The Natural Living Resource Net

Thursday, July 8, 2021

An Important Super Nutrient – Made In Our Bodies!

There are many useful suggestions for remaining healthy such as hygienic measures of masking and handwashing. Look at previous articles for information about those measures. It is also important to make sure you have some nutritional protocols in place to optimize your health.

An important step in staying healthy is to make sure that you have adequate vitamin D levels. We often hear about vitamin D as it relates to calcium absorption and healthy bones and teeth. It is true that vitamin D is an important component to maintain healthy bones and teeth – this is why it is so often added to dairy products. Healthy bones and teeth are not the only functions of vitamin D – it has a very important role in immunity and overall well-being.

Vitamin D is actually more like a hormone and we are able to produce it in our bodies when we are exposed to sunlight, specifically UVB waves. However, with more people working inside and the understandable concerns about excess sun exposure and risk of skin cancer lower levels of vitamin D are being produced and so people are at risk for deficiency. This is particularly true of those who have darker skin tones because they do not produce as much through sun exposure. Of course the skin is not the only organ involved in vitamin D production. Once the initial building block for active vitamin D is produced by the skin, the liver and kidneys play a role in its final activation. That means that any issues with kidney or liver function can also impact vitamin D levels.

The optimal level for vitamin D as measured in blood should be between 100-150 nmol/L or 40-60 ng/ml as this is the level needed for proper cellular function. Of course vitamin D helps with calcium metabolism but there are also immune functions. There is a substance produced in the body called cathelicidin. It has protective action against a variety of disease-causing organisms and there is a link between production of cathelicidin and adequate levels of vitamin D. We see this substance in many cells in the body such as those in the skin and mucus membranes as well as other areas.

The lab test for vitamin D levels is readily available. In spite of this, it is rarely ordered and in most cases only if there is a concern with bone density issues. This is surprising given that there are so many other important uses for vitamin D in the body and a correlation between low serum levels and many severe and chronic illnesses. If you live in a state that has publicly accessible labs you can go in and get your own test to check out your levels and that is probably a good idea. If you’ve had other labs run it might be useful to see if vitamin D levels were checked at that time.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble nutrient. This means that excess levels are not flushed out by the kidneys but remain in the body where they could potentially cause a toxic response. With vitamin D the concern is particularly in regard to hypercalcemia or excess calcium in the blood. Excess calcium can cause deposition in the arterial walls leading to thickening and stiffening of the arteries. While this is a rare event and generally requires extremely high dosages of vitamin D it is useful to be aware of the potential for this issue. It is important to take vitamin K2 with vitamin D because vitamin K2 directs the calcium to the skeletal tissue preventing deposition in the artery walls. Vitamin K2 comes in multiple forms with MK-4 and MK-7 being the most prevalent. The MK-7 form is preferable and has actually been studied for its effectiveness in managing calcium deposition whereas the MK-4 is actually a synthetic form and was not in the study. The recommended levels (according to Dr. Cees Vermeer – one of the most respected Vitamin K researchers) should be 45 – 185 mcg daily. Keep in mind that those individuals on blood thinning medications should not supplement vitamin K without consulting with their doctors because vitamin K supplements can interfere with the action of their blood thinner prescription. Vitamin D3 is the preferred form for vitamin D supplementation. Grassroots Health has a vitamin D calculator to determine the proper dosage of supplement based on your current serum vitamin D level and there is even a link to order a home vitamin D test kit.

The Vitamin D council has many useful articles and links to resources. The articles are very interesting and most are written for the lay person. Take the opportunity to educate yourself about this important tool for maintaining optimal health!

Friday, February 19, 2021

Encouragement For Stressful Times - Wash Your Hands Like A Pro!

In addition to masking appropriately and maintaining social distancing, proper hand hygiene is an essential step in preventing the spread of disease. Pathogens can be found on surfaces everywhere and it is impossible to completely eradicate them. Just as with masking, the goal of hand hygiene is to reduce the numbers of pathogens. Remember that a factor in developing an infection is the number of pathogens so by taking steps to reduce them we are reducing our risk of infection.

It is always important to practice proper hand hygiene but there has been more emphasis on that since the pandemic and people are particularly concerned with the Covid-19 pathogen. So let’s talk specifically about how hand washing can help reduce the spread of covid.

