Monoclonal Antibody Pause

With the emergence of the Omicron variant, the federal government has "paused" distribution of Regeneron, since it doesn't work as well against Omicron. But there's still a lot of delta out there (it's 99% of cases here in Indiana) and some places are running out of monoclonal antibodies, and the federal government is actively preventing states from getting them. In the US, call 211 if you're a candidate for monoclonal antibodies (COVID positive, mild to moderate symptoms within ten days of onset, and at high risk for progression of the illness). They might still have some where you live.

If you're ivermectin-curious, now is the time to order some since many hospitals and pharmacists are actively preventing patients from getting it even when it's prescribed. I'm not a medical professional, and I don't know for a fact that it works on COVID. But there's little else available for early treatment, it does have anti-viral properties in the lab and mechanisms that could very possibly neutralize COVID, and it has a long safety record.

Whatever you do, keep minimizing your risk factors: take your vitamin D, maintain normal blood sugar, do your best to lose excess weight. I'm getting on the scale every day. Avoid crowds and get some fresh air. Joining a crowd of people to get a test when you don't have any symptoms doesn't make any sense, nor does running to the emergency room just because you have a positive test. Stay calm and avoid exposure to sick people.

The good news is that the Omicron variant is far milder than delta; some have even called it a live attenuated vaccine. From what I saw on TV news when I was in Cleveland (I don't watch it at home), the vaccine reduced risk of Omicron for ten weeks. Data from South Africa, Denmark and the UK actually look like vaccination makes you more likely to get COVID after that.

Comments

Dana Carpender's Podcast; Dr. Davis on YouTube; Labor Day Sales

Dana Carpender, who's written several recipe books and other works on low-carb, has a podcast and is still writing articles at carbsmart.com. She's a terrific writer and amateur researcher (otherwise known as reading , as Jimmy Dore jokes ). I use her book 500 Low-Carb Recipes all the time and I'm looking forward to hearing more from her. I've embedded her podcast on my blog (click on the three lines at the top right if you don't see it, or go to Spotify or other podcast source if you're getting this by email). Carbsmart.com doesn't seem to have a blog feed, so if you want to see the latest posts there, you can sign up for notifications at their site. Dr. Davis has been putting a lot more videos on YouTube, so I've added his channel to the lineup. Click on the three lines on my blog if you don't see it, or go to his channel here . * * * * * Primal Kitchen is having a Labor Day sale-- 20% off everything. They sell high quality collagen powder, con...

Fermented bread and butter pickle recipe ft. L. Plantarum

After Dr. Davis said the other night that L. plantarum may reduce some of the effects of the herbicide glyphosate (which is everywhere), I'm re-running my recipe for fermented bread and butter pickles. Pickling cucumbers naturally have L. plantarum bacteria on them, and fermenting them with some brown sugar multiplies these bacteria. (Just don't use chlorinated water to wash them.) And if you're growing your own cucumbers, avoid spraying the fruits with Bacillus thuringiensis , or Bt (leaves and vines are OK). It's unclear what effect a big dose of Bt would have on humans. Another benefit of DIY pickles: no emulsifiers like polysorbate 80, which is a common ingredient in pickles. If you have GI problems, it could be from emulsifiers. These sweet-and-sour pickles are the tastiest I've ever made. There's just a little added sugar (some of which the bacteria will consume) and turmeric that gives the pickles their bright color. Special equipment Quar...

Blog Lineup Change

Bye-bye, Fathead. I've enjoyed the blog, but can't endorse the high-fat, high-carb Perfect Health Diet that somehow makes so much sense to some otherwise bright people. An astrophysicist makes some rookie mistakes on a LC diet, misdiagnoses them, makes up "glucose deficiency," and creates a diet that's been shown in intervention studies to increase small LDL, which can lead to heart disease. A computer programmer believes in the diet and doesn't seem eager to refute it because, perhaps, scientists are freakin' liars and while he's good at spotting logical inconsistencies, lacks some intermediate knowledge of human biology. To Tom's credit, he says it's not the right diet for everyone, but given the truckload of food that has to be prepared and eaten, impracticality of following it while traveling (or even not traveling), and unsuitability for FODMAPs sufferers, diabetics and anyone prone to heart disease (i.e., much of the population), I'm...

Pain, Pain, Go Away!

Search This Blog