Infectious Disease

Olive Leaf Extract Reduces Acute Covid Symptoms

By Janet Gulland, Contributing Writer

Supplementation with olive leaf extract, at 250 mg or 500 mg twice daily for five days, in addition to conventional care, significantly reduced body temperature, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and c-reactive protein levels in a placebo-controlled study of 150 patients hospitalized with acute Covid-19. Compared with the placebo, the olive leaf extract also increased oxygen […]

Long Haul Covid: A Variant of Post-Viral Syndrome

By Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, Contributing Writer

Long-haul Covid has unique features, but essentially, it is a variant of post-viral syndrome. That’s good news because many of the features of post-viral syndrome are easily treated. Between 20% and 25% of all Covid patients have persistent symptoms of some sort. Those numbers are similar to what we see with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and […]

New Surveys Show Impact of Politics on Public Health

By Kristen Schepker

A massive online survey of more than 5 million Americans shows that political affiliation is a major factor influencing peoples’ decisions about the Covid-19 vaccines. Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and the University of Pittsburgh, in partnership with CMU’s Delphi Group, culled and analyzed data on vaccine attitudes from a larger national Covid survey […]

My Personal Battle with Omicron

By Jon D. Kaiser, MD, Contributing Writer

In early January, I travelled to Mexico to attend the Dead and Company “Playing in the Sand” music festival at a resort in Cancun. The entire resort was booked by the festival promoter for attendees, and the staff were extremely careful and diligent about Covid-19 prevention measures. All attendees needed to provide proof of vaccination, […]

VITAL: Vitamin D, Omegas Reduce Autoimmune Disease Risk

By Erik Goldman

Data from the massive Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial (VITAL) show clearly that daily supplementation with 2,000 IU of vitamin D can reduce the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, and other autoimmune conditions. Omega-3 fatty acids, at a dose of 1,000 mg per day also mitigated risk, but to a lesser degree. “Vitamin D […]

A Pandemic of Distrust

By Erik Goldman

Last summer, the Biden administration took an unprecedented and, to my mind, dangerous step when it pushed Facebook to block the accounts of twelve prominent vaccine critics. The move was fueled by a report from the UK-based Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) which stated that these individuals are responsible for 73% of all anti-vaccine […]

As Vax Rules Clash, Montana Clinics Caught in Crossfire

By Kristen Schepker, Contributing Writer

Clashes over vaccine mandates are the latest rifts defining a deeply politicized pandemic culture. In some states, local vaccination rules directly contradict national public health directives, putting hospitals and clinics in the difficult position of determining how to best safeguard patients and staff, amid a shifting landscape of conflicting directives. I am watching one such […]

What We Know About Omicron

By Leo Galland, MD, Contributing Writer

As the Omicron blizzard sweeps across the country, so many questions have emerged. My comments here are based on available scientific data and, where indicated, on my clinical experience with the latest surge. Here are a few key points we can safely say we know about the Omicron variant: It is Highly Transmissible: Omicron is […]

Preventing COVID-19 with Nasal Sprays

By Leo Galland, MD, Contributing Writer

In my search for strategies that can limit Covid-19, I’ve discovered a potential role for non-toxic anti-viral nasal sprays. You may want to consider them for yourself and your patients, in situations in which you or they are potentially exposed to the virus, including work, travel, school or social encounters. The mucosal lining of the […]

Vitamin D: A Top Priority for Protecting Your Patients This Winter

By Tom O'Bryan, DC, DACBN

Back in March of 1918, the ‘Spanish flu’ was spreading rapidly across the globe, killing millions and terrifying a world already ravaged by the first world war. During that summer the pandemic died down, only to rear its ugly head the following winter, killing many more. More than a century later, we are now into […]