By David Holden, ND, MS, Dip.Biochem | Biohacking Healing Coach
Let me be direct with you: the wellness industry has a chronic problem with hype. So when I tell you that functional mushrooms are one of the most genuinely exciting areas in performance health right now, you should know that's coming from someone who's spent decades cutting through the noise.
Functional mushrooms — Lion's Mane, Reishi, Cordyceps, Chaga, Turkey Tail, Maitake, Shiitake — have been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tibetan medicine, and Siberian folk healing for over 2,000 years. Not as curiosities, but as clinical tools. The question modern science has been asking is simple: were they right? The answer, increasingly, is yes.
Forget the supermarket button mushroom. Functional mushrooms are a different category entirely, valued not for their taste but for their pharmacologically active compounds.
The primary driver is a class of compounds called beta-glucans — specifically (1→3),(1→6)-β-D-glucans. These polysaccharide chains bind to Dectin-1 receptors in your innate immune system and essentially train your immune response. Beyond beta-glucans, each species carries its own signature chemistry that targets specific biological pathways. This is not folk medicine looking for a journal. Each of the key species has peer-reviewed human trials, a chemistry that explains the observed effects, and an increasingly clear picture of clinical application. Here's what the science actually says.
Hericium erinaceus has the most compelling cognitive evidence of any functional mushroom, and the mechanism is fascinating. Lion's Mane contains two unique compound classes—hericenones (in the fruiting body) and erinacines (in the mycelium)—that are understood to cross the blood-brain barrier and stimulate the synthesis of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF). These neurotrophic factors support the survival, maintenance, and regeneration of neurons. In a world where cognitive decline is one of the most feared health outcomes for high performers, that's a significant claim, and the research is building.
A double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study published in Frontiers in Nutrition in 2025 found that a standardised Lion's Mane extract improved both cognition and mood in healthy younger adults, with effects attributed to monoaminergic pathway modulation, NGF promotion, and reductions in inflammatory markers including IL-6 and TNF-α. Earlier work with adults in the 50–80 age group showed consistent improvement in cognitive scores over 16 weeks of 3g/day supplementation — improvements that reversed four weeks after stopping, suggesting this is a tool that rewards consistent use rather than a one-off intervention.
I want to be straightforward with you here: most Lion's Mane trials have been relatively small, and the field needs larger, longer RCTs before definitive claims can be made. What we do have is a credible and well-characterised mechanism, a strong safety profile, and a growing body of human evidence pointing in a consistent direction. For a high-functioning professional looking to protect cognitive performance over the long term, that is a reasonable foundation to act on.
Known in Chinese medicine as Lingzhi — "the spirit plant" — Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) has been revered as a longevity tonic for millennia, and modern research has begun to validate the mechanism behind that reputation. Reishi's key compounds are triterpenes—specifically ganoderic acids—that appear to interact with cortisol pathways and GABA receptors. This is not a stimulant. Reishi is an immune modulator and HPA-axis regulator, and the distinction matters: where Turkey Tail activates immune surveillance, Reishi helps regulate immune tone, particularly in the context of chronic stress.
A randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial published in 2023 in Foods (MDPI) tested Reishi beta-glucans in healthy adults over 84 days. The intervention group showed significant enhancement of CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T-lymphocytes, improved CD4/CD8 ratio, increased natural killer cell counts, and higher serum IgA levels compared to placebo — with no adverse effects on kidney or liver function. Systematic reviews have also linked Reishi to NK cell activity upregulation and reduced CRP. There is emerging evidence around sleep architecture, with Reishi's GABA receptor activity potentially supporting deep sleep and circadian rhythm regulation, though larger trials are needed to confirm this. For my corporate clients operating under sustained performance pressure, Reishi is often the first recommendation — not because it's exciting, but because chronic stress is the single most effective immune suppressor there is, and Reishi addresses that at the root.
Cordyceps has a remarkable origin story — a parasitic fungus that grows from caterpillar hosts at high altitude in Tibet — which is probably why Tibetan medicine reached for it first to address fatigue, stamina, and lung function in extreme conditions. The modern mechanism is mitochondrial. Cordyceps contains cordycepin and adenosine analogues that are understood to interact with mitochondrial ATP production and oxygen utilisation, with pre-clinical and some human evidence suggesting benefits for stamina and oxygen delivery. This makes it an area of genuine interest for both athletic performance and sustained cognitive output.
