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Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode.
Hosted by Jerry Hickey, Ph.
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InViteⓇ Health Podcast Intro: Welcome to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast, where our degreed healthcare professionals are excited to offer you the most important health and wellness information you need to make informed choices about your health. You can learn more about the products discussed in each of these episodes and all that InViteⓇ Health has to offer at www.invitehealth.com/podcast. First time customers can use promo code PODCAST at checkout for an additional 15% off your first purchase. Let’s get started!†
*Intro music*
Jerry Hickey, Ph: [00:00:40] When someone contacts me who has a virus or any infection that can affect the lungs, I always recommend taking the supplement called resveratrol. Resveratrol has been used in human clinical trials at this point, hundreds of them, hundreds of published human clinical trials, and a number of them show that resveratrol is good for the lungs. For instance, and this is sort of a little off to the side, they did a study in smokers and they looked at inflammatory markers released by the immune system when you’re inflamed and the blood of the smokers and when they gave them resveratrol, the inflammation subsided by 50% within the first month, which is rather amazing because smoking a cigarette is like living in a smoke stack on a cruise ship, basically. So there was further evidence from studies of lung health from Europe, and we’ll go into that in a minute.† [00:01:42]
[00:01:43] So welcome to my episode, Resveratrol for the Lungs. My name is Jerry Hickey. I’m a licensed pharmacist who specializes in nutrition. You can find all of the InViteⓇ podcast episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or just go to invitehealth.com/podcast and please subscribe and leave a review. You can also find InViteⓇ on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at InViteⓇ Health.† [00:02:11]
[00:02:11] So let’s get going on this. There was a study in France because there were rumors that both resveratrol and red wine improved lung health. So it was thousands of French citizens of all ages. They gave them resveratrol as a supplement or they gave them red wine or they gave them white wine. And they found yes, absolutely; some wines affected lung health in a good way. But I wouldn’t overdo it on wine because, you know, the liver and the brain can get affected, too.† [00:02:43]
HOW RESVERATROL SUPPORTS HEALTHY LUNGS – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 540 >> Listen Now!
[00:02:44] But they found that resveratrol absolutely had an impressive effect on the lungs, like older people lose their wind, they’re respiratory volume, etc. They exhale weaker, they inhale weaker. I mean, just put any elderly person on a basketball court with an 18 year old and you’ll see the difference in their wind, in their breathing. In any event, older people lose their lung strength. They found that resveratrol was restoring their lung strength and is a number of studies showing this. So when people come in that have an infection that could potentially affect their lungs, I say go with resveratrol. It may not be the only supplement I give for the lungs, depending on what’s going on, I might give them an acetyl cysteine. I might give them something called black human seed. They’re all good for the lungs. But resveratrol is dynamic because resveratrol also has antiviral properties.† [00:03:32]
[00:03:33] So this study is looking at COVID 19 patients is a double blind, placebo controlled, randomized human clinical trial, it’s in the journal Scientific Reports and it’s researchers at Ohio State University and affiliated hospitals. And they found that resveratrol was particularly important for COVID 19 patients. Now, of course, COVID 19, one of the major areas that attacks the lungs, that’s why people were put on respirators and oxygen early on, etc.† [00:04:02]
[00:04:02] So I did have COVID 19 an awful long time ago. I had it in March 2020 when it first came around. I had been working in some of our stores in Brooklyn and Queens, in the Bronx and Manhattan, and that was kind of like a hotbed of COVID 19 infections early on. I caught it, I came home, I didn’t know why I had it. My wife caught it from me, and we both took to rest for a while. And guess what? It’s just a smart way to go, it’s just a good practice when you have something that could affect the lungs.† [00:04:36]
[00:04:38] So, Ohio State University, they worked at the- they worked with the Mount Carmel Health System Hospitals and they took 100 patients over the age of 45 who had more severe infections from COVID 19. And they found that giving them resveratrol, they gave them 500 milligrams a day over a 15 day period cut the hospital, the hospitality rate, hospitalization rate did I say hospitality? The hospitalization rate by 67%. No, I just think it’s a smart idea to take resveratrol if you’re getting an infection.† [00:05:21]
