Donnie Yance is an internationally known master herbalist and nutritionist. He is the author of the book, "Herbal Medicine, Healing and Cancer" and "Adaptogens in Medical Herbalism"
Many plant molecules, such as polyphenols, interact with and modulate key regulators of mammalian physiology in ways that are beneficial to health. The more we understand about this interaction, the more effectively we can target both the prevention and treatment of disease.
Polyphenol compounds, when ingested, interact with receptors and enzymes within the consumer. The fact that stress-induced plant compounds tend to upregulate pathways that provide stress resistance in humans and animals suggests that plant consumers may have mechanisms to perceive these chemical cues and react to them in ways that are beneficial. The term xenohormesis is used to explain this phenomenon (from xenos, the Greek word for stranger, and hormesis, the term for health benefits provided by mild biological stress, such as cellular damage or a lack of nutrition).[1]
“When one tries to rise above nature, one is liable to fall below it.” – Sherlock Holmes
While the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) maintains that vaccine immunity is superior to natural immunity, evidence continues to mount suggesting that natural immunity is superior and long-lasting. In my coverage of Covid-19 over the past two years, I’ve documented several studies supporting the fact that natural immunity is superior to vaccination, including studies conducted while the Delta variant was dominant. One study, published January 20th, 2022, was backed by the CDC.[1]
According to a study published in JAMA in early February 2022,[2] antibody protection against COVID-19 among the recovered was detected by researchers at 20 months post-infection, adding to the body of evidence that such protection, known as natural immunity, is long-lasting.
Natural Immunity is Strong and Durable
Researchers found antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor-binding domain in 99 percent of study participants who tested positive for COVID-19, with some having had the illness 20 months prior.
“The major takeaway is that natural immunity … is strong and durable,” says Dr. Dorry Segev, the Director of the Epidemiology Research Group in Organ Transplantation at Johns Hopkins University.[3]
Natural immunity occurs from an orchestrated immune response which includes not only T and B cells, but-interferons (a family of cytokins with anti-viral properties) and other first-line defenders, while vaccine induced immunity shares some of the same response, is less robust, and less orchestrated. A central point is the important distinction between the impact of vaccination versus natural infection on type I interferon (IFN). While vaccination actively suppresses its production, natural infection promotes type I IFN production very early in the disease cycle.[4],[5]
This is a very important distinction because the argument stating vaccine immunity is better is solely based on the fact that mRNA vaccinations produce more neutralizing receptor binding domain antibodies than natural immunity,[6] which involves many more immunologically active components.
The COVID-19 mRNA vaccines’ ability to produce adverse reactions in individuals suffering from immune-mediated diseases, with therefore an inherent pre-existing dysregulation of the immune response, has not been investigated. In such cases, mRNA may bind pattern recognition receptors in endosomes or cytosol and cause immune chaos, as if the orchestra lost the music score. This leads to the activation of several pro-inflammatory cascades, including the assembly of inflammasome platforms, the type I IFN response and the nuclear translocation of the transcription factor nuclear factor (NF)-kB.[7]
Importantly, the up-regulation of these immunological pathways is widely considered to be at the basis of several immune-mediated diseases, especially in genetically predisposed subjects who have an impaired clearance of nucleic acids.[8]
A recent publication (January 21, 2022) in the Journal Authorea,[9] goes as far as to state the following concerns with regard to the mRNA vaccines: “the genetic modifications introduced by the vaccine are likely the source of these differential responses. In this paper, we present the evidence that vaccination, unlike natural infection, induces a profound impairment in type I interferon signaling, which has diverse adverse consequences to human health. We explain the mechanism by which immune cells release into the circulation, large quantities of exosomes containing spike protein along with critical microRNAs that induce a signaling response in recipient cells at distant sites. We also identify potential profound disturbances in regulatory control of protein synthesis and cancer surveillance. These disturbances are shown to have a potentially direct causal link to neurodegenerative disease, myocarditis, immune thrombocytopenia, Bell’s palsy, liver disease, impaired adaptive immunity increased tumorigenesis, and DNA damage.”