The human evidence is still catching up with the mechanism — most robust trials to date have been in specific athletic populations — so I'd characterise Cordyceps as a well-grounded emerging option rather than a fully proven one. The traditional use across 2,000 years of high-altitude adaptation medicine adds biological plausibility, and the safety profile is good.
If you want the mushroom with the most robust clinical immune evidence, Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) wins that category clearly. Turkey Tail contains two key compounds: PSK (polysaccharide-K) and PSP (polysaccharopeptide). PSK — also known as krestin — has been approved as a biological response modifier for cancer treatment in Japan, used alongside chemotherapy to support immune function in gastric cancer patients. Multiple clinical trials have documented improved immune cell activity and, in some studies, survival outcomes in patients receiving PSK alongside conventional treatment. For those of us working in performance and preventive health rather than oncology, Turkey Tail's beta-glucan content provides well-supported immune modulation, particularly relevant for immune resilience and gut health.
Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) is the most widely consumed medicinal mushroom in the world, and the research supports much of the tradition. Shiitake contains lentinan — a beta-glucan that has been approved in Japan as a biological response modifier for gastric cancer, where it is administered intravenously alongside chemotherapy and has been associated with improved survival outcomes in clinical studies. It is important to note that the clinical use is injectable lentinan in an oncology context, which is a different setting from oral shiitake supplementation; the evidence for oral supplementation benefits is more limited. Shiitake also contains eritadenine, a compound with preliminary evidence supporting cardiovascular health through effects on cholesterol metabolism. As a prebiotic, it also supports gut microbiome diversity. Shiitake is one of the most accessible and cost-effective functional mushrooms available.
Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) is a black mass that grows on birch trees in Siberia — not much to look at, but its traditional use and antioxidant profile have attracted genuine scientific interest. Chaga draws betulin and betulinic acid from its host tree, and its measured antioxidant capacity is among the highest of any natural food source studied. Most of the current evidence is pre-clinical — laboratory and animal studies focused on free radical scavenging, immune modulation, and anti-inflammatory activity. Human trials remain limited, so I'd position Chaga as a mechanistically sound option worth including in a broader longevity protocol, rather than a stand-alone proven therapy.
Maitake (Grifola frondosa), also known as "hen-of-the-wood," has been used in Japanese and Chinese medicine for centuries. Pre-clinical studies have shown promising effects on blood glucose regulation and insulin sensitivity via its SX and D-fractions, and small preliminary human reports have suggested a possible hypoglycaemic effect in people with type 2 diabetes — though these were not randomised controlled trials. The human evidence base is limited and larger trials are needed. Encouraging early signs, but one to watch rather than one to lead with.
Here's what I find genuinely compelling about functional mushrooms: they don't ask you to choose between traditional knowledge and scientific evidence. The two are converging. These species were selected by practitioners across multiple cultures over thousands of years through careful clinical observation. Modern molecular biology is now building an understanding of why they work — the receptor binding mechanisms, the neurotrophin pathways, the mitochondrial effects. That convergence is the hallmark of a tool worth taking seriously.
Are functional mushrooms a magic bullet? No. Nothing is. But as part of a well-designed performance health protocol — addressing sleep, stress, cognition, immunity, and longevity simultaneously — they represent one of the most interesting and accessible areas in functional medicine right now. Powders are generally better value than capsules and often better absorbed, so hunt around your local health food store or a well-stocked chemist. In my practice, we don't guess at what you need. We assess, we test, and we personalise. Functional mushrooms are one component of a sophisticated approach to human performance — not the whole picture, but increasingly a central part of it.
Functional mushrooms are a powerful foundation for immune resilience, cognitive performance, and long-term vitality. But knowing which mushrooms are right for you — and in what form and dose — requires a more personalised picture. Your individual biochemistry, health history, stress levels, sleep quality, and nutritional status all shape what your body actually needs.
If you'd like a fully tailored functional medicine programme that includes a comprehensive assessment of your health, I'd encourage you to book a consultation directly. Over 40 years of clinical practice in nutritional biochemistry and natural medicine means I can assess exactly where your body is underperforming — and precisely what to do about it.
