Preparing for COVID-19

[labor of love]

Podzap was basically saying "let them eat cake"

Cake is the last thing we should be eating right now!
Haha

 

[Luftmensch]

Yeah you completely ignored what I asked and started verbally masturbating.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Funny... but bad faith.

What are some options for over the counter supplements that can help against corona?

Let me try something that might be more your speed: none, don't bother, save your money.


If you aren't satisfied with that, @madelinez [#599] gave some advice.

 

[labor of love]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Funny... but bad faith.



Let me try something that might be more your speed: none, don't bother, save your money.


If you aren't satisfied with that, @madelinez [#599] gave some advice.

Move along. Supplement denial really isn’t much of an answer.
I mean I get it lots of guys are out of work, freaking out and quickly becoming experts on all things science. But if you didn’t have specific recommendations you could’ve not commented.

 

[Luftmensch]

But if you didn’t have specific recommendations you could’ve not commented.

I did have a specific recommendation:

unless a doctor has told you to do so, don't bother taking supplements.

On the other hand, I am aware I did not give you the answer you want. Yet, if you are averse to that, it sounds like you are seeking confirmation bias, not any reasonable opinion made in good faith.

Eat healthy and sleep well - I wish the best health for you!

 

[labor of love]

it sounds like you are seeking confirmation bias

Jeez. Not at all.

 

[Luftmensch]

Jeez. Not at all

I am glad

FDA:

But supplements should not replace complete meals which are necessary for a healthful diet – so, be sure you eat a variety of foods as well.

Unlike drugs, supplements are not permitted to be marketed for the purpose of treating, diagnosing, preventing, or curing diseases. That means supplements should not make disease claims, such as “lowers high cholesterol” or “treats heart disease.” Claims like these cannot be legitimately made for dietary supplements.

NIH:

Some dietary supplements can help you get adequate amounts of essential nutrients if you don’t eat a nutritious variety of foods. However, supplements can’t take the place of the variety of foods that are important to a healthy diet.

Mayoclinic:

If you're generally healthy and eat a wide variety of foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, low-fat dairy products, lean meats and fish, you likely don't need supplements.

NHS:

Most people do not need to take vitamin supplements and can get all the vitamins and minerals they need by eating a healthy, balanced diet.

Eat healthy! Unless you are anaemic, pregnant, vegan, never see the sun or are old... you are probably doing fine


Save dat money for another knife

 

[Chuckles]

Of course a healthy diet and plenty of sleep are by far the most helpful actions you can take. Any supplement regimen is not a good idea if taken as a replacement for either diet or sleep. That being said I am taking:


Clean, plant forward Ketogenic Diet
Sleep - Shooting for 7 hrs per night

Vitamin C
Vitamin B complex
Vitamin D3
Magnesium
Zinc
Curcumin
Quercetin
Black Cumin Seed Oil
Fish Oil

Also probiotics everyday. Bone broth every day.

 

[labor of love]

Look, I have good reasons to ask the question about supplementation. I do not appreciate my inquiries, concerns and beliefs being mischaracterized. Which is what I suspect when you share links that have zero to do with my motivations.
I am not looking to prevent, cure or diagnose disease with supplements lol.
I’m not looking for confirmation bias.
Supplements do just that, they supplement.
Sure, a well rounded diet is great. How sure are you that most of us will be eating a well rounded diet in the next 2-3 monthes? Fresh dairy, meat, fish, vegetables and fruits ? That might be a pipe dream. Which isn’t to say we won’t have any access to these things, but there could likely be a scarcity of fresh food in general. Perhaps acquiring fresh food isn’t worth the exposure.

I really have no interest in debating the effectiveness of supplements. If you know what you’re doing you can get good results with them. Depending of course on the quality, and all the other things that matter.
If you just don’t think they work that’s fine too.

I’ve used supplements in the past to target health problems and found a great deal of success.