Long before COVID-19, it has been well known within the scientific community that a person develops natural immunity after recovering from an infection. The protection afforded by natural immunity is what all vaccines strive to achieve. Some vaccines do this better than others, but vaccines rarely surpass natural immunity.
The Pursuit of Truth
On Nov. 28, 2021, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the chief medical adviser to the President of the United States, said on CBS’s Face the Nation: “It’s easy to criticize [me], but they are really criticizing science, because I represent science.”
Once the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak had begun, virologists quickly reached the conclusion that the pandemic was almost certainly of natural origin. Quickly the media called out such a notice has a radical conspiracy theory and the possibility of a lab leak was actively censored by Facebook and other social media platforms. Nonetheless, significant evidence has continued to build in support of the “lab leak hypothesis,”[10] so much so I invite you to read this paper entitled, “Thunder out of China” by Yuri Deigin, in Interference, Vol. 6, No. 4, February 2022. Be prepared to be enlightened. There are 152 citations in the paper, and they all support what the author Yuri speaks to.
It seems as though our government and most of the media censors anything other than what is considered to be “science.” I believe in the value of science, but I also believe that we should have open debate instead of being told what is the “truth.”
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines science as “knowledge about or study of the natural world based on facts learned through experiments and observation.” So, science is human knowledge of facts. It has nothing to do with human intention or politics. Consider the fact that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) represents science in China. The CCP’s science is not to be criticized or questioned, but to be followed. If you criticize the Party, you are criticizing the representative of science. Now suddenly, in the United States, it seems that anyone who challenges the validity of the mRNA vaccines is labeled “anti-science” which has given rise to those that are so extreme in the opposite direction that even among the medical community they are now referred to as “anti-anti-science”.
Science is simply about facts and truth. The interpretation of facts is often debated to reach well-thought-out conclusions. Research findings must go through a peer-review process before being recognized as scientific. According to Joe Wang, PhD: “It seemed that the SARS-CoV-2 origin narrative had been decided upon—even when the existing facts did not support the narrative. The scientists took the existing facts and forced them to fit the preferred narrative, and also forced the general public to accept it, while silencing all other opinions and essentially banning scientific debate on the issue.”[11]
“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.” ~Sherlock Holmes
Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Severity, Deaths among COVID-19 Patients
If there is one thing I know for sure, it is that science is confirming over and over again that normalizing vitamin D levels consistently is associated with significantly better outcomes in COVID-19 patients. A new study has found that vitamin D deficiency is associated with severe cases of COVID-19 as well as mortality. The research has been published in the ‘PLOS ONE Journal’.
Existing literature suggests a potential protective effect of supplemental vitamin D in preventing and treating COVID-19 disease.[12] A published meta-analysis of 43 observational studies analyzing data obtained from 612,601 patients showed that vitamin D deficiency (defined as 25(OH)D of 30 ng/mL (odds ratio [OR], 1.26; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19 to 1.34; p < 0.01). One meta-analysis of three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and two Quasi-experimental analyzing data obtained from 467 patients has raised doubt as to whether low vitamin D is associated with an increased risk of acquiring COVID-19.[13] A more recent placebo-controlled, double-blind RCT tested the effect of calcifediol 25 (OH)D3 treatment in 106 COVID-19 Iranian patients and found that an oral calcifediol treatment resulted in improved immune function with an increased blood lymphocyte percentage and reduced blood neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio compared to the placebo group.[14] An additional retrospective study found that prescription of calcifediol or vitamin D, 15–30 days before hospitalization with COVID-19 infections, was found to improved patient survival in a large retrospective, hospitalized, Andalusian cohort.[15]
In a study, researchers from the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine of Bar-Ilan University in Safed, Israel and the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, Israel showed a correlation between vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19 severity and mortality.
