NY Times reports that doctor groups are recommending testing and isolation for people who feel their ability to smell and taste is reduced, even if they have no other symptoms.
They report that an infected mother said she couldn’t smell her baby’s full diaper and cooks say they can’t smell curry or garlic and that the food tastes bland.
Anosmia, the loss of sense of smell, and ageusia, an accompanying diminished sense of taste, have emerged as peculiar telltale signs of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and possible markers of infection.
The NY Times says that British ear, nose, and throat doctors called on people who lose their senses of smell to isolate themselves even if they have no other symptoms in order to slow the disease’s spread.
We really want to raise awareness that this is a sign of infection and that anyone who develops loss of sense of smell should self-isolate. It could contribute to slowing transmission and save lives.
Prof. Claire Hopkins, president of the British Rhinological Society
Measures Taken to Decriminalize Psychedelics in Washington D.C
Earlier this year advances were taken in the early steps to decriminalize many psychedelics in Washington D.C. The Ballot initiative was given initial approval by the Board of Elections, and will now have to get the approval of their title and summary statement. If the ballot initiative goes through, psychedelics will be of the lowest priority in local law enforcement. The measure does not remove any penalties. Decriminalize Nature D.C is the organization behind this ballot initiative and had many advocates speak in favor of decriminalization at its original hearing.
Decriminalization can only bring safety and knowledge around the therapeutic use of substances that are already widely available, It will allow therapist to speak candidly to clients, researchers and students to pursue areas of study without fear of retribution, and an overall more educated society.”
Last year Denver, Colorado became the first city to decriminalize psychedelics and several more cities have followed suit. Many people have advocated the legalization of psilocybin mushrooms because of their therapeutic purposes.
Earlier this week Elon Musk purchased 1255 FDA approved ventilators from Chinese manufactures. Tesla is currently in the process of getting them distributed and installed, in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic. Tesla has also supplied 500,000 masks for health care workers. This occurred after Musk tweeted out that Tesla would manufacture ventilators if there was a shortage.
We expect to have over ~1,200 [ventilators] to distribute this week. Getting them delivered, installed & operating is the harder part.
Musk had previously been dismissive over the outbreak of the virus tweeting out “The Coronavirus panic is dumb” later clarifying that he believes the panic to be more dangerous than the virus itself. He later reported that Tesla is working on ventilators although it is not clear how long it will take to manufacture these ventilators, it could be months.
Other American companies such as Ford and General Motors have pledged to manufacture medical supplies at this time, however, they are still in the early stages of planning and have not actually begun manufacturing supplies yet.
This is such a critical time for America and the world. It is a time for action and cooperation. By coming together across multiple industries, we can make a real difference for people in need and for those on the front lines of this crisis. At Ford, we feel a deep obligation to step up and contribute in times of need, just as we always have through the 117-year history of our company.”
Despite steps being taken by the companies, the president has not ordered these companies to manufacture medical supplies through the Defense Production Act, which was invoked on Wednesday, and the decision to manufacture medical supplies is up to the discretion of each company.
DOJ Wants to Suspend Certain Constitutional Rights Because of Coronavirus
Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) wants chief judges to be able to hold people and suspend other constitutionally-protected rights indefinitely without trial during pandemics like coronavirus and other national emergencies, according to a report by Politico’s Betsy Woodruff Swan.
POLITICO reviewed documents that show the DOJ quietly asked Congress to draft legislation.
The move has tapped into a broader fear among civil liberties advocates and Donald Trump’s critics — that the president will use a moment of crisis to push for controversial policy changes. Already, he has cited the pandemic as a reason for heightening border restrictions and restricting asylum claims. He has also pushed for further tax cuts as the economy withers, arguing it would soften the financial blow to Americans. And even without policy changes, Trump has vast emergency powers that he could deploy right now to try to slow the coronavirus outbreak.
The DOJ requests — which are unlikely to make it through a Democratic-led House — span several stages of the legal process, from initial arrest to how cases are processed and investigated.
The DOJ has requested Congress allow any chief judge of a district court to pause court proceedings “whenever the district court is fully or partially closed by virtue of any natural disaster, civil disobedience, or other emergency situation,” according to draft language obtained by Politico. This would be applicable to “any statutes or rules of procedure otherwise affecting pre-arrest, post-arrest, pre-trial, trial, and post-trial procedures in criminal and juvenile proceedings and all civil processes and proceedings.” They justify this by saying currently judges can pause judicial proceedings in an emergency but that new legislation would allow them to apply it “in a consistent manner.”
Dogs May Test Positive For Coronavirus – No Evidence They Can Transmit to Humans
A second dog tested positive for coronavirus in China. Dogs have not shown symptoms of the disease. The Hong Kong government is urging people to stop kissing their pets and also to not abandon them either.