 

[CiderBear]

I'm young, healthy, eat as healthy as I can, and I still have a vitamin D deficiency. I take 5000 IU of Vitamin D a day (doctor's order), as well as a Women's multivitamin, just in case. I've been doing this for years. I don't expect to take more supplements during this crisis, but I'm not going to cut back on anything I'm already taking either.

@labor of love I hope you're hanging in there alright.

 

[labor of love]

I’m employed still. So I’m fortunate. Thanks for asking!

 

[panda]

i'm a smoker and eat horrible and drink too much booze, but ive never taken supplements and dont plan to either any time soon.

 

[labor of love]

i'm a smoker and eat horrible and drink too much booze, but ive never taken supplements and dont plan to either any time soon.

Here lies panda.
He was a good man.
He was picky in his tastes of stones, only used splash and go.
In his will he left all his knives to his good friend, labor of love.
RIP

 

[Luftmensch]

Labor, you are a funny guy. I generally like your contributions. I am not deliberately trying to be antagonistic. I get the sense you are reading aggression/sarcasm? in my posts. That is not my intention. Apologies if you feel I have attacked you in some way.

Look, I have good reasons to ask the question about supplementation.

Maybe so... but it is unfair to ask a specific question:

What are some options for over the counter supplements that can help against corona?

and imply you had other good reasons to ask the question. I dont know what your other reasons are?

COVID-19 is new. No studies are likely to have been done on the use of supplements in helping a person prevent infection or reduce severity. Since COVID-19 is a corona virus, it is from the same family as the common cold. It is arguably reasonable to assume that literature relating to supplement use in combating common colds is a good place to start. You could read this article from the NIH - you could consider taking zinc and vitamin-C.

Supplements do just that, they supplement.

Again.. that is unfair. You are tacitly agreeing with the whole point of #636 and ignoring what it means to supplement. The general public health advice is: if you are healthy and have a healthy diet, there is no need to supplement. If you want a more specific, authoritative answer about your condition - see a doctor

If you just don’t think they work that’s fine too.

I do! But only for specific cases - some rattled off the top of my head in #636.

How sure are you that most of us will be eating a well rounded diet in the next 2-3 monthes? Fresh dairy, meat, fish, vegetables and fruits ? That might be a pipe dream. Which isn’t to say we won’t have any access to these things, but there could likely be a scarcity of fresh food in general. Perhaps acquiring fresh food isn’t worth the exposure

Yeah.... great question. Who knows??! I dont...

Given how empty the frozen/TV-dinner section of the local supermarkets have been.... people probably arent eating so well right now. I saw one guy with a trolley full of Pepsi! He must have been pushing around 20-30L.... that don't seem so healthy.... (although maybe pushing it around did him some good ... ok... that was a little mean).

Curiously, i haven't seen vegetable shortages (yes with potatoes and onions). Check out @Bert2368's cool post: #504. Currently I can still bulk buy veggies, batch cook curries/stews/sauces and freeze the stuff! I am too lazy to do all that cooking for the worst case scenario - but I reckon I could get a months supply of healthy food by doing that, though I might have to ration my consumption.

I don't see agriculture and logistics collapsing in my country. In parts of the country, recent rain has broken a decade long drought. The pandemic has crushed our dollar - so we'll have better export terms (good for the farmers). Those cats (at least in grains) are going to be going gang busters this winter! The drought has hurt livestock trade. Many farmers couldnt afford to feed their stock so they had to sell them off. I think this caused a glut a little while ago when it happened. Now that the drought has eased, livestock is under capacity. Panic buying has cleared the shelves.... so I expect meat to be very expensive in the near term. Horticulture.... i can see parts of it suffering from a scarcity of labour (we mostly rely on backpackers and our northern neighbours) - again I can see prices rising.

... in summary, my guess: we will still have a supply of healthy produce but it will be more expensive than we are used to. Not a pleasant thing when people are loosing their jobs

 

[Nemo]

Guys, lets tone it down a bit please.

