Food Bank Show – Next episode

107 Replies

16th May 2020

I am doing my last Food Bank Show on Sunday 17th May, (tomorrow). Unless, the lockdown tightens up again – so who knows for sure.

I am hoping to talk about what I have learned about COVID.  A tricky task as information floods in from all sides. What may work to protect people, what definitely doesn’t. Why the official responses are so slow. Anosmia (for example) is a very clear sign of infection with COVID, and is such an unusual sign that it can virtually be used to diagnose the disease. Yet, in the UK, the authorities are still refusing to add it to their ‘official’ signs and symptoms of COVID infection. They are so slow, and so conservative, that the entire pandemic may well be finished, and written about in history books, before they dare move from their laboriously constructed models. Ventilate very ill people. It turns out that ventilation may have made many people far worse. What drugs work? Let’s go back to the very same, very useless, antivirals and promote their use. Even if the trials have been equivocal at best, and completely useless, or damaging at worst. What about vitamins. The medical profession dismisses and decries vitamins as the work of the devil. The very idea that vitamin D and vitamin C may be beneficial…. This is utter nonsense. What about zinc, or magnesium… Again, dismissed.

They say of army generals that when a new war starts, they always fall back on the tactics of the last war fought. In a pandemic the experts fall back on the things they learned in the past. Our ‘experts’ are, essentially, a significant barrier to getting anything done. Especially looking at anything new, or different, that might work.

Experts getting in the way of new ideas was something noted many years ago by Professor David Sackett (one of the main founders of Evidence Based Medicine). As he wrote in 2000 in the BMJ in the article.

‘The sins of expertness and a proposal for redemption.’ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1118019/

‘But there are still far more experts around than is healthy for the advancement of science. Because their voluntary retirement does not seem to be any more frequent in 2000 than it was in 1980, I repeat my proposal that the retirement of experts be made compulsory at the point of their academic promotion and tenure.’

I have nothing against knowledge and expertise, but the COVID pandemic has highlighted a significant issue. Namely that experts, are experts from the past, and about the past. When confronted with something new, they drag us back into what they know. A cavalry charge in a world armed with machine-guns. An outflanking manoeuvre when the enemy has spotter planes and bombers. Social isolation when we have no real idea how this virus spreads. Anyway, I hope it will be interesting.

Here is the link to the show

107 thoughts on “Food Bank Show – Next episode”

    1. David McAlonan

      Linda, Thanks for the link to access Dr Wittkowski’s views. I watched his original video a while back and agreed with everything he said then. Now, he’s right on point again and doesn’t shirk or obfuscate. I noticed that his original video was posted on a FB group that I am in…all the comments about it completely refused to acknowledge that he could be making sense and of course there was the usual lambasting and branding of fake news. It’s pretty typical of that pathetic human failing whereby we don’t like admitting to making mistakes. The higher up the food chain though, the more unlikely that there will be admission of error. Imagine putting saving of face above saving of livelihoods? No sane human being could consider it, but it does lead us to a tie-in with one of Dr K’s observations regarding experts and the BMJ article he linked us to. Our government vowed to follow the science….supplied, amongst others by the eminent professor Ferguson. His previous form is well known, but in his role as an expert, he is somehow treated with a misguided reverence. Many genuinely, non-conflicted medical professionals have dismissed his findings and provided more accurate data whilst accepting changes as the crisis progressed, AND admitted their sometimes mis-read hypotheses along the way. It’s truly terrifying that we can end up in our current situation by virtue of there being a few experts in the right place at the right time. You could substitute ‘right’ for ‘wrong’ and it would still make perverse sense. I think blame-culture is too destructive but imagine if our PM fired 4 or 5 very insidious people in his team and just went live proclaiming his actions, admitted he’d totally got it wrong, apologised unconditionally, and announced full resumption of normal life. A touch far-fetched maybe, but you only have to read through Dr Wittkowski’s rationale ONCE, to fully understand where the truth and the sense is. Rant over, BP probably about 160/90. .

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    4. Mike

      Hi Dr Kendrick, I have been following your the LCHF diet for a month now, mainly because at 69 I feel I should be upping my already moderately healthy lifestyle up a few notches to gain some distance regarding the man with the scythe slowly catching up with me.

      Agreeing with just about everything you say, also the downside of knowing your CAC number because it could cause an attitude of doom and woe if that number happens to be on the high end of the spectrum.

      Have been enjoying butter, cheese etcetera after considering the very persuasive viewpoints of the pro satfat community.

      Recently dr Joel Kahn has put out an interview where he triumphantly declares that the Andel Keyes e.a. way of thinking has been right from the start.

