Spirulina vs. Thalidomide: COVID treatments studied
By Sari Huhtala
While a team of scientists from Iceland and Israel have proven natural spirulina is effective in reducing the chance of those with COVID-19 developing serious symptoms, scientists elsewhere are researching the use of Thalidomide, the “nightmare drug,” for the same purpose.
The researchers, in two separate studies, have proven both are effective at inhibiting the release of cytokine TNF-a, which plays a role in the cytokine storm that causes some COVID-19 patients to develop serious symptoms like respiratory distress and pneumonia. Cytokines are proteins within cells that help to regulate inflammatory and immune responses in the body. If the immune system responds too aggressively to fight an infection it may lead to a cytokine storm, which can cause symptoms ranging from fever to respiratory distress and death.
Well over a decade ago NASA began using spirulina, a microalgae supplement found in health food stores, as a dietary supplement for astronauts on mission due to its nutritional profile. Spirulina is backed by years of scientific evidence for its applications in maintaining health, and lack of any side affects or toxicity, according to a 2010 report published in the journal Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
“It is well understood that deficiency of nutrients is responsible for changes in immunity, which manifests as changes in production of T-cells, secretory IgA antibody response, cytokines and NK-cell activity according to the 2010 report in Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Studies show that “Spirulina may modulate the immune system by its role in covering nutritional deficiencies.”
Scientists in Israel and Iceland have proven spirulina, the blue-green alga superfood, is 70 per cent effective in halting the release of cytokine TNF-a, which plays a role in the cytokine storm, according to a study published in the journal Marine Biotechnology.
Meanwhile, a 2021 study in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology shows thalidomide, despite the potential severe side effects, may be an effective treatment in reducing the cytokine storm.
According to the National Institute of Health’s toxicity report for Thalidomide:
“Thalidomide is a known human teratogen. The severe malformation induced by thalidomide may involve defects of the limbs, axial skeleton, head and face, eyes, ears, tongue, teeth, central nervous, respiratory, cardiovascular, and genitourinary systems, and the gastrointestinal tract. The neurological complications may include severe mental retardation secondary to sensory deprivation. Thus, thalidomide is contraindicated during pregnancy. Thalidomide is also known to cause nerve damage that may be permanent. Peripheral neuropathy is a common (> or =10%) and potentially severe adverse reaction of treatment with thalidomide that may be irreversible. “ https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/thalidomide#section=Toxicity
Baby boomers will remember the one-hit wonder drug of the 1960s, prescribed to pregnant women for morning sickness and sleep issues, that caused hundreds of thousands of birth defects, limbless babies and deaths before they stopped prescribing it to expectant moms. The pharmaceutical industry revived it years ago for “off-label,” or unapproved use, for other conditions. The drug has since been repurposed to treat multiple myeloma, Crohn’s, lupus and numerous skin issues, and was studied as an anti-inflammatory agent to calm the cytokine storm in SARS-coV-2 infected lungs, according the article in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.
Thalidomide was first developed by the Nazis, in Hitler’s laboratories, under their chemical weapons programme, according to Dr. Martin Johnson, the Director of the UK Thalidomide Trust.
Whether or not thalidomide will top the list of prescribed COVID treatments remains to be seen. The likelihood of spirulina making it on the COVID protocol treatment list is low, considering the fact doctors in Canada and the U.S. have been banned from prescribing Ivermectin as an “off-label” treatment for COVID. Ivermectin has a track record of as a proven effective treatment and preventative of COVID, and countries around the globe are using it effectively.
In fact, Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state, was the first state to use Ivermectin as an alternative to vaccinations. By mid-September 2021 only 5.8 per cent of the state’s population of 200 million had been vaccinated, yet the state was nearly COVID-free.
In other parts of India, such as Kerala, a tiny state in southern India where vaccine rates are very high, COVID cases remain high.
As a comparison, on August 25, 2021 there were only 345 active cases of COVID in Uttar Pradesh, and 170,000 active cases in Kerala, which has a population of only 35 million.
The medical study – COVID-19: The Ivermectin African Enigma – published in December 2020, showed that countries that use Ivermectin to control onchocerciasis (parasites), such as Africa, actually have “significantly lower” COVID incidence and death rates.
Sari Huhtala is the publisher and editor of Alive and Fit Magazine. She has over 25 years experience in journalism, and is a mother of 3 adult children. She has spent over 20 years navigating a healthy path for her family, one health hack at a time, as a single mom feeding her kids healthy on a shoestring budget. She has over 15 years experience as a certified fitness specialist and personal trainer and 10 years experience as a reiki practitioner.
