THE POST- COVID ERA
The legacy of Covid is one of the most important health challenges we currently have to face. Back in 2020, there was an acute form of Covid producing unpleasant symptoms. In 2024, there is a chronic form of Covid with over 200 linked symptoms. Medical statistics suggest that a third of the population who were infected by Covid are still affected by it and are not coping well. That is a huge number.
Retroviruses
Covid is a retrovirus. This is a big clue to why Covid has affected so many people. What are retroviruses and how are they different from other viruses? The viruses that we are more familiar with, such as the herpes family and others, are known as DNA viruses because they work their way from DNA to RNA to make viral proteins. In contrast, retroviruses work their way backwards from RNA to DNA and then forward again. Prior to Covid, HIV was the best known retrovirus.
Proteins are the building blocks of the body. They are needed for the functioning of all body systems - the central nervous system (CNS), gastro-intestinal system, musculoskeletal system etc. To know which proteins to make and how to use them, the body uses an instruction manual called DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). But it can’t work without its partner RNA (ribonucleic acid).
Like a Trojan horse, when a retrovirus enters a cell, it uses an enzyme (chemical catalyst) to force the cell to create viral DNA. This enzyme is called ‘reverse transcriptase.” As the viral DNA integrates with the host cell DNA, a mother may pass on a retrovirus to her child in the womb.
Where do retroviruses come from?
How do we acquire retroviruses? We can become infected with retroviruses by inhalation, physical contact, insect bites, blood based products. Additionally, around 6% of our own DNA is retroviral DNA passed down by the evolutionary process of survival in a microbial and viral-rich environment. These are known as Human Endogenous Retroviruses (HERVs). Some HERVs act in our favour but others don’t. Retroviruses already embedded in our DNA can be activated by viral infections or by chronic inflammation. For example, if we acquire one of the herpes viruses like Epstein Barr, these can activate
HERVs which are implicated in diseases like Multiple Sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, autism, other neurological diseases, autoimmune disease and cancer. Increasingly damaging environmental factors like wifi radiation, toxic inhalants and pesticides have crippled many of the proteins that protect us against retroviral activation.
Instead of ‘hit and run’ infections like the old-fashioned flu, which came for a few days and left, research points towards Covid as being a ‘hit and stay’ virus like Epstein Barr and shingles (a reactivation of the chicken pox virus). Symptoms of infections are caused by the immune system’s response to infection. In a healthy body, where the immune system is doing its job, ‘hit and stay’ viruses stay below the level of detection i.e. in a sleeping state, not causing a problem for the host. In a body where the immune system has become overloaded with too many things such as dental infections, heavy metals, poor sleep, poor food choices, wifi tradition and chronic stress, numbers of immune cells like Natural Killer cells can become depleted. Retroviruses can then activate and keep other infections going. A complicating factor is that retroviruses suppress the immune system.
Lab tests
What lab tests hold the clues to retroviral activation?
Low white blood cell count
Low CD56 Natural Killer cells
Low Interferon gamma
Low Interleukin-13
Low Interleukin-2
Increased numbers of Th-2 pro-inflammatory cytokines (immune messengers)
RANTES
Elevated TGF beta (makes the immune system too tolerant through the stimulation of mast cells)
We all carry a viral/bacterial load in our bodies. However, in the post-Covid era, there has been a substantial increase in the documented reactivation of previously dormant infections. These include EBV, Coxsackievirus, strep, Cytomegalovirus, Lyme and co-infections, parasitic and mould infections. Addressing retroviruses alongside chronic infections has been a game changer in the treatment of Lyme disease and co-infections. As Covid is a retrovirus, it seems logical that the same plant-based anti-retroviral tools may be of benefit in helping to silence the effects of Long Covid.
If your health has worsened in the last few years and you would like to do something about it, please get in touch with the Good Health Clinic on goodhealthclinic@outlook.com to request a free 30 minute Enquiry Call or book an appointment.
Please note that an Enquiry Call is not a consultation but an exploratory call to see if this a clinical approach you wish to pursue.
To your very good health,
Suzanne Jeffery (Nutritional Medicine Consultant)
M.A.(Oxon), BSc.(NMed), PGCE, MNNA, CNHC
The Good Health Clinic at The Business Centre, 2, Cattedown Road, Plymouth PL4 0EG
Tel no: 07836 552936/ Answer phone: 01752 774755
Disclaimer:
All advice given out by Suzanne Jeffery and the Good Health Clinic is for general guidance and informational purposes only. All advice relating to other health professionals’ advice is for general guidance and information purposes only. Readers are encouraged to confirm the information provided with other sources. Patients and consumers should review the information carefully with their professional health care provider. The information is not intended to replace medical advice offered by other practitioners and physicians. Suzanne Jeffery and the Good Health Clinic will not be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, exemplary or other damages arising therefrom.