      His ‘gotcha’ moment is derived from this study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32428300/?fbclid=IwAR34wXQWClyNixCqIN1nn6ib-9uXL9J8mJZRdJgvMZv69R6kiDyhquV826k and even though I can read English (as a Dutchman) I am not sure anymore if that wonderful slice of cheese I have started to enjoy after abstaining for many years is in fact going straight from my stomach to my arteries and starts doing what these unhealthy foods were meant to do: seduce us with there taste and the kill is from within.

      How should I (we) read this study in your learned opinion?

      Here dr Kahn explaining the real and final truth

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  6. AhNotepad

    I must put this one in my calendar and not miss it, like the last one 🤭

    Fortunately I am not an expert, but in defence of falling back on the past, I would. In the days before the industrial inputs, and as noted by Weston Price, nutrition seemed to be key, and diseases were a relatively minor inconvenience, with the immune system able to respond and mount counter measures. Ok, there was a lot of hokus-pokus as well, but if well nourished most survived, it seems. I accept I could be wrong

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  7. KJE

    In other countries, some doctors are using vitamins and new treatments. Why is the NHS so backward and hidebound, and why do they completely ignore the experiences of others? Don’t do podcasts and videos because of not being able to hear, but I hope it goes well

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      1. andy

        Hi Tom: Politicians (and other experts) sometimes consider themselves being sages (ie wise). These sages are suitable for stuffing turkeys.

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  11. Stephanie

    Dear Dr Kendrick
    Thank you for your wise words, I am flummoxed that more is not being made of the connection between low vitamin levels and disease in general.
    My own son was diagnosed with coeliac disease just after starting university, he had been struggling with symptoms for about 3 years, one of the things revealed through his blood tests were extremely low vitamin/ mineral results many only a few points up from the bottom of the “range”. They were dismissed numerous times as being ok because they were in range.
    It was only when he significantly improved these levels in conjunction with a gluten free diet that he started to improve his overall health. It was by no means a quick fix, it took about 18months before he even started to feel properly well.
    He needs to supplement to maintain a good mid range level of many vitamins and it is fortunate we can help him to do that, I dread to think how people who are living hand to mouth can help themselves at the moment.

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  12. Shaun Clark

    Hi Dr K,

    I’m reminded once again of what Daniel Dennett wrote in Consciousness Explained:

    “The juvenile sea squirt wanders through the sea searching for a suitable rock or hunk of coral to cling to and make its home for life. For this task, it has a rudimentary nervous system. When it finds its spot and takes root, it doesn’t need its brain anymore so it eats it! (It’s rather like getting tenure.”)

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  14. wrmcg

    Malcolm, looking forward to your Foodbank Show presentation. Here, in the heartland of the Land of the Leaderless Legions, with the world’s worst numerical loss of life due to Covid, we must fend for ourselves, as everyone must. We are 70+ YO, and therefore, statistically speaking, at great risk.
    We draw great strength from your posts, and from a limited number of equally reliable sources. Among those, Chris Masterjohn PhD – https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/covid-19/ – is another highly valued source of painstakingly-researched information on Covid-19. In particular, his recent posts on glutathione and N-acetyl cysteine supplementation maybe of interest to you and your readers.
    Until something better comes along – an upgrade in US and UK leadership? Widespread herd common sense and regard for fellow-inhabitants? – we’ll stick with working to improve our health and wellbeing, keep our Vit D, C, GSH and NAC levels up, exercise when and where we can.
    Thank you again for your beacon of pragmatic medical sense!

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    1. Harry de Boer

      I’ve always understood that glutathione is very badly absorbed and that therefore the next best thing is to ingest its precursor N-acetyl-cysteine, was I wrong about that?

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  15. loico (@loicocom)

    “What may work to protect people…”

    Our proposal of two months ago seems to be getting traction in the scientific community only now, after so many deaths that would very likely have been avoidable:

    https://loico.com/international-researchers-pick-up-loicos-idea-of-throat-disinfection-to-counter-covid-19/

    PR: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/2393858-scientists-call-for-urgent-research-on-potential-for-mouthwash-to-reduce-sars-cov-2-transmission
    Article: https://academic.oup.com/function/advance-article/doi/10.1093/function/zqaa002/5836301

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  16. Robina

    Look forward to watching . My daughter had quite marked anosmia when it seems highly likely she had C19 . Also had recurrence of other symptoms x 2 & 1 -tive test Wouldn’t it be great if she could have an antibody test prior to resuming work as a Teacher .

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  20. Tom Welsh

    This famous remark seems to sum up Dr Kendrick’s point about fossilized academics and “experts” (and Shaun’s wonderful quotation from Daniel Dennett). (Sometimes paraphrased as “Science advances one funeral at a time”).

    “A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it”.

    Max Planck

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  22. Jennifer

    Dr K. Many thanks, I will certainly watch. We need academics to be honest with us re:Covid 19.
    I know we will get honesty from you.
    I had a real feeling of fear for an hour or two yesterday, and put it down to confusing messages coming from all and sundry, day in and day out.
    You are top of the list I trust, and seeing you on Sunday morning, added to Dr Aseem Malhotra’s recent contributions, is just what I need to reassure me.

