Editor Note:
HCQ hydroxychloroquine is a transporter for zinc.
Hydroxychloroquine acts as a zinc ionophore (zinc transport molecule) and facilitates zinc absorption in your body, other natural compounds can have the same effect.
Read the information below to find out what natural compounds have the same effect as HCQ on zinc.
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“In the present COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic the zinc + ionophore combination could have been employed in a targeted fashion for high-risk groups (elderly, diabetics, smokers, alcohol abusers, immune suppressant and illicit-drug users) as prevention and for curative purposes among patients with severe lung disease.
The family of RNA viruses also includes poliovirus and influenza virus. In other words, zinc therapy would also simultaneously address the seasonal flu viruses also in circulation, something public health authorities strangely paid no attention to this flu season.”
Facilitating Zinc Entry Into Cells Is a Crucial Component
Importantly, zinc alone is not capable of fully stopping viral replication, Sardi notes. The reason for this is because zinc is largely insoluble and cannot easily enter through the fatty wall of your cells. Getting all the way into the cell is crucial, as this is where the viral replication occurs.
“[This] makes the discovery of an ionophore as important as zinc’s primary role in infection control,” Sardi points out, adding, 10 “Such a discovery, if put into practice, would have upset the reigning vaccine paradigm that now predominates in modern medicine. Research dollars would evaporate as a cure for seasonal influenza and coronaviruses … would have been found.”
Other Natural Zinc Transporters — Quercetin and EGCG
The good news is drugs like chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine probably would not be necessary either (except for perhaps the most serious cases), as other natural compounds can do the same job.
‘Poor Man’s Coronavirus Defense’
In closing, Sardi proposes imitating Zelenko’s COVID-19 protocol using natural remedies if you have symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection and cannot obtain a prescription for chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine and a Z-Pak:
Should zinc turn out to be in short supply, consider eating more zinc-rich foods. 15 Examples include hemp, sesame and pumpkin seeds , cacao powder, cheddar cheese, and seafood such as oysters, Alaskan crab, shrimp and mussels.
Zinc + Niacin + Selenium Is a Winning Combo
The addition of niacin and selenium appears to be good advice, considering both play a role in the absorption and bioavailability of zinc in the body.
A more in-depth exploration and explanation of both niacin and selenium’s relationship to zinc is provided in the 2008 paper, “Zinc, Metallothioneins and Longevity: Interrelationships With Niacin and Selenium”: 17
“Ageing is an inevitable biological process with gradual and spontaneous biochemical and physiological changes and increased susceptibility to diseases.
Some nutritional factors (zinc, niacin, selenium) may remodel these changes leading to a possible escaping of diseases, with the consequence of healthy ageing, because they are involved in improving immune functions, metabolic homeostasis and antioxidant defense.
Experiments … show that zinc is important for immune efficiency (both innate and adaptive), metabolic homeostasis (energy utilization and hormone turnover) and antioxidant activity (SOD enzyme).
Niacin is a precursor of NAD+, the substrate for the activity of DNA repair enzyme PARP-1 and, consequently, may contribute to maintaining genomic stability. Selenium provokes zinc release by metallothioneins (MT), via reduction of glutathione peroxidase.
This fact is crucial in ageing because high MT may be unable to release zinc with subsequent low intracellular free zinc ion availability for immune efficiency, metabolic harmony and antioxidant activity.
Taking into account the existence of zinc transporters … for cellular zinc efflux and influx, respectively, the association between zinc transporters and MT is crucial in maintaining satisfactory intracellular zinc homeostasis in ageing.
Improved immune performance, metabolic homeostasis, antioxidant defense occur in elderly after physiological zinc supplementation … The association ‘zinc plus selenium’ improves humoral immunity in old subjects after influenza vaccination.”
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Zinc Is Key for COVID-19 Treatment and Prevention
Your immune system is your first line of defense against all disease, especially infectious disease, and there are many different ways to boost your immune system and improve its function. One nutrient that plays a very important role in your immune system’s ability to ward off viral infections is zinc.
Zinc gluconate, 1 zinc acetate 2 and zinc sulphate 3 have all been shown to reduce the severity and duration of viral infections such as the common cold. Zinc also appears to be the key ingredient in treatment protocols using hydroxychloroquine (HCQ).
The reason for this is because HCQ is a zinc ionophore (zinc transport molecule), 4 , 5 meaning it’s a drug that improves your cells’ uptake of zinc. Once inside your cells, zinc prevents viral replication. 6 This is also why zinc and zinc ionophores need to be taken very early in the illness, or as a prophylactic.
The problem is that zinc is largely insoluble and cannot easily enter through the fatty wall of your cells. Getting all the way into the cell is crucial, as this is where the viral replication occurs. This is why zinc ionophores are so important.
Aside from hydroxychloroquine, other natural, and safer, zinc ionophores include quercetin and epigallocatechin-gallate (EGCG). If given early, zinc along with a zinc ionophore should, at least theoretically, help lower the viral load and prevent the immune system from becoming overloaded.
Zinc Is Crucial for Healthy Immune Function
Zinc is crucial for healthy immune function — like vitamin D, it actually helps regulate your immune function.
Importantly, zinc deficiency has been shown to impair immune function. 10 As noted in a 2013 paper on zinc deficiency: 11
“Zinc is a second messenger of immune cells, and intracellular free zinc in these cells participate in signaling events. Zinc … is very effective in decreasing the incidence of infection in the elderly. Zinc not only modulates cell-mediated immunity but is also an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent.”