[00:05:23] A different type of study, a pre-clinical study in animals and cells. They exposed the cells to resveratrol and the flu, all different forms of the flu. And they found that the resveratrol was just preventing the flu virus from replicating, from multiplying. And if it can’t multiply, it can’t really infect you, it can’t hurt you. So this was the Institute of Microbiology in Rome. They then gave these strains of the flu to mice, and it was sadly killing the mice. If they gave them resveratrol, it was preventing the death of the mice. It was keeping them alive by protecting their lungs and their heart. Resveratrol is a very tiny molecule and it’s a very powerful anti-inflammatory antioxidant, but it also works with a lot of genes that work with the immune system. And that’s one reason why it protects the brain from inflammation and is good for the brain and it helps protect the pancreas from inflammation. So that’s really important for diabetics because there’s a lot of stress and strain on their pancreas. It helps protect the thyroid from inflammation. And that’s really good news because a lot of older people, they they lose some thyroid function in their thyroid might get inflamed. It reduces inflammation in the kidneys and the liver. I mean, it’s an all around good supplement.† [00:06:42]
[00:06:44] But as far as viruses go, why should resveratrol be particularly interesting? Well, they found that resveratrol has an anti-microbial effect, especially against a number of viruses. It has an antiviral effect. It stimulates specific parts of the immune system that wake up the immune system to the presence of a virus. And the immune system then attacks the virus and helps prevent it from spreading or from producing. But it’s also really important for lung health. Resveratrol is great for lung health. I would give anybody who lives in a polluted area that’s inhaling pollution on a daily basis from cars and stuff resveratrol to help protect them from the pollution. I’ll give it to any smoker or anybody exposed to secondhand smoke. That doesn’t mean that this is a license to go and smoke.† [00:07:35]
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[00:07:38] And also resveratrol has an ace2 inhibiting effect. Ace2 is the angiotensin converting enzyme type two that can squeeze your blood vessels and cause you to retain fluids and raise your blood pressure and retain salt. So it’s good for the heart, but it’s also good for the kidneys and it’s also good for the brain for the same reason because they found ace inhibiting drugs, lowered the risk of Alzheimer’s and we do know that resveratrol is good for circulation on the brain, for protecting the brain and for improving memory in older people, even in Alzheimer’s patients to a degree. So by inhibiting ace2, it’s good for the kidneys, it’s good for the brain, and it’s also good for COVID 19 patients because ace2 is one two receptor such that COVID 19 adheres to. Beyond resveratrol is an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory agent in the lungs and the heart and the kidneys and the intestines and the brain. These are all areas where COVID hits.† [00:08:33]
[00:08:35] So my recommendation, if you have a virus that affects the lungs or affects the brain even or the kidneys or the heart, I would definitely get on resveratrol. How much would I take? When I had COVID-19, I took our resveratrol max 200 milligrams twice a day with food. Make sure it’s a good resveratrol, protected from light and oxygen. And it’d be helpful if there’s some quercetin and grape seed extract in there because these types of molecules are found in the same plants as resveratrol, and they tend to protect resveratrol, but also amplify its benefits and take the resvertrol with food for better absorption.† [00:09:11]
[00:09:13] So thanks for listening to today’s podcast episode. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or just go to invitehealth.com/podcast and subscribe and leave a review because that’s helpful to us. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at InViteⓇ Health. And I want to thank you for listening. I hope to see you next time on another podcast from InViteⓇ Health. Jerry Hickey signing off.† [00:09:13]
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Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH
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What is it about cold weather that makes us more susceptible to coming down with the common cold? Of course, you can get a cold throughout any time of the year, but we know that during the winter months when it’s cold outside is when we’re certainly more prone to exposure, as well as to contracting and exhibiting symptoms of the common cold. I want to talk today a little bit about why that actually occurs and what you can be doing to make sure that your immune system is ready to fend off all of the pesky bugs that are circulating around, especially during the winter.†
