Major Exposures Tolerated -
This is how Covid Mary and I sit for 3-4 hours every night watching TV the past 8+ days. I figured this close proximity would be a good test for the strategies we're using as suggested by recent medical literature. Gotta say though that sitting this close during days 3-6 was kinda rough because that was the period her dry coughs were not only intensely strong but bordered on bloodcurdling to say the least. Now that we're at day 8 (actually about day 10 counting the couple days before starting the blog) her coughs are maybe once every hour or two.
Kids Getting Better Too
My boy Gene says he is 60% better today which is better than the 50% better he was stuck at for the previous 3 days. 14 year old daughter Grace says she is half to 3/4 better but the best clue to her feeling better is her non-stop talking on the phone. As I sit typing this downstairs I can here her jabber-jaw going a mile a minute. In fact, there is probably a direct correlation between how much time the little girl spends on the phone and how much over Covid she is...
Doggy Cody's OK Too
I'm actually surprised our dog Cody isn't sick as a dog. This little guy is the king of face licks and when our son came back from school a few days ago, he went into major face-lick mode. To be honest, don't know why my son allows this - but he does.
SUMMARY OF MEALS
My son Gene has been sick longer than I would have liked so I made him a fruit salad composed of 1/4 red apple - 1/4 green apple - 1/4 yellow apple - half banana and pomegranite seeds. I had the same. For lunch we both had one of our super organic salads that contained a very large variety of all types of colored vegetables. Along with this, I heated up a soup with lentils, other vegetables and 3 types of chilli beans. Interestingly, researchers have indentified polyphenols unique to beans not found in other vegetables. These stimulate gut bacteria to produce compounds that activate genes involved in initiating specific immune responses as well as beneficial bacteria producing propionate which is involved in blood brain barrier restoration (which, if working properly would prevent antbodies and viruses from enterilng the brain cell network). These studies will later be linked at left in a plant polyphenol section I'm organizing.
NEW VEGETABLE CHOPPER ARRIVED
STUDIES LINK PLASTIC BPA TO COVID-19
You know, I can tell I'm getting older when the level of excitement I get from a vegetable chopper arriving from Amazon is on par with that I used to get as a kid when a hot girl would call on the phone. I guess it's at least nice to get excited about something - right?
Unlike the plastic bowl in my previous chopper this new baby has a bowl made of 100% glass. Folks.. running away from BPA and its sister compounds is turning out to be something we ALL need to be doing in everything from stored beverages, foods and kitchen equipment.
BPA FAR WORSE THAN REALIZED
While BPA and other bisphenol chemicals have been known to be hormone mimicking chemicals for years - the latest studies show it is actually far more damaging than we knew and at levels thousands of times less than we thought toxic. Think about this - they tell us we are ingesting worrisome levels of this immunotoxic compound from just water sitting in a bottle. However, when we run a food chopper, there is certainly an abrasive action from food particles rotating and making contact with the plastic bowl, thereby dislodging more Bisphenol A. Obviously, it makes sense to look into alternative glass products.
BPA & RISK OF COVID
If you read this study from Brunel University London (link below), scientists summarize the research on how people with asthma, lung disease, heart disease, hypertenstion, diabetes, immune suppression and obestity are the great majority of Covid cases and hospitalizatons.
Below are direct quotes from Dr. Aeman Zahra and colleagues in their 2020 study:
[BEGIN QUOTES]
1. Of note, research has suggested that increased and/or prolonged exposure of humans to EDCs (Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals) can cause cardio-metabolic dysfunction, disorders of the reproductive system, endocrine-related cancers, and immune system dysregulation [5].
2. Among the various EDCs, BPA is extensively used in a variety of products, including plastics, thermal receipts, and the lining of aluminium cans [13]. Accordingly, BPA is now one of the most frequently detected pollutants in the environment [14]
3. BPA is now recognized as a potential additional factor implicated in the development of cardio-metabolic diseases [15]. Indeed, BPA accumulates in adipose tissue and increases the number and size of adipocytes, thus contributing to increased adiposity and weight gain [16].
4. Finally, in a more recent study in Seoul where 560 elderly participants were recruited, BPA exposure was associated with increased blood pressure and decreased heart rate variability, which are both risk factors of CVD [27].
5. ...where BPA was administered in male rats, BPA was shown to exert a cardiotoxic effect, inducing a state of oxidative stress and leading to the overproduction of free radicals [30].
[END QUOTES]
HOW BPA CAN INCREASE COVID INFECTION
Here's a point the scientists made that caused me great concern. They mentioned a study which found BPA increased the expression of what is called TMPRSS2. Let me explain - so these fancy letters are basically describing the glue that enables the Covid virus to attach onto our ACE2 receptors. In other words, the more TMPRSS2, the more viruses successfully attach to your cell, thereby increasing infection and the pace at which viruses multiply throughout the body.
HOW I REDUCE BPA
So, in my situation, I have worked very hard at reducing my BPA levels over the years (it accumulates in fat cells big time). I 've done this by never drinking canned soda and no longer eat any canned food (BPA is the liner in cans). I also NEVER buy drinks or food products in plastic bottles or containers. Hence, my BPA levels should be far less than your average person.
And now that I own this glass food chopping device, my BPA levels will be lower than ever in just a few weeks.
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