To arrange a consultation with David Holden, contact Holden Healthcare: 🌐 www.HoldenHealthCare.com
David Holden, ND, MS, Dip.Biochem is a Naturopathic Physician and Nutritional Biochemist with over 40 years of clinical experience. He is a pioneer in dark field live blood microscopy and evidence-based natural medicine in New Zealand.
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By David Holden, ND, MS, Naturopathic Physician & Nutritional Biochemist
I know — you've heard me say this before. And I'm going to keep saying it until more of you finally take it on board. Because every winter, the same thing happens: people come into my clinic feeling run-down, foggy, and miserable from colds and flu that were entirely preventable.
After four decades of clinical practice, I can tell you with complete confidence: immunity doesn't happen by accident. It's built — deliberately, systematically, and well before the cold months arrive.
The good news? It's not complicated. Here are what I call the Big Five — the foundational immune essentials I recommend to every patient, every year, when the temperature starts to drop.
Zinc is one of the most under-dosed nutrients in the Western diet, and one of the most critical for immune function. I recommend Sanderson's or Clinicians brand — either tablet or liquid form.
Here's what most people miss: the dose on the bottle isn't enough. Aim for 1–2 tablets daily with food, or 6–10 drops of liquid zinc diluted in juice (not water — it tastes awful on its own). Men generally need a slightly higher dose than women.
Zinc is involved in hundreds of enzymatic reactions in the body. Without adequate levels, your immune system is simply working with one hand tied behind its back.
Vitamin D3 is at least as important as Vitamin C when it comes to preventing winter illness — yet most adults in New Zealand are chronically deficient, especially coming out of winter. The key is that you must always pair it with K2, which helps your body actually use the D3 effectively and prevents the calcium dysregulation that can otherwise occur.
My protocol: 5,000 IU of D3/K2 daily through summer and the warmer months; double that — 10,000 IU — through winter, split across morning and evening.
Start as soon as it gets consistently cooler (think early May in New Zealand) and maintain through until spring — roughly early October when we're regularly seeing days over 20 degrees. For children under 40 kg, halve the adult dose; for smaller children under 25 kg, reduce to a third.
The reason most people's immunity collapses in winter isn't a mystery. Their vitamin D3 levels have dropped, and they haven't done anything about it.
Standard powdered or tablet Vitamin C has its place, but if you really want to supercharge your immune system, liposomal (lypo-spheric) Vitamin C liquid is in a different league entirely — absorbed up to ten times more efficiently than conventional forms.
I recommend the Clinicians Liquid Lypo C with Quercetin. The Quercetin is a bonus — it helps keep airways clear and has meaningful cardiovascular benefits as well.
Adults should aim for a minimum of 3–5 grams daily, spread across the day. This is not a one-big-hit-in-the-morning situation — the body works best when you maintain steady tissue saturation throughout the day. Less than this, and you're unlikely to get the immune activation you're after.
Avoid the cheap liposomal sachets — the chemical stabilisers make them taste unpleasant and reduce their efficacy. Go for quality. Your immune system will know the difference.
This isn't fashionable nutritional advice. It's biochemistry, backed by more than 50 years of research. Sugar depletes B vitamins, magnesium, and a cascade of other minerals — exactly the nutrients your immune system depends on.
Every time you (or your kids) consume a fizzy drink, a processed snack, or refined sugar in any form, you're actively undermining your immune defences. It's that direct.
I'm not asking anyone to be perfect. But becoming genuinely aware of how much hidden sugar you're consuming — particularly through processed foods and drinks — is one of the highest-return changes you can make to your immune resilience. Not next month. Now.
This sounds obvious, yet it's consistently under-prioritised. Your immune system is built from what you eat. Full stop.
Quality proteins (grass-fed meats, eggs, legumes), healthy fats (avocado, olive oil, oily fish, nuts), and a generous variety of vegetables give your body the raw materials it needs to build and maintain a robust immune response. These aren't just "health foods" — they are the structural components of your immune cells, your hormones, and your cellular repair machinery.
For those of us in our fifties, sixties and beyond, this matters even more. The body's ability to synthesise and absorb nutrients becomes less efficient with age — which means the quality of what you put in needs to go up, not down.
This is the foundation of what I now call Biohacking — the deliberate use of nutrition, lifestyle, and targeted supplementation to optimise how your body functions at every age. It's not just for elite athletes. It's for anyone who wants to feel genuinely well, maintain their strength and sharpness, and age on their own terms.