Colds in the wintertime
Why is it that we see this generally greater spike when it comes to the pathogens that are circulating around in the winter? Certainly, we know that the temperature can play a significant role into that, but we also have to look at why it is that these viruses seem to thrive in what we would look at as kind of inclement weather. There are roughly about 200 different viruses that can trigger cold symptoms, so these can include things like rhinoviruses, coronaviruses and parainfluenza viruses. We have to really see what it is that makes them the most prevalent in the winter.†
First and foremost, we can look at the lack of sunlight and the natural absorption of Vitamin D coming from the sun that occurs during the winter. We have shorter daylight and people are generally inside, so you’re not going to have as high an amount of exposure to Vitamin D coming from the sun, which we certainly know can impact your overall Vitamin D status. This is why generally, in the winter months, people will see a rapid decline in their serum Vitamin D levels, which is why it’s quite advantageous to make sure that during the winter, you are definitely taking Vitamin D.†
How to Manage The New Covid-19 Mutations – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 266. Listen Now >>
Let’s go beyond that and think about people being inside more. When you’re outside and you have more space in between you out in the open air, the transmission rate of these different viruses tends to go down significantly. We know that when you are indoors, we can have a greater facilitation of the spread of viruses from person to person. We can also look at that shift in terms of humidity and understand that that lower humidity and forced heat, which can dry everything out, certainly can create an environment that allows these different viruses to live longer. Generally speaking, most of these viruses are going to thrive in a drier condition.†
Learn more about the process by which these viruses are spread by listening to the full podcast episode.
Supporting the immune system
Our immune system certainly can have seasonal changes as well, so it’s not just the external, environmental factors such as temperature, sunlight and dryness. We also have to look at how that is impacting the innate and adaptive immune systems. We can look at how, even within the sinuses, when we look at the mucociliary action, we see a variation between seasons, meaning that perhaps your nasal passages are more prone to dryness in the winter, making them more likely to become a happy resting home for viruses. This is why it’s so incredibly important to make sure that you are doing the right things leading into the cold months. So, what does that entail? We know that people will have chicken noodle soup in the winter to fend off a cold. There’s a reason for that. We can look at all of the beneficial immune-boosting nutrients that are derived from that bone broth. This is what heightens our ability to fend off the attacks from these many different types of viruses that are quite high during the winter months.†
We can also look at really powerful flavonoids, such as the Cocoa Hx. Taking a scoop of that Cocoa Hx and warming it up is like having a cup of hot cocoa, but it’s packed with all of these powerful antioxidants. In the event that we do happen to breathe in some of these nasty little bugs, then the immune system is more at a ready, set, go stage with its antioxidant defenses.†
Certainly we know that Vitamin D is going to play an integral role in this, as well, and that link between Vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency and that increased susceptibility to infection. We know that there is a strong association between seasonal variations in Vitamin D and the incidence of various infectious diseases. We’re clearly seeing that going on with COVID-19.†
COVID-19 Research Recommends Vitamin D Supplementation – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 251. Listen Now >>
We can also look at melatonin and understand that melatonin, which is a very powerful natural hormone, also participates in immunomodulatory roles. Melatonin is stimulating the production of natural killer cells and it helps to balance your T-helper cells. This is all very, very important because we understand that seasonal changes of the immune function have been observed in these different factors.†
Tune into the full podcast episode for more details on the benefits of these and other nutrients for your immune health.
Thank you for tuning in to the Invite Health Podcast. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting www.invitehealth.com/podcast. Make sure you subscribe and leave us a review! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at Invite Health today. We’ll see you next time on another episode of the Invite Health Podcast.
