Just in case you need this while I'm gone here is MY UPDATED COVID PROTOCOL:

1) BEFORE YOU CATCH COVID:

     

     a. Get your microbiome ready.  Data shows that people who have a particular type of bacteria (Faecalibacterium prausnitzii) in their gut when they catch COVID do much better AND have a much lower risk of long-COVID symptoms.  There is a probiotic called bifidobacterium longum BB536 that helps boost that bacteria in your gut.  It also helps restore health and function in the gut by supporting the growth of many other good strains AND making extra butyrate, similar to saccharomyces boulardii.  One brand is Natural Factors, TravelBiotic BB536 - 60 caps for <$30 on Amazon, and you could just take 1/day for 30 pills to give your gut a head start.  If you already take another probiotic, you could even just alternate it every other day for 30 pills.  

     b. Don't be vitamin D deficient.  Studies show that people who have enough vitamin D do much better with COVID than those that are deficient.  Ideal levels in the COVID studies are approximately 70.

2) IF YOU CATCH COVID AND HAVE SYMPTOMS:

     a. Rest and fluids.  Go to bed!  Drink tons of water.  

     b. Quercetin: anti-inflammatory, supports airways and healthy immune response. 

          - adult: 800mg twice/day 

          - brand options: Now brand Quercetin with bromelain: 400mg caps (this one has rice in it.)  If you need to be completely off rice, you can use https://www.mcsformulas.com/en/vitamins-supplements/quercetin-bromelain-400-mg-100-caps/ or thorne quercetin phytosome (lower dose, but supposed to be more absorbable, so two pills (500mg) would likely be good enough twice a day).  HealthyKids HappyKids Quercetin Synergy 100mg chewable, or Solaray QBC plex 166mg chewable are options for kids.  

     c. NAC (N-Acetyl cysteine): lowers IL-6, other inflammatory cytokines. Helps clean up the "mess" from the infection by boosting glutathione, which may be an important defense from long-COVID as well. 

          - adult: 1200mg twice a day or 900mg 3x/day

          - brand options: Life extension NAC 600mg caps or Pure Encapsulations 900mg, - can open them up and mix in applesauce or juice for little ones. The capsule smells a little like sulfur, but taste is not bad once mixed.

3) START WHILE SICK AND CONTINUE 4-8 WKS AFTER INFECTION, TO PREVENT CLOTS and DECREASE LONG-COVID RISK: 

     a. Ginger: helps fever/aches, anti-inflammatory, mildly blood-thinning

          - adult: 500-550mg 3-4x/day

          - 50-100lb: 250-500mg twice a day, depending on severity of symptoms.  Can stop once symptoms are gone if low clot risk.  

          - 25-50lb: 100-200mg twice a day if bad fever or aches - do not need to continue once symptoms are gone, b/c low risk of clots at this age. 

          - brand options: Nature's bounty (550mg caps), Swanson ginger root extract 200mg caps, or Ginger People Rescue chewable ginger tabs (48mg each).  

     b. Turmeric/curcumin:  lowers clot risk, helps vascular inflammation 

          - adult: 500-1000mg twice/day for 6 wks, 

          - kids: IF higher risk for clots or inflammation b/c of estrogen/family history/auto-immune issues, then take 500mg once or twice a day until symptoms gone.  If not, can skip the turmeric part of the protocol b/c most kids have low clot risk and no major vascular issues.

          - brands:  Thorne Meriva 500-SF or Pure encapsulations Curcumin 500mg caps. 

4) MITOCHONDRIAL SUPPORT:

A LOT of the long-COVID I am seeing is mitochondrial damage, so I've started adding some mitochondrial support to see if we can better prevent this.  Take them until your fatigue resolves.  

     a. B complex - Thorne or Pure encapsulations are good brands - 1 in am, 1 mid-day - they can keep you up if you take them at bedtime. 

    

     b. CoQ10 - 200mg twice a day for grown ups, once a day for kids.  Jarrow ubiquinone or Garden of Life Raw CoQ10 are good options, but you can use other brands (such as GNC) if you prefer.  

5) POST-COVID GUT REPAIR:

     a. Tundrex - a special type of spore-based probiotic that helps kill off any residual gut COVID (because newer data is showing that many people do not fully clear the viral proteins, which may contribute to long COVID risk)  Tundrex is only available on its company website: https://tundrex.co/ and you would choose the 1.1 version.  Kind of like taking an antibiotic for an infection, you take 1 cap every with food 4-5x/day until you finish a bottle (50pills).  This bacteria makes alpha-interferon which helps clear the residual COVID virus from your gut. 

     b. BB536 probiotic (same as under prevention)- I'd redose this as well, just to be safe, if it has been more than a month since you took it.  If you had a lot of gut or brain symptoms with your COVID infection, take it for 60 days; if you feel better quickly, then 30 days should be sufficient before going back to a couple times per week for maintenance.  

3) 

MANAGING LONG-TERM RISK - STARTING AT THE TIME OF INFECTION AND CONTINUE 4-8 WKS AFTER INFECTION, TO PREVENT CLOTS and HELP LONG-COVID RISK: 

     a. Ginger: helps fever/aches, anti-inflammatory, mildly blood-thinning

          - adult: 500-550mg 3-4x/day. Take at the start of a meal if you are prone to heartburn. 

          - brand options: Nature's bounty (550mg caps), Swanson ginger root extract 200mg caps, or Ginger People Rescue chewable ginger tabs (48mg each)

     b. Turmeric/curcumin:  lowers clot risk, helps vascular inflammation 

          - adult: 500-1000mg twice/day for 6 wks, 

          - brands:  Thorne Meriva 500-SF or Pure encapsulations Curcumin 500mg caps.  You are going to have to mix into applesauce or hide it for little ones if they need to take it, b/c it is bitter.  

      c. Tundrex - a special type of spore-based probiotic that helps kill off any residual gut COVID (because newer data is showing that many people do not fully clear the viral proteins, which may contribute to long COVID risk) AND it helps you recover faster from the acute infection because it boosts your natural alpha interferon response, which is often disabled by the virus.  Data suggests that the lack of functional alpha interferon response may be a big part of why COVID makes us so much sicker systemically than most viruses, and it may explain why some people don't fully clear the virus.  Tundrex is only available on its company website: https://tundrex.co/  You don't need to take it unless you actually catch COVID, and then you would take 1 cap every with each meal (3-5/day) for 10 days.  A bottle has 50pills, so just finish the bottle.  If you are feeling poorly, I would set an alarm and take all 5 doses/day.  If you had mild symptoms and you are recovering easily, then 3-4x/day should be fine.