Update: PLEASE DO NOT GIVE AWAY YOUR DOG BECAUSE OF THIS ARTICLE! That is not the intentional suggestion of this article. The best advice one can probably get from this article is that you may not want to be overly affectionate with other people’s dogs right now if you are immunocompromised or you stay with someone who is. But, it’s very important to note that there is no indication the dog can transmit the virus to humans.
In February an elderly 17-year-old Pomeranian tested “weak positive” for the virus. The dog was quarantined until deemed to be free of coronavirus, then the owner took the dog home. The dog died two days later. It is extremely unlikely that the dog died from the virus but we’re told the dog’s owner wasn’t willing to allow an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
Last week a German shepherd in Hong Kong was sent for quarantine after their owner was confirmed as being infected. The dog “repeatedly tested positive” for the COVID-19 virus.
The Hong Kong animal-welfare authority stressed that there is currently no evidence that pets can be a source of the virus or that they can get sick from it. “Under no circumstances should [owners] abandon their pets,” it said.
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) said that infectious disease experts and multiple international and domestic human and animal health organizations, all agree there is no evidence at this point to indicate that pets become ill with Covid-19 or that they spread it to other animals, including people.
Does Elderberry Increase Risk Of Death With CoVID-19?
There are a few articles circulating around the natural-health blogosphere that warn of potential increased risk when consuming Elderberry to avoid or lessen the severity of the coronavirus.
…elderberry also enhances cytokine response, which may not be so good when one of the complications of pandemic influenza is cytokine storm.
But a 2016 study showed Elderberry can inhibit cytokines in people who have a health issue where cytokines were not helpful to the overall situation.
A natural preparation “Inflaminat” based on black elder berries (Sambucus nigra L.), violet tricolor herb (Viola tricolor L.) and calendula flowers (Calendula officinalis L.) possessing anti-cytokine activity was developed using the designed algorithm.
Furthermore, cytokine storms are a consequence of severe infections. A cytokine storm will happen when someone is severely ill with any influenza or any Coronavirus. At this point, when someone is dealing with a cytokine storm, the person should be hooked up to a ventilator.
Conclusion – Is Elderberry Safe with Coronavirus?
Elderberry, as a preventative tonic, without any added sugars, is perfectly safe to consume if someone is trying to avoid or lessen the severity of a virus, including coronavirus. Elderberry seems to suppress viruses and may reduce inflammation. Also, check out other supplements to defend against coronavirus.
Is going vegan the best thing for the environment?
Animal agriculture is the second-largest contributor to anthropogenic greenhouse gases, making up 42% of all emissions after fossil fuels. More people than ever before are cutting back on their meat and dairy consumption, advocating for things like “Meatless Monday” and “Veganuary”, while vegan and vegetarian diets are becoming more and more popular.
This begs the question, what would happen if the entire world went vegan? What does that mean not only for the environment but for our health?
The Case For Going Vegan
On average, producing a pound of beef requires upwards of 1,800 gallons of water. Similarly, a gallon of milk requires 2000 gallons of water to produce. However, only around 900 gallons of water are used during the production process for a gallon of almond milk. Studies show that anywhere from 40-50% of the water used in the United States is used for animal agriculture. A vegan diet, on average, requires 300 gallons of water a day compared to a meat-eating diet requiring 4,000 gallons of water a day. In addition to the massive amounts of water, studies show than anywhere between 30 and 50% of Earth’s habitable land is used for animal agriculture (this includes crops grown to feed livestock). Research shows that if everyone went vegan we could reduce global farmland by as much as 75%, and on an individual level, going vegan could reduce your carbon footprint by 73%.
There are several problems with the animal agriculture industry. Animals are commonly packed together in tight spaces without room to move around. Due to their close living quarters, animals are sick or prone to sickness and are often preemptively pumped full of antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance is an epidemic in our country currently with 80% of all our antibiotics being given to animals. CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operations) Animals are usually injected with animal growth hormones and fed diets designed to increase their size, so they produce as much meat as possible. For years “cage-free” or “free-range” products have been marketed as a better, more humane alternative but in reality, these terms have little to no regulation and oftentimes these animals are still stored in inhumane environments.
Problems With Going Vegan
Many popular vegan foods are not as healthy as advertised. Take the “Impossible burger” for example. The Impossible Burger is a processed “veggie burger” well known for its’s meat-like texture, however, the burger is made with GMO’s and has tested positive for Glyphosate, “…levels of glyphosate were 11x that of the Beyond Meat burger.”