The study is among the first to analyze vitamin D levels prior to infection, which facilitates a more accurate assessment than during hospitalization, when levels may be lower secondary to the viral illness. The findings reported build upon results initially published on MedRxiv. The records of 1,176 patients admitted between April 2020 and February 2021 to the Galilee Medical Center with positive PCR tests were searched for vitamin D levels measured two weeks to two years prior to infection.[16]
So, why is there still no mention what-so-ever about the benefits of vitamin D, or any other natural compounds and therapies that might be helpful? For one, there is no money to be made. Over the course of the pandemic, legislators and other government officials have invested heavily in the stock of vaccine manufacturers, and reaped significant financial gains from these investments.[17] Pharma companies have reciprocally poured millions into the campaign of sympathetic congress members.[18] Pharma companies also send large sums of money to the CDC as well.[19] They send money for lobbying to influence the government purchases of their products and resist efforts to render their drugs more accessible or affordable. All said, lawmakers, government officials and agencies, and pharmaceutical companies have all made vast amounts of cash by working together with one another over the course of the pandemic.[20], Keep in mind that each additional round of shots generates billions for vaccine manufacturers. Pharmaceutical companies have a clear stake in multiple rounds being mandated or encouraged for as many people as possible, in as many places as possible (at as high a price as possible). Dr. Fauci is now proposing a 4th shot.[21] It is hard not to see bias in all of this.
“Faith is much better than belief. Belief is when someone else does the thinking.” ~ Buckminster Fuller
Wisdom and Knowledge
Wisdom and knowledge have quite a bit in common. Both words are primarily used as nouns that are related to learning. The word knowledge is defined first as the “acquaintance with facts, truths or principles, as from study or investigation.Wisdom is defined as “the state of being wise,” which means “having the power of discernment and judging properly as to what is true or right: possessing discernment, judgement, or discretion.” It is older (recorded before the 900s), and joins wise and -dom, a suffix that can convey “general condition,” as in freedom. Wisdom is typically gained from experiences and acquired over time. It flows through the sub conscious and conscious mind.
ETMS (Eclectic Triphasic Medical System) – The Mederi Care Medical Approach to health and healing. Synergistic • Unitive • Personalized • Adaptive
Below is a visual aid I created that highlights the importance of “purity of heart” that allows us to free ourselves from bias and seek Truth:
The great Eclectic School of Medicine had a motto: “To Love the Truth, To Prove the Truth, To Apply the Truth, and To Promote the Truth.”
Finding Truth involves wisdom. Wisdom involves an understanding of the nature, source, and limits of knowledge, together with the degree to which we are able to “teotl” (to understand with the Divine Spirit, taken from the Aztec religion).
“The greatest scientists are artists as well,” said Albert Einstein. For Einstein, insight did not come from logic or mathematics. It came, as it does for artists, from intuition and inspiration. Einstein also said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.“
The Approach of Logical Positivism
Conventional medicine encompasses an inherently restricted set of categories and paradigms for understanding patients and diseases. But given that no single method is suitable for all patients, problems, and situations, this approach is far from optimal.
I propose logical positivism as an alternative to the current dogmatic, narrow view of modern conventional medicine. Logical positivism is spiritual-rationality in the most pristine form. It is considered culturally universal in traditional healing systems, and incorporates traditional wisdom, scientific knowledge, logic, intuition, and prayer, making it applicable to all modalities and situations.