Coronavirus is the term you most often hear when discussing Covid-19 but the term coronavirus is a description of the microscopic appearance of several different disease-causing organisms. Corona means crown and the spikes of proteins surrounding the virus give the appearance of a crown when viewed under the microscope. For simplicity’s sake when coronavirus is referenced in this post, we are specifically referring to the new strain of coronavirus which is responsible for the current pandemic. Viruses are essentially little bits of genetic material with various materials forming protective coats around them. The coronavirus has a lipid envelope which means a layer of fatty material around it. Because of this fatty layer, soap is very effective in destroying the virus as it is able to break up the protective lipid membrane of the virus. Regular soap is effective so it is not necessary to get special soap.

Proper hand hygiene using soap and water

Make sure a towel is located nearby.
Turn on faucet and adjust the temperature so that it is warm but not too hot
Keeping the hands lower than the elbows, thoroughly wet the wrist and hands
Dispense soap into hands, using about 1 tsp soap should be used
Scrubbing in circular motion, lather hands including wrists and the area between fingers. Make sure to scrub the fingertips as well. Get the backs of the hands and the thumbs. Cover each finger individually including around the nails and the knuckles. Go around the wrists up to about an inch above the wrists. Make sure you keep your hands angled so that any drips go down into the sink, not up the arm. This process must take at least 20 seconds. (There were many entertaining memes at the beginning of the pandemic on social media for theme songs and the like designed to take up 20 seconds)
Place hands under water, make sure water flows downward from wrists to fingertips
Pat hands dry with towel, don’t scrub with towel
Use a dry towel to turn off faucet

Hand sanitizer is another good tool for hand hygiene. There are some important points to be aware of when using hand sanitizer. The CDC recommends at least 60% alcohol content to effectively kill pathogens. Most of the sanitizers I’ve seen are 65% but read the label to be sure. The alcohol should be ethanol or isopropanol (rubbing alcohol). You may remember a big recall on sanitizer products during the summer because those products contained methanol which is very toxic. Hand sanitizer does not replace hand washing as the chemicals in sanitizer may kill some pathogens but they do not remove dirt and greasy messes so they cannot clean as effectively as soap. It is interesting to note that the rhinovirus that causes colds is in fact not as susceptible to soap so hand sanitizer may work better for removing rhinovirus. It should still be followed by soap and water hand washing.

Hand hygiene using hand sanitizer

Dispense sanitizer into palm of hand
Rub palm to palm
Right hand palm to back of left hand, interlock fingers
Palm to palm fingers interlaced
Left hand palm to back of right hand, interlocking fingers
Grasp thumb and rotate around thumb, perform on right and left sides
Rub fingertips in palm of left and then right hand
Continue this process until hands have dried. The alcohol will evaporate leaving the hands dry

Keep in mind that alcohol-based sanitizers will dry out the skin even more than soap so make sure you keep your hands properly moisturized. Any breaks in the skin can serve as an entry point for pathogens.

You should perform hand hygiene before and after eating, after using the restroom, after coming in from outside, after playing with pets and any time that they are dirty.

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Encouragement for Stressful Times - The Great Mask Debate

So we are many months into a pandemic and people are tired and stressed out and so many are worried about the future. It has been my experience that one of the best ways to decrease worry is to take action. So I have some action steps that we can all take to help relieve worry right now. I will be sharing these in a series of blog posts.

The Great Mask Debate

Protect yourself with a mask and social distancing whenever possible. There has been much controversy surrounding mask wearing. The purpose of wearing masks is to reduce the spread of infection through droplets and aerosols as these particles can contain infectious materials. Droplets and aerosols are naturally produced by the respiratory system and are released from our mouths and noses whenever we breathe, cough, sneeze, talk or sing. We know this because as children we were taught to cover our mouth and nose when we cough or sneeze. The droplets are heavier and are pulled down by gravity which is why distancing can be helpful. Aerosols (very small particles) float in the air for a period up to several hours and spread like smoke through a closed space.

Aside from fit-tested N95 masks, masks provide limited protection for the wearer because some droplets and aerosols can get around the gaps in the sides of the masks. You might ask yourself why, in light of that information, should anyone bother wearing a mask? Have we all not heard about (perhaps on social media) somebody who always wore a mask and still got sick? Masks are more effective in protecting others by reducing the droplets and aerosols that the wearer releases into the air. If we have widespread mask usage the amount of infectious viral particles being released is greatly reduced. The number of infectious particles is one important aspect in spread of a disease.