While not strictly one of the Big Five, I want to mention this because it's so consistently overlooked: probiotic foods are often more effective — and far cheaper — than probiotic supplements.
A good quality supplement has its place, but if you're looking for sustained gut immune support, rotating real probiotic foods into your daily diet is where to start. Sauerkraut, non-dairy kefir, kimchi, and coconut yoghurt are your friends here. One of these, daily, makes a meaningful difference to gut flora diversity and immune resilience.
(A note: I'd steer clear of kombucha unless you're making it yourself and can control the sugar content — commercial versions tend to be far too high in sugar to be genuinely beneficial.)
Here's the thing most people don't appreciate: meaningful immune resilience doesn't happen overnight. For adults under 40, you're looking at several weeks to build up adequate levels of these key nutrients. For those of us over 60, it can take several months. This is why starting now — at the beginning of the cooler season — is so important, rather than waiting until you're already sick.
Prevention is always easier than recovery.
The Big Five are a powerful foundation. But optimal immunity and resilience — especially as we age — involves a more personalised picture. Your individual biochemistry, health history, stress levels, sleep quality, and existing nutritional status all shape what your body actually needs.
If you'd like a fully tailored immunity and resilience programme, I'd encourage you to book a consultation with me directly. Over 40 years of clinical practice in nutritional biochemistry and natural medicine means I can assess exactly where your immune system is underperforming — and precisely what to do about it.
To arrange a consultation with David Holden, contact Holden Health Care:
🌐 www.HoldenHealthCare.com
David Holden is a Naturopathic Physician and Nutritional Biochemist with over 40 years of clinical experience. He is a pioneer in dark field live blood microscopy and evidence-based natural medicine in New Zealand.
Spring and Summer - a wonderful time of year with sunshine and blossoming plants but marred for so many of us by the symptoms loosely referred to as “hay fever”. What does that mean? Well, there is a spectrum of hay fever symptoms and severity, but typically it may include very itchy eyes, uncontrollable sneezing with a runny nose, wheezing, and itchy back of throat and ears, itchy skin and fatigue. It’s miserable, and very common!
Spring hay fever tends to be more tree pollen related, while late Spring and early Summer tend to be more grass pollen related, and late Summer and early Autumn tend to be weed pollen related – and you may be sensitive to all three types, or just one or two.
You may need to be careful about identifying whether you actually are pollen allergic, or whether it is mould, dust mites or pet dander – you may be exposed to all those year-round, and your symptoms may be just below threshold, but then when pollens are in the air you may notice a worsening of symptoms as your sensitivity pushes your reaction across that threshold. The pollens tend to be highest around 5am – 10am.
Even though most people don’t connect gut health to allergies, the most common issue that can increase your symptoms or make you prone to allergies is altered and unbalanced gut flora. Your gut is responsible for 70 percent of your body’s innate immune response and allows your body to differentiate between safe environmental particles, including pollen, weed, and dust, and unsafe environmental particles, including bad bacteria, viruses, and unhealthy yeast.
When your gut flora is altered, it can lead to an oversensitivity to safe environmental particles. This may not only increase your risk of pollen and other seasonal allergies, but also increase your risk of asthma and chronic inflammation.
While many people with pollen allergies have allergies since childhood or teenage years, it is certainly possible to develop pollen allergies later in life or experience worsening symptoms as you grow older. It is also possible to reduce symptoms and pollen allergies through proper Naturopathic Medicine that includes Supplemental / Herbal / Diet / Exercise / Meditation, Mindfulness & Mind-Body Medicine all boosting immune support. This is called Lifestyle Medicine first coined by Dr Ian Gawler, in Australia, last century!
Pollen and seasonal allergies are some of the signs of histamine intolerance. Histamine intolerance can affect your entire body, including your lungs, gut, brain, heart, and hormones. It can lead to a variety of issues, including digestive problems, sleep disturbances, bladder problems, anxiety, headaches, and skin problems.
To reduce histamine intolerance and consequent pollen allergies, it may help if you remove or reduce high-histamine foods, including cured meat, dried fruit, sour food, vinegar-containing food, aged cheese, nuts, high-histamine vegetables (eg. tomatoes, spinach, eggplant), and smoked fish.