 

[Michi]

The panic buying is a about to stop, in my opinion. Basically, everyone who felt the need to go and fill their larder will mostly have done so by now. There is only so much food people can reasonably fit into their house or apartment before it inevitably spoils. And for lots of people, the size of their wallet limits the amount of hoarding they can afford.

So now that most people have a full pantry, I expect that the demand will mostly go back to where it was before: a steady trickle of goods that basically keeps up with the rate of consumption.

There have been complaints levelled at retailers here that certain goods have gone up a fair bit in price. The retailers have argued back that the huge demand has put pressure on the supply chain and that they are facing extra costs to try and meet that demand. I don't know who is right or wrong here. It may be a bit of both. But it seems reasonable to assume that the panic buying is more responsible for price increases than unscrupulous retailers are.

At any rate, at least here in Australia, there is absolutely no way that we run the risk of running out of healthy food. We produce more than three times what we can eat. Plenty to go around for everyone, virus or no virus.

 

[Luftmensch]

The panic buying is a about to stop, in my opinion. Basically, everyone who felt the need to go and fill their larder will mostly have done so by now. There is only so much food people can reasonably fit into their house or apartment before it inevitably spoils.

Ssshhhhhh... they'll start panic buying fridges

 

[chinacats]

Interesting aside: over half of cruise patrons that tested positive were asymptomatic. Between that and some folks wanting to re-open things this is gonna' get ugly quick.

 

[bahamaroot]

Argue all you want, nobody really knows but we're all going to find out soon enough... Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

 

[podzap]

Podzap was basically saying "let them eat cake"

Not really, man. Doctors are damned well educated enough to know what kind of breathing protection is sufficient and what is not. Also, most of them earn a whole hell of a lot more money than cooks do. If cooks can manage to find the money for a 500 dollar knife (supposedly a critical tool for their job), then a doctor should certainly be able to find the money for a 100 dollar breathing filter with a sufficient level of protection to save their life.

Take this lady, for example: a doctor specialising in infectious diseases for over 18 years. Look what she's wearing!

 

[podzap]

Ssshhhhhh... they'll start panic buying fridges

They have fridges and freezers on sale here now - 40% off, free delivery and 3 months no payments. No kidding.

 

[Michi]

I found this quite beautiful and inspirational:

 

[Luftmensch]

Podzap was basically saying "let them eat cake"

I dont think that is a fair characterisation. Also oddly... I think you guys are on the same page!

The ones for medical use are quite a bit crappier than the ones consumers can buy.

I think this is generally true. It depends how you define "crappy". @HRC_64, nobody is saying they arent fit for purpose. They are... but they arent at all durable - they are designed to be cheap enough for single use infection control. I don't think the public get this. Im 100% certain that the people (general public) I see wearing surgical masks are reusing them.

Even though surgical respirators offer good particulate protection, as @podzap pointed out:

Respirators you can buy in hardware stores e.g. the ones used by professional spray painters are certified against organic vapor as well as being about 10 times more effective than N95 (over 99.95% efficiency).

Surgeons do not need protection against pesticides and fumes! Consequently their masks don't need to be rated for it. Unless you are doing exotic medicine, the atmosphere in the average medical setting is less hazardous than the atmosphere of routine construction/maintenance environments. Look to those areas of employment for escalating grades of PPE.

All said... it would make a WHOLE load more sense for john-citizen to buy the $50, reusable (rubber) painter half-mask respirator. You can at least sterilise the thing after each use.

Why don't the hospitals buy up the retail stocks and give it to the providers? It would seem way more efficient for corporate purchasing agents to do this rather than making all the end users "go shopping" in a pandemic!!

That would be nice... even nicer... why don't the hardware stores keep 20% of their stock for registered builders/tradesfolk and offer the remaining 80% to healthcare (or whatever mix makes sense)? It would be a good community gesture...

 

[Luftmensch]

Take this lady, for example: a doctor specialising in infectious diseases for over 18 years. Look what she's wearing!