Per an article published in October 2020 in the journal Nature, surgical masks and comparably constructed fabric masks reduce aerosol expulsion by about 67% and N95 masks reduce 90% of aerosols expelled. That study goes into much more detail looking at 14 different mask materials and it makes for interesting reading if you are interested.

Masks with a vent and fabric neck gaiters are explicitly not effective and should not be used. The vents allow droplets to exit and the neck gaiters have been shown to increase risk by aerosolizing the droplets (making them into very small and more mobile particles). The clear plastic face shields are really not effective at preventing droplet transmission as the droplets pass right around the shield. I have seen these clear plastic shields mounted on a headband and also advertised as masks with a mask-like shape and having earpieces like glasses to hold it against the face. None of those clear shields are effective.

All this data means that by wearing a mask a potentially-infected individual will release fewer droplets into the surrounding area. That decreases the potential for infecting others. If we have all or nearly all persons wearing masks when out in public and everyone’s droplet release potential is decreased and we’ve significantly decreased the risk of disease transmission. When considering the disease-causing capability of an organism we have to consider the characteristics of the organism, the health of the host and the number of the organisms released. Wearing masks decreases the release of disease-causing organisms. Other articles point out that the size of the holes in masks are much larger than the virus itself. This is also true. Viruses travel in droplets and sometimes in smaller particles called respiratory nuclei. These droplets are larger than the virus itself and so may be trapped by the mask. It is important to practice proper masking protocol which means limit handling of the mask and dispose of the mask (or wash it if it is a fabric mask) after it has been worn for a length of time. Bacteria can certainly collect on the mask so these hygiene measures are important. Masks of any kind must cover the mouth and nose as droplets are released into the air by both mouth and nose and if there is a metal nosepiece it should be bent around the nose for optimal fit. It is unnecessary to wear a mask if you are alone in your vehicle, although I always put mine on if I am in line at the coffee shop drive-through and need to interact with the employees to receive my order. It is not necessary to wear them if you are outside away from others as the droplets you are releasing will be quickly dispersed in the outside air. Indoor ventilation systems allow the droplets and aerosols to linger which is why masking is important indoors. I have read some interesting articles about advances in indoor air quality management which look wonderful so that would be a nice positive development from this challenging situation.

One study that came out in April in the Annals of Internal Medicine purported to show that masking was ineffective. It has since been retracted. Early in the pandemic there were so many unknowns that it is not surprising that some of the early findings were determined to be incomplete or incorrect. Much of the hesitancy for masking recommendations on the part of the WHO and CDC was related to supply issues for healthcare workers. We have learned so much since then and there are masks in fashion patterns and instructions for mask making all over the internet. With these options the depletion of mask supply is no longer a concern. The fitted N95 masks are still best saved for the healthcare staff as there are so many workable options available to the public. See the October article in Nature for some comparisons of materials.

A brief note about masks and children

The literature is generally in agreement that very young children (2 -3 years of age and younger) should not be masked due to the risk of suffocation. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Italian Pediatric Society have published statements about masking in children and recommend masking for children older than 2 (the American Academy of Pediatrics) or 3 (The Italian Pediatric Society). It would be a good idea to check with your pediatrician if you have concerns about your children.

Common mask objections:

Can masks cause decreased blood levels of oxygen, increased carbon dioxide levels? There is no evidence of this and indeed studies have been performed using pulse oximeters to measure levels during daily activities and exercise. Pulse oximeters, devices that measure blood oxygen levels, can be found very inexpensively online and you can wear one while masked to check this out for yourself.

Viral particles are way too small to be blocked by mask – so using a mask to block them is like trying to block mosquitoes with a chicken wire fence. I have seen this exact argument on social media. As we mentioned before viral particles do not travel by themselves. Viruses need a host and those particles are expelled in droplets or aerosols.

My friend contracted the virus even though they wore a mask. As mentioned above masks do not provide 100% protection and they are more effective at protecting from release of particles rather than blocking inhalation of particles in the environment. Partial protection is better than no protection.

Masking decreases the immune system activity – it’s like living in a bubble so my immune system will be weakened. The immune system is indeed stimulated by contact with environmental materials. A partial block of environmental materials, such as a mask provides, does not dampen immune system activity. You are still being exposed to materials by touch, through food and beverage and even in your own home.