Avoid histamine-releasing food, including bananas, chocolate, avocado, tomatoes, shellfish, strawberries, cow’s milk, preservatives, and dyes. Focus on low-histamine foods instead, including artichoke, beets, bok choy, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, courgettes, cucumber, kale, leek, lettuce, onion, silverbeet, leafy herbs, coconut oil, grass-fed butter, apples, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, pears, pasture-raised beef, grass-fed poultry, wild-caught fish, and venison.
You can try reducing your consumption of these foods for a week or two and see if you notice an improvement in your pollen allergies. If so, you have issues with histamine and should consider a lower histamine on a more regular basis. I can give guidance on this.
Other healthy habits may include making sure you are adequately hydrated, and that means clean, filtered, unsweetened, non-caffeinated water, and getting adequate sleep each night, usually no less than 6 or 7 hours a night.
To improve gut health, you should eat an anti-inflammatory gut-friendly diet, reduce environmental toxicity by using natural and organic products, not smoking, and spending time in nature, reducing stress. Probiotics also play an important role in your gut microbiome and immune coordination.
Probiotics can be very effective in reducing allergy symptoms. I recommend MegaSporebiotic probiotics to optimize your gut health and reduce symptoms of pollen allergies. (You may need to take 2 or 3 months’ worth to get a really good result). I can supply these for you during a consultation.
I often recommend Vitamin D, Quercetin, Vit C, Glutathione & Proteolytic enzymes and a specific tailor made herbal formula which may include such herbs as nettle, Baikal skullcap and albizzia may also be of benefit. These can all be written up as a script sheet for you as well as making specific herbal formulas that is one of my specialities on request during a consultation.
You can get a personalised hay fever action plan when you come in to see us at Holden HealthCare. A biofeedback session can help identify you own particular sensitivities, and a homeopathic desensitisation programme (which may include environmental pollutants and moulds etc) may also be indicated. I can make up bottles of herbal medicine including the herbs mentioned above if those are appropriate for you for you to take with you when you leave the clinic.
In a previous article, we also gave some tips if you have sinus problems.
If you would like to discuss your needs with Marion please contact her on marion.hhc@proton.me to arrange a free 10 min Q & A to ask her if she feels she can help you or not. It doesn’t cost you and there is no obligation to have an appointment. We don’t use hard sell tactics, if you feel after speaking to Marion that she can help then please contact David on 0274 837 188 to make your booking. Thank you.
Marion Stobie, PhD (Cand.), MSc, BA (Hons), ND, MH, Dip. Therapeutic Massage; member of: Natural Health Practitioners New Zealand, NZ Society of Naturopaths, NZ Association of Medical Herbalists, NZ Natural Medicine Association. Marion is a highly qualified and experienced Naturopath and Medical Herbalist, and utilizes Fitgenes for advanced DNA health analysis. She has also been a tertiary-level lecturer in Natural Medicine.
It’s been a long time coming but everyone is noticing the longer days and warmer nights as we slip into the Summer sun and warm balmy days ahead. After covid we all need some respite so please take advantage of the better weather and get out in it.
But do remember to be sun smart and wear wider brimmed hats and no toxicity sunblock (avoid the common commercial brands that contain a wide range of toxic and potentially toxic chemicals). Ironically the Cancer Society version is one of the most toxic! It is far quicker to mention the brands that are best than the best ones to avoid.
Best brands from my initial research are the ones that contain no parabens and have an SPF of at least 30. If you have sensitive white skin, like me, you can go as high as SPF 50 if you are in sun during the heat of the day like trades people working outside a lot as well as those who work in office buildings and don’t get much sun, who are so much more likely to burn when over exposed at the weekends on the beach!
No sunblock is biochemically perfect if you want upwards of SPF 30+, but one of the common ones you can get in most Pharmacies or better Health Food Stores in the New Zealand-made “Oasis Sun” brand with the orange tube packaging. It has less of the nasties and is as organic as they can make it in New Zealand. If you can’t find it then “Jason’s” brand is one of the best out there as it is totally organic and has no nasties in it but has become harder to find in New Zealand as it is imported from the USA and shipping routes are not as busy or as regular as NZ retailers would like. They are having trouble getting enough stock in as with winter coming in the Northern Hemisphere production of sun blocks is dropping.
