Natural killer cells -
a major virus & cancer defense -
Studies show those with Long Covid and severe Covid have lower numbers and quality of a type of immune blood cell known as a natural killer cell. These cells not only directly kill Covid infected cells, but also emit important "hormone" signals to activate downstream immune cells which enable them to join the fight against Covid-19.
Therefore, any weakness in natural killer cell number or functionality could lead to highly increased susceptibility toward elevated infection. There have also been numerous studies finding specific food molecules (polyphenols) which activate (turn-on) genes that increase the number and quality of natural killer cells. I'll post more on these studies later, but it really is fascinating once we understand the powerful defenses currently at play.
A study on this specific topic was conducted by Stanford University and published in the journal - Proc Natl Acad Sci, Vol. 79(17). I have a link to this at the bottom of this post.
SYMPTOMS UPDATE -
Jerry's Temperature: Normal - I still feel excellent with no symptoms. So is the rest of the crew except my son Gene has a few mild symptoms remaining.
This is interesting - while my ex and daughter got over their Covid symptoms in about 5 days, both are now showing slight symptoms again. My ex is coughing with a "wet" cough every 10-15 mintues but much less severe than when she had Covid. My daughter says she has a runny nose and slight "wet" cough. I've heard of this happening to a number of people who got over their Covid infection which leads us to consider if other non-severe viruses are taking advantage of the situation. I have more Covid tests here so I'll test Mary later today.
I posted in a Long Haul Covid group that I am looking to bring in someone with Long Covid to stay in our AirBnB at no charge. The purpose here is to see if they could benefit from the strategies identified from the latest nutritional immunology research and Harvard's branch studying endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).
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