Being vegan doesn’t necessarily mean you’re eating healthily. You can chow down on junk food – and miss out on vital nutrients – whether you eat meat or not. For example, vegan diets are naturally low in calcium, vitamin D, iron, vitamin B12, zinc and omega-3 fatty acids.
It’s a common misconception that going vegan is healthier than eating meat; there are lots of “junk food vegans.” But a vegan who eats processed foods daily would benefit from switching to a diet of unprocessed foods with locally sourced grass-fed organic beef.
Some studies indicate that we could improve the environment by going vegan, but that human health would suffer. Vegans are often nutrient deficient in B12’s, Iron, Omega-3’s a and other nutrients found in meat and dairy products.
Fair Trade Issues
You may be surprised to know that many of your favorite vegan foods are leaving behind a larger negative impact than originally thought. Foods such as cashews, avocados, bananas, and chocolate have many fair trade issues associated with them. Additionally, many popular vegan foods leave behind a significant carbon footprint during manufacturing and transit. In fact, in some cases, foods shipped across the world leaves behind a larger carbon footprint than buying meat locally and sustainably.
Avocado imports have doubled over the last decade, with more than 2.2 billion pounds of avocados imported in 2018. The U.S gets 87% of avocado imports from Mexico, however many of the people in Mexico can’t afford to buy avocados because of the high demand in the U.S. Producing one pound of avocados uses 72 gallons of water. Over 20,000 hectares of land are converted into avocado farmland each year, including land which is designated for the Monarch Butterfly biosphere reserve. In addition to all the environmental impacts, criminal gangs have taken to stealing avocados and taking over farms when things slow down in the drug trafficking business.
Cashews are one of the most popular nuts in America and are popular amongst vegans due to their texture, flavor, and protein content. Cashews are commonly made into vegan cheese and other similar vegan dairy alternatives. India produces 60% of the Cashews the world consumes, however in India they are considered a luxury, so much so that workers are often checked to make sure they are not smuggling cashews outside of factories. Factory workers often suffer back and joint pain and have a difficult time-saving money due to low wages and were only recently allowed restroom breaks while working. Additionally, during the deshelling process workers suffer chemical burns to the skin and often are not provided with proper supplies to protect their skin and often times cannot afford to buy supplies themselves.
The Case For Omnivores Eating
Instead of getting rid of meat altogether, studies show that alternative practices such as regenerative agriculture may actually be the key to fixing the problem. The goal of regenerative agriculture is achieving a carbon negative footprint, through carbon sequestration by a variety of different methods such as no-tilling, or minimum tillage, cover crops, crop rotation, composting, and providing their pasture-raised animals with healthy and diverse diets. In some studies, regenerative agriculture is shown to leave less of a carbon footprint than meatless alternatives such as the impossible burger.
Regenerative Agriculture is a system of farming principles and practices that increases biodiversity, enriches soils, improves watersheds, and enhances ecosystem services.
Studies show that cows can help with carbon sequestration through proper grazing. Plants absorb CO2, and then CO2 is pushed through the roots into the ground and stored there. When animals (mainly cows) are able to graze on the land enough to promote healthy plant growth but not so much that they kill the plants, more carbon is sequestered through the earth thus making cattle that are raised in regenerative agriculture settings, carbon-neutral and in some cases carbon negative.
Look for meat that is “Pastured” or “pasture-raised”, this is meat that has been raised in a pasture, and best emulates natural behaviors. Pasture-raised animals can also help contribute to healthy soil, through animal waste and regenerative agriculture. When buying meat look for antibiotic-free meat labeled Organic, or raised without antibiotics. These are the only labels promising antibiotic-free meat. Shop for beef that is grass-fed and avoid beef that is grass-fed grain-finished. Grain finished beef is beef that is fed a lot of grain in a short amount of time to fatten them up. Animals that are fed proper diets are better for your health. Buy meat that is sourced locally from smaller-scale farms. You’ll find that the animals are generally treated better promoting natural habits and behaviors in the animals, your carbon footprint will be lessened, and you’ll have the opportunity to support small and local businesses.
Just like in humans, grain-fed animals have an extremely high amount of inflammation. This inflammation leads to a high amount of inflammatory omega-6 fats in the tissues of the animals, and these fats are transferred to us when we eat them. When animals eat the things they are supposed to, like grass, clovers, shrubs, and other colorful things, (how many colorful grains can you think of?) they end up with a much higher level and density of nutrients.
Can going vegan help reduce your carbon footprint? The simple answer is, yes, it can. To do it right, eat unprocessed whole foods, and reap the biggest benefit both for your health and for the climate. On a global scale, many studies show that the best thing we can do right now is to grow our own food if possible, shop for local food, radically reduce meat intake, and eat sustainable meat.