Good luck and remember the best protection is clothing and avoidance if you have had issues with skin cancers, like I have unfortunately. A good sunblock is a necessary back up these days, especially with kids over summer.
If we listen to the media, it may seem at times that the message is quite confusing, from the alarmist “anyone of any age can get Covid, at any time” to the “well, I’m not in an at-risk group, so precautions don’t apply to me.”
But actually as often happens the truth is somewhere in between, and as natural health practitioners who like to look at the evidence, the actual science is revealing.
Covid-19 is an “opportunistic infection”, meaning that it takes advantage of people whose immune systems are not functioning optimally. Often this is taken as a characteristic of people who are said to have co-morbidities.
What it means is that these people have underlying conditions which impair their immune function and make them more vulnerable to opportunistic infections – such as Covid-19. Sometimes these conditions are known and obvious, such as a diagnosed cancer, but sometimes they are hidden and the person is unaware of them, such as early onset heart disease, which can be developing even in a young person without any symptoms and without their knowledge.
Basically a co-morbidity encompasses inflammation in any of its manifestations in the body. We can all think of a few, and there may be others that don’t immediately come to mind. If we can think of inflammation as a small fire, and then along comes an inflammatory infection (such as Covid), then the inflammatory infection stokes that fire, like it puts petrol on it, and the person quickly contracts the disease and the fire is hard to put out. However, if the person does not have a co-morbidity, the flame of Covid is much easier for the healthy immune system to put out.
And it is worth mentioning that a 20 year old with obesity and an unhealthy lifestyle may be more likely to get Covid than a healthy weight 70 year old who eats a diet low in inflammatory food, so this is a lesson for the young not to be complacent nor for our senior citizens to all be concerned.
As mentioned before, being obese is a risk factor as obesity is an inflammatory condition – it is associated with a 46% higher risk of being Covid-19 positive. Cancer or anyone having chemotherapy or radiation treatment. Heart disease; diabetes, arthritis. Increasing age is inflammatory to varying degrees as degeneration does provoke an inflammation response as it breaks down tissue.
But it’s important to recognise that we are not powerless when it comes to both our infection risk and outcomes. Our lifestyle choices in areas like diet, sleep, exercise, and dealing with stress all factor into our immune competence and may well deny this coronavirus the notion of opportunism.
At Holden Health we like to explore causative factors implicated in ill-health, so we do take an active interest in working with co-morbidities and can help draw up a health plan for you to reduce your own risks.
If you are interested to see how we can help you, please call 09 282 3588 for an appointment.
While New Zealanders have not suffered the same degree of impact of the Covid-19 disease itself that other nations have, it is worth acknowledging that just under 2000 New Zealanders have had Covid-19 and some of that number may be living with post-Covid unwellness. This unwellness needs to be recognised and the patients supported.
In the esteemed medical journal The Lancet, a recent study has found that 6 months after leaving hospital:
These long-term issues may involve the lungs, the cardiovascular system, the brain and other parts of the nervous system, and even may have psychological consequences, any of which may prove to be debilitating.
While this study only looked at people who were hospitalised with it & whose average age was 57, previous research showed that the likelihood of developing Long Covid was more common in the young than the old, and the most common prolonged symptoms being a cough (or breathlessness) and especially fatigue (or decreased exercise tolerance), even among those who had been very fit prior to illness. While men seem to be at increased risk of severe infection, women and those with a higher BMI seem to be more affected by Long Covid. Studies seem to think that altered hormonal status is one of the predictors for it.
Research suggests around one in five people who test positive for Covid-19 have symptoms for five weeks or longer. For around one in ten people, they last 12 weeks or longer.
Symptom management tips from the UK include:
Flexibility exercises (like stretches, yoga and tai chi) and strength exercises (like climbing stairs, lifting weights and working with resistance bands) can be useful. (https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/coronavirus-and-your-health/long-covid)
Results from data analysis by a team from the Cleveland Clinic (PLoS Biol. 2020 Nov 6;18) showed that patients who used melatonin as a supplement had, on average, a 28% lower risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2.
This is interesting, but not very helpful for us in New Zealand where melatonin is available on prescription only. The usual reason a GP will prescribe melatonin here is for the treatment of insomnia.
