my irritation back in September when I Googled “Does Dr Fauci take vitamins?” and came up with this. It would have been thoughtful if he’d shared this months and months ago. I’m also guessing he’s received no cease-and-desist order from the FTC.

Let’s talk again about immunity
During this latest surge from hell, you can take steps to strengthen your immunity.

If you’re able, schedule an Immune Boost IV. For those of you who drive, know that there’s absolutely no traffic on Clybourn and you can park very near our front door. You’ll be escorted to a sanitized, completely private room where you’ll have your IV and within about an hour you’ll be out the door. If you’ve not been taking vitamin D you can assume your blood levels are pathetic, so if you like we’ll add an intramuscular injection of D.

I recommend the Immune Boost IV twice weekly for three to four weeks before shifting to supplements you’ll take by mouth.

Every once in a while, I’m asked by a patient or a Health Tip reader what supplements I take every day. I answered this a couple of years ago and, to be honest, after I wrote it I realized I was taking a lot of pills. Although I do get an employee discount, those little bottles run into some real money. However, you won’t need everything on my list. Talk to us if you need help sorting it out.

I have the same psychological quirk about supplements that many of you have shared with me. Namely, as long as I’m healthy I’m reluctant to abandon any of them, thinking “this is the supplement that’s keeping me healthy.” Psychologists call this magical thinking and I’ve come to accept my magical thinking along with my other flaws, like issues with authority figures.

Supplements I take
Be sure there’s some food in your stomach before swallowing. Taken on an empty stomach, this many pills can make you feel queasy.

—Multiplex without iron (Integrative Therapeutics), twice daily, a high-potency general vitamin.

—Vitamin C 600 mg (Thorne Research) twice daily.

—Vitamin D 5,000 IU (Thorne) once daily.

—Zinc picolinate 50 mg (Douglas Labs) once daily.

–Green Tea Extract (Xymogen) twice daily. This is a high-potency antioxidant. Drinking two to three cups of green tea daily is associated with a 27% decrease in all-cause mortality. I personally can’t stand the taste of green tea so I take the capsules instead.  

—UBQH (ubiquinol) 50 mg (Integrative Therapeutics) twice daily. Ubiquinol is a form of coenzyme Q-10 and thought to be more readily available to cells than CoQ10 itself. CoQ10 is like a spark plug for the energy centers in your cells (the mitochondria). UBQH helps with overall energy and mental clarity.

—UltraResveratrol HP (Integrative Therapeutics) twice daily. Resveratrol is a potent antioxidant extracted from the skins and seeds of grapes. It has a wide variety of clinical benefits, including brain and heart health, blood pressure control, reduction of diabetes risk, and, in certain animal species, longevity.

Lipotropic Complex (Integrative Therapeutics) and Detoxication Factors (Integrative Therapeutics), one of each twice daily. The first is a blend of herbs of proven benefit for liver health (milk thistle, dandelion, etc.) The second is a complex formula of several nutritional products that activate each of the two phases of liver detoxification. I have a benign liver condition called Gilbert’s disease that causes my liver to clear toxins sluggishly. The supplements reverse this.

Theracumin HP (Integrative Therapeutics) twice daily. This is a high-potency turmeric anti-inflammatory that crosses the blood-brain barrier. Since more and more evidence is showing that dementia (including Alzheimer’s) is caused by a constant low level of brain inflammation, I’m hoping this will prevent it.

Interestingly, Alzheimer’s is less common in India, where eating turmeric in curry is a way of life, than elsewhere in the world.

Concentrated Ultra Prostagen (Metagenics) twice daily. This contains several ingredients for prostate health. Unless you’re a man over 60, no need to take it.

NeuroTone (Douglas Labs) and Neurologix (Integrative Therapeutics), two capsules twice daily, alternating products each month. I wrote about these nootropics/smart drugs last week and their use for brain health, focus, concentration, and memory.

Pure Omega Ultra HP (Integrative Therapeutics) twice daily. The omega-3s have been shown repeatedly to work as anti-inflammatories, preventing heart disease, reducing blood pressure, and supporting better brain function.

Immune-stimulating mushroom blend, twice daily. We carry several brands and they disappear from our shelves as quickly as they arrive. I grab whatever’s available.

The task of swallowing all these is not an enjoyable one, but I’ll admit that I’ve been taking most of them for more than 20 years and…I’m still here.

Do work on your immunity in more fundamental ways too. Plenty of fruits and veggies, high-quality protein, stay hydrated, don’t eat junk and processed food, and keep stress under control with good sleep, daily walks, meditation, and paring back your intake of up-to-the-minute political and pandemic news.

If you can make it into our office, schedule an IV Immune Boost with an extra injection of vitamin D.

Otherwise, do like Dr. Fauci and take some vitamins.

Be well,
David Edelberg, MD