By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

April 12, 2021

Right now there are several COVID-related factors in play.

First we have what we’re calling COVID “long-haulers”. These are people who have recovered from COVID, but have both new and lingering symptoms weeks and months after being COVID-free.

Second are all of the people who won’t get the vaccine… not anti-vaxxers, but the vaccine concerned. I understand why – the vaccines have no long-term safety data, and these folks don’t want to be a guinea pig for the phase three clinical trials that weren’t done because of the emergent nature of need with lack of time, but which is being done now with almost 100 million injections to date. So they’re just as vulnerable to the virus today as they were on day one.

Third are the people who have been vaccinated. They feel safe. But keep in mind that its results aren’t going to be anything like those from the vaccines used for polio, smallpox or the measles. Those vaccines prevented the diseases they were intended for, not just decreasing the severity if you contracted the disease.

The protection from the COVID vaccine will likely be temporary, conceivably less than a year. So in the true sense of the word, it’s not really a vaccine. And we don’t know enough yet to say how long it will continue to protect people after they get the shot, or how well it will work against emerging variants.

In other words, nobody is out of the woods yet.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to tell you about the many ways you can protect yourself from the virus, speed up the recovery process and get your life on track, no matter which category you fall under.

The Problem with Long-Haul COVID

I want to start off talking about your immune system and your mitochondria. Keeping these in tip-top shape is important for everyone these days. But it’s especially important for COVID long-haulers to get their mitochondria back on track and start generating energy again.

Long-term COVID looks a lot like chronic fatigue syndrome. It has the same symptoms as other post infections that people get after they have a virus. But the symptoms may be too vague – just like what happened with the initial fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and Lyme disease patients. At first, nobody believed them.

So long-haulers are facing these non-specific symptoms after they’ve allegedly healed. And now they’re facing illness invalidation. On top of everything else, they have disbelief from their doctor – and maybe even family or friends. And that’s a problem.

The doctors are saying “Oh this should be something, but we don’t know what it is.”  They don’t have the answers.

That’s because conventional medicine isn’t set up to look for the answers to difficult or unexplainable multifactorial symptoms. It’s usually one pill for one ill – a “give me the symptom and I’ll give you the pill to hide it” attitude.

But the integrative docs who look into this? They’re not just looking for pills to hide the symptoms. They look for why things are happening. They look at inflammation, the immune system and the mitochondria; how to protect them and improve their antioxidant status.

So that’s basically what you want to do. You want to stop the inflammation. You want to get the mitochondria back working well. You want to maintain your adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, levels.

Just for a quick run-down on what this means, ATP is the molecule that stores the energy we need for just about everything we do. Mitochondria is what produces ATP. And we’re pretty sure that COVID hijacks the mitochondria of immune cells, leading to damage and dysfunction. Result: lack of energy, aches and pains, shortness of breath, difficulty concentrating, inability to exercise, headaches, and problems sleeping.

These symptoms occur in all age groups, whether they are very sick and hospitalized or have milder cases.

Don’t let COVID Hijack Your Mitochondria!

There are a few supplements I recommend to improve mitochondrial function, especially if you’re coming out of the virus. But we could all use more of these supplements in these fragile circumstances.

D-ribose is one of the most fundamental building block for ATP. And ATP as the main source of cellular energy for your muscles. I recommend between 500 mg and 1000 mg three times a day either as a chewable tablets or a powder. Keep in mind that it takes a while to kick in.

L-carnitine is an amino acid derivative that transports long chain fatty acids into your mitochondria to be burned for energy. It can also be taken between 500 mg and 1000 mg three times a day. But take it on an empty stomach.

CoQ10 improves the energy efficiency of the mitochondria and help your surviving mitochondria make more energy. I like at least 100 mg three times a day if you’re going to try and improve your mitochondrial function. Look for the ubiquinol form.

B-vitamins. Of all the nutrients and supplements that we define as a true, honest to goodness vitamin, the Bs have some of the biggest impact on the metabolism of your cells and producing energy. So each and every one of the B vitamins is going to be either a co-factor in some vital metabolic process or a precursor of some energy molecule. Look for a good quality B-complex that has a high B12 content.

Alpha lipoic acid is both fat and water soluble. So it can go into places in the body that are both lipophilic and hydrophilic. But a special thing about that is that it goes directly to the mitochondria. You want to look for R-lipoic acid. It’s the natural version. Take at least 150 mg twice a day.

I like resveratrol for its anti-inflammatory properties. It promotes mitochondrial biogenesis and has a protective effect on your brain, heart and circulatory systems. Those are your top three organ systems that get messed up and are severely affected more than other organ systems because of the COVID. There’s also resveratrol’s distant cousin, pterostilbine. It’s like resveratrol but your body doesn’t metabolize it as quickly. So it stays in your body longer. That actually makes it more powerful than resveratrol. The dosage depends upon the standardized dose, but you want to take each twice a day.

Magnesium. This is something people forget about . Most of us are deficient in it at some point. And you can’t have active ATP without the molecule binding to magnesium. I recommend the magnesium threonate, malate, glycinate or gluconate. Take 50 mg per pound in divided dosage. So if you weigh 150 pounds, you would take 375 mg twice a day.

Remember, if you take good care of your mitochondria, your mitochondria will take good care of you.

SOURCES:

Ganji R, et al. Impact of COVID-19 on Mitochondrial-Based Immunity in Aging and Age-Related Diseases. Front. Aging Neurosci. 12 January 2021

Mahoney DE, et al. Understanding D-Ribose and Mitochondrial Function. Adv Biosci Clin Med. 2018; 6(1): 1–5.

Marcovina SM, Translating the basic knowledge of mitochondrial functions to metabolic therapy: role of L-carnitine. Transl Res. 2013 Feb; 161(2): 73–84.

Liu J. The effects and mechanisms of mitochondrial nutrient alpha-lipoic acid on improving age-associated mitochondrial and cognitive dysfunction: an overview. Neurochem Res. 2008 Jan;33(1):194-203.

Breuss et al. Resveratrol and Its Effects on the Vascular System. Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Apr; 20(7): 1523.

Hernández-Camacho JD, et al. Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation in Aging and Disease. Front. Physiol. 05 February 2018.

Ganji R, et al. Impact of COVID-19 on Mitochondrial-Based Immunity in Aging and Age-Related Diseases. Front. Aging Neurosci. 12 January 2021

Mahoney DE, et al. Understanding D-Ribose and Mitochondrial Function. Adv Biosci Clin Med. 2018; 6(1): 1–5.

Marcovina SM, Translating the basic knowledge of mitochondrial functions to metabolic therapy: role of L-carnitine. Transl Res. 2013 Feb; 161(2): 73–84.

Liu J. The effects and mechanisms of mitochondrial nutrient alpha-lipoic acid on improving age-associated mitochondrial and cognitive dysfunction: an overview. Neurochem Res. 2008 Jan;33(1):194-203.

Breuss et al. Resveratrol and Its Effects on the Vascular System. Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Apr; 20(7): 1523.

Hernández-Camacho JD, et al. Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation in Aging and Disease. Front. Physiol. 05 February 2018.