Other recommended pro-active habits such as discussed earlier and across the media still apply, such as using PPE appropriately and maintaining a good diet, exercise and sleep and not putting oneself at risk. The best advice is to try to avoid contracting Covid-19 in the first place!
For those wanting to prevent or reduce the effects of Covid-19, Marion Stobie offers tailored health programmes specifically for your genetic predispositions, health history, and current circumstances. Contact us to book a Fitgenes DNA test and naturopathic consultation.
Photo by Evgeni Tcherkasski on Unsplash
It is one thing to contract Covid-19 and treat it, and our emotional reaction to Covid-19 in March 2020 in NZ may be different from our reaction in August 2020 (so, it’s 5 months already and Covid is still amongst us? Really?). The whole issue is clearly not in the same category as a passing ‘flu. But it is quite another thing to view it as a long-haul issue with no definite end-point and (seemingly) indiscriminate incidence.
However, I contest that view, as evidence shows that it is mainly people with impaired immunity or chronic inflammatory conditions who are most at risk, and these people happen, for the most part (but not solely), to be the older part of our population. But don't believe that it only hits old people. Half of people hospitalized in France are less than 60 years old, and we're talking 20+ days of hospitalization with severe pneumonia and lung damage. However, data is not available that tells us what the pre-existing health conditions were, for instance, obesity.
Here is a reminder of who are deemed the people most at risk (HealthMeans):
My previous stance on “focus on building immunity, not on killing the virus” still holds, and as we in New Zealand appear to have contained the virus for now, it is easy to drop our vigilance. However, now is the time to continue and consolidate those healthy habits, or to adopt them if they are not already in place.
Here are a few recommendations to reduce risk and promote immunity:
Gargle and drink green tea. Consuming green tea, in particular gargling it, has been shown to reduce the risk of contracting influenza and the common cold. The tannins in green tea have been shown to have broad antiviral effects topically. Gargling helps coat the mucous membranes in the mouth & throat, which together with the nasal passages are the main points of entry for viruses. If these surfaces are coated with an antiviral substance, there is less likelihood of the virus taking hold. Also, it is known that the coronavirus likes dry surfaces, so keeping our mucous membranes well-hydrated offers some protection.
Stay well-hydrated. One of the questions I always ask my clients is “How much water, or non-caffeinated, non-alcoholic, non-sugary drinks do you have daily?”. About 85% of responses is a wry grin accompanying the answer “Not enough!” We know we should drink somewhere between 6 – 10 glasses per day, depending on our age and circumstance, but we do get caught up in the busy-ness of our days and it is easy to forget. Setting a timer on our phones (or alarm clocks) is one way to prompt us to get up and get a drink.
Taking vitamin D, particularly for people who are vitamin D deficient, reduces the chances of developing acute respiratory infections including influenza. Most studies reviewed used adult doses ranging from 2000IU to 4000IU a day, which is known to be safe to take long term even in the absence of deficiency. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=30675873.
We know that humans can convert sunlight on our skin into vitamin D, and there are two factors currently which directly affect that. The first is that it is winter, and although it is a fairly mild one so far, we are less likely to be baring our arms and legs when outside. The second is that to some extent some people are hesitant to leave their homes and go for walks outside because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is an interesting fact that mushrooms also convert sunlight into vitamin D, which is another good reason to factor mushrooms into the diet (or take medicinal mushrooms as a supplement).
Keep your home above 16°C. Having a cold home reduces respiratory resilience and increases susceptibility to and mortality from respiratory tract infections. This is especially important for people who are elderly, asthmatic or have other chronic/recurrent respiratory conditions.
This is especially true for us in New Zealand, where some of our older homes are inadequately insulated and heated, and perhaps where the people living there do not notice the temperature dropping. It is much harder to heat up a cold house than to maintain the heat.
Get enough sleep (insufficient sleep or waking up frequently through the night can directly affect the immune system).
Maintain a healthy exercise regime to boost endorphins, maintain a healthy weight and pump the lymphatic system to get rid of waste metabolites.
Try to keep stress levels in check.
Socialise as much as you are able, whether it is in person or by phone or Zoom or messaging – it has been shown that social interaction is critical for healthy immune function, whereas isolation and loneliness detract from our immunity. It is physical distance that we need, not emotional.
All of these are integral to your immune system working well.