Ebola: a Scurvy-Like Illness?

October 22, 2014

This past weekend, I travelled to Indiana to give a lecture. During my driving time, I was thinking about the Ebola problem. Ebola eventually kills by causing massive bleeding. Patients suffering with Ebola may bleed out of every orifice as well as from the nipples.

To cure Ebola, the media has been reporting that there is a race to bring a vaccine to market. However, a vaccine probably won’t help those already infected with Ebola. Other pharmaceutical companies are researching anti-viral drugs that will kill Ebola.

[amazon asin=B000CD9XGC&template=*lrc ad (left)]At present there is no Big Pharma treatment for Ebola. The CDC recognizes this fact. The CDC states, “Recovery from Ebola depends on good supportive clinical care and the patient’s immune response (my emphasis). People who recover from Ebola infection develop antibodies that last for at least 10 years.”

In this case, I agree with the CDC. What we should focus on is supporting the immune system so that it has a chance to fight back against viruses–like Ebola–and other foreign invaders. How is that accomplished? Supplying the immune system with the nutrients it needs is[amazon asin=B0013OUMVO&template=*lrc ad (right)] the best way to ensure that it can fight off foreign invaders.

Let’s go back to the first paragraph in this post–Ebola kills, in part, by causing massive bleeding. Not everyone bleeds with Ebola, but it does occur late in the course of the illness.

Scurvy is a condition of severe vitamin C deficiency. Symptoms of scurvy include diarrhea, fever paralysis and bleeding. All of these symptoms occur in an Ebola infection. Perhaps the Ebola infection is causing a scurvy-like syndrome as the body’s store of vitamin C is used up fighting the infection. Remember, we cannot manufacture vitamin C–we must ingest it from our diet. Acute scurvy-like illnesses have been described in other infectious cases.

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$bio: David Brownstein, M.D. is a Board-Certified family physician and is one of the foremost practitioners of holistic medicine. He is the Medical Director of the Center for Holistic Medicine in West Bloomfield, MI. Dr. Brownstein has lectured internationally to physicians and others about his success in using natural hormones and nutritional therapies in his practice.

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David Brownstein, M.D. is a Board-Certified family physician and is one of the foremost practitioners of holistic medicine. He is the Medical Director of the Center for Holistic Medicine in West Bloomfield, MI. Dr. Brownstein has lectured internationally to physicians and others about his success in using natural hormones and nutritional therapies in his practice.

Previous article by Dr. David Brownstein: Don’t Worry About the Iodoral Shortage

Ebola: A Scurvy-Like Illness?

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