Looks like she was wearing a scrub hat or visor of some sort too!

 

[Luftmensch]

Oz update:

• "do not travel" warning to turn into a "travel ban" (Australians going overseas)!!
• Weddings restricted to 5 people
• Funerals restricted to 10 people
• Open houses and auctions banned

and the Olympics are postponed until 2021 - this was inevitable.

 

[Chuckles]

I didn’t realize taking vitamins was a such radical move these days. I thought I would add that if anybody is interested in potential supplements for immune system optimization I heard a good podcast on the issue recently. The Ben Greenfield fitness podcast from March 14 titled ‘Everything you need to know about antivirus & immune system enhancement’ .

 

[podzap]

The panic buying is a about to stop, in my opinion. Basically, everyone who felt the need to go and fill their larder will mostly have done so by now. There is only so much food people can reasonably fit into their house or apartment before it inevitably spoils. And for lots of people, the size of their wallet limits the amount of hoarding they can afford

I suspect one of the things that has happened is that a lot of folks (who get paid once a month on the end of the month) ran out of cash by mid-month due to buying all they could at once instead of spreading it out. If that's true, we will see another huge surge in hamstering come 7 days from now. Most of the stuff people are hamstering: TP, canned tuna, macaroni, rice, tomato sauce and the tex-mex ingredient sections have been hit particularly hard as well, for some reason. Have a taco!

 

[Bert2368]

I buy TP about once a year, in bulk. There were 2.5 deer in the freezers at our warehouse along with plenty of other stuff when people started to panic. Why would anyone buy rice & beans in less than 20 lb. sacks, you know you'll use it before it goes bad?

Not a prepper! I just really like to eat and buy everything in bulk and as infrequently as possible to save time & money.

A whole bunch of us are learning that news isn't something that happens to other people. Only a small % of the ones I can personally see are completely freaking out. Your results may vary-

The screen shots attached are of the Johns Hopkins coronavirus data page, yesterday and today, close enough to 24 hours apart. The 24 hour fatalities 23rd to 24th (1,901) are pretty much on track with below linked video, considering fatality data are being under reported deliberately in several countries to lower panic with people who die at home often left out, anyone with a co morbid condition excluded, etc.

6 minute YouTube video of statistics with graphing to give perspective on Covid 19 vs. H1N1 (swine flu) and all other pandemics this century- Watch the whole thing, pause it to read if you need to. Will probably scare the hell out of you.



The good news is that this rate of daily increase can't possibly continue past June 19th- Bad news, that's because total death would exceed total population of the planet on that day if it did.

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Just in case you have not already found the below? Some links. Johns Hopkins statistics: Best aggregator of CDC and WHO information I have found. Updated several times a day.

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

Dr. John Campbell: (daily video updates) PhD in education, had been the English version of a nurse practitioner for decades, moved on to do teaching world wide. Accurate and direct, non medical people can understand the concepts he explains. Plus, english accent... Which for some reason Americans think automatically makes you an authority?



MedCram: (daily videos) YouTube channel by a group of ER doctors to make "cram notes" videos for other providers. Free for the duration, used to be a paid service. Gets into some chemistry, more technical.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQ_IRFkDInv_zLVFTgXA8tW0Mf1iiuuM_

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See you on the other side-

 

[ChefShramrock]

Not to make light of the situation at hand, but this email I received actually made me laugh out loud. Terrible marketing at its finest.

 

[podzap]

Anybody else notice how all these sales only last until the 30th of this month (31st is payday for many folks)? Prices will be normal until the 10th or so then again it will be going until 29th of April. It's always been the same at my local meat counter - meat prices double on payday and then drop down again around the 10th of the month.

 

[ian]

Not to make light of the situation at hand, but this email I received actually made me laugh out loud. Terrible marketing at its finest.
View attachment 74800

That’s so great. So, if I take it to a contaminated area, I can fight off the coronavirus kung-fu style, right?