References
[1] Tomás M. León, PhD1; Vajeera Dorabawila, PhD2; Lauren Nelson, MPH1; Emily Lutterloh, MD2,3; Ursula E. Bauer, PhD2; Bryon Backenson, MPH2,3; Mary T. Bassett, MD2; Hannah Henry, MPH1; Brooke Bregman, MPH1; Claire M. Midgley, PhD4; Jennifer F. Myers, MPH1; Ian D. Plumb, MBBS4; Heather E. Reese, PhD4; Rui Zhao, MPH1; Melissa Briggs-Hagen, MD4; Dina Hoefer, PhD2; James P. Watt, MD1; Benjamin J. Silk, PhD4; Seema Jain, MD1; Eli S. Rosenberg, PhD, COVID-19 Cases and Hospitalizations by COVID-19 Vaccination Status and Previous COVID-19 Diagnosis — California and New York, May–November 2021, Weekly / January 28, 2022 / 71(4);125–131, On January 19, 2022, this report was posted online as an MMWR Early Release.
[6] Yu, Y., Esposito, D., Kang, Z. et al. mRNA vaccine-induced antibodies more effective than natural immunity in neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 and its high affinity variants. Sci Rep12, 2628 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-06629-2
[16] Patients with vitamin D deficiency (less than 20 ng/mL) were 14 times more likely to have the severe or critical case of COVID than those with more than 40 ng/mL.[16]
With the passing of Thich Nhat Hanh, the Zen Buddhist monk and peace campaigner who brought mindfulness to the West, the world has lost another mentor. Every time we lose someone who helps us live and act in accordance with our highest good, it is a tremendous loss to the world. Martin Luther King. Nelson Mandela. Bishop Desmond Tutu. Thich Nhat Hanh. Orest Bedrij. Although they are no longer on this earthly plane, their inspiration lives on.
Mentors are very important to me. They inspire me to be better in every way. I celebrate their life, I praise their presence and spirit, and I integrate their teachings into the core of my being, so that I can become what God intended me to be.
With record levels of Covid cases at an all-time high since the onset of the pandemic due to the latest highly transmissible Omicron variant[1] ,people across the globe are increasingly fed up with ineffective methods to control the transmission by lockdowns, mandates and inoculating the planet. As we head into the third year of the virus, it’s time for governing bodies to change the strategy for living in a post-pandemic world.
Recently, a leading Israeli Immunologist, Professor Ehud Qimron, head of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Tel Aviv University declared, in an open letter to the Israel Health Ministry regarding COVID-19 policy [2]: “The truth is that you have burned hundreds of billions of shekels to no avail – for publishing intimidation, for ineffective tests, for destructive lockdowns, and for disrupting the routine of life in the last two years.” He goes on to say: “In the end, the truth will always be revealed, and the truth about the coronavirus policy is beginning to be revealed. When the destructive concepts collapse one by one, there is nothing left but to tell the experts who led the management of the pandemic – we told you so.”
“The glory of God is the communion of all things fully alive” ~ The Irenaeus’s axiom
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., an American Baptist minister, had a gift for capturing the hearts and minds of people with his homily-like discourses. His speeches—considered some of the most iconic of the 20th century— had a profound effect on the national consciousness.
In his book Strength to Love, published in 1963, King wrote: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
As individuals, we all have challenges in life. The question is, how will we respond?
Vaccines No Match for Omicron and a Look at COVID-19 in Africa
We’ve been living with COVID-19 now for more than two years, and questions continue to
arise about the best approach for prevention and treatment. I have never been asked about anything as much as the COVID-19 vaccines and never have I seen so much doubt and confusion among so many people. The emergence of the Omicron variant has made the issue more confusing and raises more questions about the efficacy of vaccines against COVID-19. Interpreting the reality of the effectiveness of these vaccines is complicated, especially when some of the new data is not robust and is often murky. Patients and doctors looking to the CDC for guidance in decision-making receive low-quality or outdated information. All too often, straightforward relative data – such as the benefits of normalizing vitamin D and zinc levels – is ignored. Please see my earlier blogs on Zinc and Vitamin D for more information here “Zinc the Most Important Nutrient for Immunity” and “There’s No Substitute for Sunlight: The Essential Influence of Nature’s Sunshine Vitamin on Health“
