6 Natural Remedies for COVID-19 Prevention: An Evidence Review 2022

Do diet, supplements and exercise help with COVID-19? Any evidence? To understand the answers, please continue reading. We have covered and done a review on supplements for COVID-19 treatment. In this article, we will cover and do a review on supplements for COVID-19 'prevention' instead.

The important key takeaway is that you should never attempt to self medicate without the guidance of a licensed medical provider. If you are not a medical doctor, you are likely to find the information below overwhelming. The aim of this article is to empower you with a better understanding of the options available and to discuss the options with your medical doctor as an informed patient.

Please check this page regularly for updates – new natural alternatives may be added and/or dose changes to existing alternatives may be made as further scientific studies emerge.

1. Quercetin

Quercetin is a pigment that is found in plants, vegetables, and fruits, and serves as an immune nutrient offering many health benefits. Elderberry, red onions, white onions and cranberries are the richest sources of quercetin. It is a flavonoid and antioxidant that may help to reduce inflammatory cytokines, infections, allergies and anti-blood clot property. Research has found that quercetin may be particularly beneficial for viral respiratory infections.

As of April 2022, there have been 8 published studies (7 RCTs) of quercetin and COVID-19 (c19quercetin.com).

As listed above, there are 3 studies on prevention showing an overall improvement of 93%. Quercetin is also no. 1 in this prevention studies league table:

Quercetin Dosage

The FLCCC I-MASK+ protocol recommends 250 mg daily for prevention and 250 mg twice daily for early treatment.

Quercetin works best when taken with vitamin C and Bromelain, as vitamin C helps activate it and bromelain helps with the absorption (R).

Precaution: Quercetin should be used with caution in patients with hypothyroidism (low thyroid hormone) and relevant thyroid hormone levels should be monitored.

2. Diet

As of April 2022, there are 6 published studies on diet for COVID-19. This is an interesting development as diet related studies were not featured on the C19early.com's home-page previously.

What kind of diet are these studies referring to? 

• The Perez-Araluce study refers to a Mediterranean diet.
• The Vietnamese Nguyen study refers to a 'healthy diet' that is defined by a higher intake frequency of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, dairy and fish.
• The Iranian Moludi study refers to a 'high inflammatory' diet as a risk factor to a more severe COVID-19.
• The Merino study of more than 500,000 participants in UK and USA showed lower risk or COVID-19 cases and severity for higher healthful plant-based diet scores.
• The Kim study in 6 countries also showed plant-based diets were associated with lower odds of moderate-to-severe COVID-19.

3. Nigella Sativa (Black Seed Oil) 

Nigella sativa (N. sativa) is a small flowering plant that grows in Southwest Asia, the Middle East, and Southern Europe (Source). This shrub produces fruit with tiny black seeds. Commonly referred to as black seed, N. sativa seeds go by many other names, such as black cumin, black caraway, nigella, fennel flower, and Roman coriander (Source).

Black seed oil is extracted from N. sativa seeds and has been used in traditional medicine for over 2,000 years due to its many therapeutic benefits.

Thymoquinone which is the active ingredient in N. sativa seeds has demonstrated effects in significantly reducing the cytokine storm chances and consequent mortalities (Source).

Summary results of 6 published clinical studies are available on this dedicated webpage: c19ns.com. The 2 prevention studies provide evidence that Nigella Sativa was associated with an average improvement of 46% in decreasing the likelihood of symptomatic and severe cases.

4. Melatonin

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain, mainly during the night, that helps regulate circadian rhythms [Source]. Its levels decrease with aging. Most melatonin supplementation studies have evaluated its ability to control sleep and wake cycles, promote sleep, and reduce jet lag.

The potential utility of melatonin in treating COVID patients has not gone unnoticed, with a PubMed search combining melatonin and COVID producing more than 50 citations.

Check out the evidence tracker on melatonin and COVID-19 from c19melatonin.com (constantly updated).

As of April 2022, there are more than 10 published clinical studies of melatonin for treatment and prevention in COVID-19 and the results are promising even when it's given as a late treatment.

The 3 prevention studies provide evidence that melatonin was associated with an average improvement of 38% in decreasing the likelihood of symptomatic and severe cases.

Safety: If you take a melatonin supplement, be careful: Too much can cause daytime sleepiness. There is no federal RDA nor any formal advice on supplement dose ranges. Based on an on-going Spanish study, a 2 mg daily dose protocol is being investigated for prevention of COVID-19. Do take note that the dosage for 'prevention' and 'treatment' is different, For prevention or maintenance, a lower dosage is normally recommended whereas a 'treatment' or 'therapeutic' dosage is normally higher.

Typical doses of 1–10 mg/day melatonin appear to be safe for short-term use (Source). Reported side effects, which are usually minor, include dizziness, headache, nausea, upset stomach, rash, and sleepiness. However, some reports have linked high blood levels of melatonin with delayed puberty and hypogonadism.

Studies have not evaluated melatonin supplementation during pregnancy and breastfeeding, but some research suggests that these supplements might inhibit ovarian function (Source). Therefore, some experts recommend that women who are pregnant or breastfeeding avoid taking melatonin.

5. Vitamin A

Summary results of 10 vitamin A and COVID-19 studies are available on this dedicated webpage: c19early.com/va. 

The 3 prevention studies provide evidence that vitamin A was associated with an average improvement of 49% in decreasing the likelihood of hospitalization and severe cases.

6. Exercise

Reference links on Exercise and COVID-19 studies are available on this dedicated webpage: c19early.com/ex.

A meta-analysis of the 26 studies shows statistically significant improvements for mortality, ventilation, ICU admission, hospitalization, and cases. 21 studies from 21 independent teams in 11 different countries show statistically significant improvements in isolation.

Summary

The combination of quercetin, vitamin A, black seed oil, melatonin, healthy diet and exercise offer a reasonable potential with a valuable degree of safety to reduce the risk associated with COVID-19.

Please also follow other precautions and measures (as advised by your local health authorities and doctors) in order to minimize your risk.

Disclaimer: Supplements do not replace vaccines and other measures as recommended by your local authorities. All practical, effective and safe means should be used.