The Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome that occurs in some people with this coronavirus, happens when an uncontrolled immune response triggers an overproduction of immune cells and their signaling molecules which leads to what’s called a ‘cytokine storm’. This cytokine storm is generally what causes the severe and potentially fatal symptoms of pneumonia and breathing difficulties with a COVID19 infection.
It’s more about having a healthy immune system overall and reducing inflammation in the body. If the body is already overridden with inflammation, leaky gut, Diabetes, obesity, and other health problems, this can contribute to the cytokine storm. I’ve talked about all the likely immune boosting essentials for both the flu and COVID 19 in other videos and articles. And of course, vitamin C and zinc are included in your immune arsenal, but I want to add another important element to it and that’s Quercetin. And here’s why.
Ascorbic acid, which is vitamin C is a crucial vitamin necessary for the correct functioning of the immune system. It plays a role in stress response and has shown promising results when administered to COVID 19 patients.
Numerous studies have shown that Quercetin, a well-known flavonoid, has antiviral properties. And there is evidence that vitamin C should be administered with quercetin because it can recycle oxidized quercetin, producing a synergistic effect and enhancing quercetin’s antiviral capability.
In addition, we know that zinc is important in blocking the RNA virus from attaching to your cell’s RNA and replicating, but it has to get into the cells to work. Quercetin plays a role in facilitating zinc transportation across cellular membranes.
A 2020 study in Frontier Immunology entitled Quercetin and Vitamin C: An Experimental, Synergistic Therapy for the Prevention and Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 Related Disease (COVID-19) is quoted:
“We present the current evidence for the use of vitamin C and quercetin both for prophylaxis in high-risk populations and for the treatment of COVID-19 patients as an adjunct to promising pharmacological agents such as Remdesivir or convalescent plasma”.
Another 2020 article in Advanced Integrative Medicine states: “Quercetin’s physiologic effects include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and anti-pathogenic properties Three human clinical trials with low risk of bias suggest that oral quercetin may have a beneficial effect on the incidence and duration of respiratory tract infections in certain populations; however, further research is needed.