Similarly, the September 2020 paper in Medical Hypotheses, “Does Zinc Supplementation Enhance the Clinical Efficacy of Chloroquine / Hydroxychloroquine to Win Todays Battle Against COVID-19?” points out that: 12
“Besides direct antiviral effects, CQ/HCQ [ chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine] specifically target extracellular zinc to intracellular lysosomes where it interferes with RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity and coronavirus replication.
As zinc deficiency frequently occurs in elderly patients and in those with cardiovascular disease, chronic pulmonary disease, or diabetes, we hypothesize that CQ/HCQ plus zinc supplementation may be more effective in reducing COVID-19 morbidity and mortality than CQ or HCQ in monotherapy. Therefore, CQ/HCQ in combination with zinc should be considered as additional study arm for COVID-19 clinical trials.”
Low Zinc Levels Increase COVID-19 Death Risk
Preliminary data also suggest people with low zinc levels are more likely to die from COVID-19 than those with higher levels. The research 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 was presented at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease (ESCMID) Conference on Coronavirus Disease, 18 held online September 23 through September 25, 2020, and posted 19 on the preprint server medRxiv October 11, 2020.
In the video above, Dr. John Campbell reviews this and other zinc research. As noted by the authors of this study, 20 “Zinc balances immune responses and also has a proven direct antiviral action against some viruses.” As mentioned, zinc’s primary antiviral action is to impair viral replication inside the cell.
To evaluate the importance of plasma zinc levels on COVID-19 outcomes, the researchers did a retrospective analysis of 249 COVID-19 patients admitted to a hospital in Barcelona, Spain, between Mach 15 and April 30, 2020, for whom fasting plasma zinc levels were recorded. The average patient age was 63.
Patients who had low zinc levels upon admission were found to have higher levels of inflammation during the course of their illness, and they were also more likely to die from complications related to COVID-19. As reported by Medical Xpress: 21
“Mean baseline zinc levels among the 249 patients were 61 mcg/dl. Among those who died, the zinc levels at baseline were significantly lower at 43 mcg/dl vs 63.1 mcg/dl in survivors.
Higher zinc levels were associated with lower maximum levels of interleukin-6 (proteins that indicate systemic inflammation) during the period of active infection.
After adjusting by age, sex, severity and receiving hydroxychloroquine, statistical analysis showed each unit increase of plasma zinc at admission to hospital was associated with a 7% reduced risk of in-hospital mortality.
Having a plasma zinc level lower than 50 mcg/dl at admission was associated with a 2.3 times increased risk of in-hospital death compared with those patients with a plasma zinc level of 50 mcg/dl or higher.”
Natural Zinc Transporters — Quercetin and EGCG
As mentioned, quercetin and EGCG are natural zinc ionophores that can do the same job as HCQ.
Aside from increasing zinc uptake, both quercetin and EGCG also inhibit 3CL protease 31 — an enzyme used by SARS coronaviruses to infect healthy cells. 32 As explained in a 2020 paper 33 in Nature, 3CL protease “is essential for processing the polyproteins that are translated from the viral RNA.”
And, according to another 2020 study, 34 the ability of quercetin, EGCG and certain other flavonoids to inhibit SARS coronaviruses “is presumed to be directly linked to suppress the activity of SARS-CoV 3CLpro in some cases.”
Niacin (vitamin B3) and selenium also improve the absorption and bioavailability of zinc. For example, a study 35 published in 1991 demonstrated that when young women were on a vitamin B6-deficient diet, their serum zinc declined, suggesting B6 deficiency affected zinc metabolism such that “absorbed zinc was not available for utilization.”
A more in-depth exploration and explanation of both niacin and selenium’s relationship to zinc is provided in the 2008 paper, “Zinc, Metallothioneins and Longevity: Interrelationships With Niacin and Selenium.”
More Support for Quercetin
Support for the use of quercetin against COVID-19 has also been reported by the Green Stars Project. Using the supercomputer SUMMIT, Oak Ridge National Lab researchers looked for molecules capable of inhibiting the COVID-19 spike protein from interacting with human cells. Quercetin is fifth on that list.
Quercetin is also a potent antiviral in general. As detailed in “ Quercetin Lowers Your Risk for Viral Illnesses ,” mechanisms of action that can make it useful against COVID-19 include:
Inhibiting virus’ ability to infect cells.
Inhibiting replication of already infected cells.
Reducing infected cells’ resistance to treatment with antiviral medication.
Inhibiting lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) production in macrophages. TNF-α is a cytokine involved in systemic inflammation, secreted by activated macrophages, a type of immune cell that digests foreign substances, microbes and other harmful or damaged components.
Inhibiting release of proinflammatory cytokines and histamine by modulating calcium influx into the cell.
Stabilizing mast cells.
Regulating the basic functional properties of immune cells.
Down-regulating or suppressing inflammatory pathways and functions
Another factor to keep in mind is that certain additives can inhibit zinc absorption, which is the complete opposite of what you’re looking for. For instance, research has shown citric acid, glycine, mannitol and sorbitol can reduce zinc absorption, 48 so zinc lozenges containing these ingredients may be less useful.
How Much Zinc Do You Need?
That said, the recommended dietary allowance for zinc in the U.S is 11 mg for adult men and 8 mg for adult women, with slightly higher doses recommended for pregnant and breastfeeding women. 49
As a prophylactic against COVID-19 and other viral infections, Masterjohn recommends taking 7 mg to 15 mg of zinc four times a day, ideally on an empty stomach, or with a phytate-free food. He also recommends getting at least 1 mg of copper from food and supplements for every 15 mg of zinc you take.
Last but not least, remember there are many food sources of zinc, so a supplement may not be necessary. I eat about three-quarters of a pound of ground bison or lamb a day, which provides 20 mg of zinc. I personally don’t take any zinc supplement other than what I get from my food, which is likely in an optimal form to maximize absorption.
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