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  23. Yolanda

    I am looking forward to hearing you speak about what you have learned from this covid horror show of incompetence and downright idiocy.. Covid19 needs a practical hands on approach from a chap in the front line wot got his head screwed on right. So, no pressure then, doc!

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  27. Frederica Huxley

    As ever, many medical innovations happen in emergency situations, such as war, when the necessity of finding a solution overcomes established protocol. Alas, COVID isn’t considered serious enough to think outside the pharmaceutical box: how stupid, so many lives could have been saved.
    If you go back to the history of the 1918 influenza, there are references to groups and institutions where there was practically no infection or death. The use of Vitamin D and various homeopathic remedies were particularly effective.

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  29. Julián Blanc

    Coincidentally last night I was thinking of a paraphrase of Cox”s aphorism: all experts are wrong, but some are useful. I think it sums up your article.

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  30. Oracle Duck

    Yo, Mac–All knowledge is drawn from the past.  The basic presumption beneath the scientific “principle” is:  This Did happen; therefore this Will happen.  Comprehension is prediction.  I say bring back the Tarantella. W. Jordan, PhD, PPCP, MGH, CM, HBFD

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  32. Anna M

    Ohhhh! Is that really true that we have no idea how it spreads? Cuz I somehow made note of something very puzzling today. I guess I stopped following China a while back. They have had under 5000 deaths! With 5 times the US population and 25 times the UK population…I smell a rat. Something isn’t believable. Sure, I suspect the first thing you’ll say is that they are lying…maybe. Or we are. Or something.

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    1. Tom Welsh

      If you accept that people with darker skins are especially susceptible, and that many of them have the genetic weakness that makes treatment with hydroxycholoroquine potentially lethal…

      Not all that many black/brown people in China.

      Also, for instance, there is a very strong tradition in China, going back thousands of years, that the old are very important and should be looked after with great care. Quite a contrast to the modern Western attitude.

      Lastly, China has a very efficient socialized health system, and the government values human life and health rather than worrying unduly about budget-balancing and penny-pinching. And no significant “privatization”.

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      2. Anna M

        Tom,

        Chinese people are brown. Yes, brown skinned people have lower vitamin D levels – if they live in the north. As to being genetically susceptible to hydrochloroquine, I doubt that. Where do they have malaria?
        This doesn’t even begin to answer my question. How did China have 25 times lower death than England?

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        1. Norman

          Looking at the gory statistics on worldometers, one might also ask:

          How has Israel achieved a deaths per million popn ~15x lower than the UK?

          A possible clue: Israel is at about latitude 32 degrees N; in the UK I’m at 52 deg N. Vitamin D synthesis in lavish quantities of 5,000-10,000 IU per day seems impossible at 52 N from sun exposure, unless it’s really sunny and warm so that I can work outside all day, maybe wearing only shorts.

          It’s not just our cloudy climate. It’s the inability to expose skin other than hands and face because the UK outside temperature is so cool, except glorious summers like 2018.

          See https://fastrt.nilu.no/VitD_quartMEDandMED_v2.html

          BTW I’m skin type 3 or even 4. I tan almost the moment that the sun comes out, so I don’t synthesise vit D as well as people with pale pink skin.

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    2. Binra (@onemindinmany)

      Belief in contagion is difficult to treat once you have caught it.
      This is not to assert belief that it doesn’t happen in one way or another.
      Is the nocebo effect a form of contagion?
      My observation is that superstition prevails along with those who sell it.

      I ‘caught’ an email today from Malcolm Kendricks.
      I also got junk mail that I will not even read, let alone act on.
      If RNA is code – and Gates wants to hack into our code, then we could consider a more grown up way of looking at how viral information communicates and why it operates in ways that don’t fit the contagion expectations.
      The following is relating to flu – but still has some very interesting perspectives.
      https://virologyj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1743-422X-5-29

      At this point in time I wonder if a larger body of people in the UK would rather starve than come out of lockdown. Not that that is an immediate outcome for those getting paid furlough. But surely this is being lined up as a result of shutting down the economy for the future?
      I know we have biogenetic meat coming – apparently incuding some celebrity DNA (read that on Mark Sissons daily Apple), but I read that is about 3 years away from full production.

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      1. KJE

        If I was being [paid 80% of my wage to do nothing, I wouldn’t want to go back to work and might try to think up “legitimate” reasons for not going. Since I don’t qualify for anything, I can’t wait to get back to work – of course, I need everyone else to go back also so I can have some clients. I wonder how many people are talking themselves back into fear.

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  33. David R

    “But there are still far more experts around than is healthy for the advancement of science. Because their voluntary retirement does not seem to be any more frequent in 2000 than it was in 1980, I repeat my proposal that the retirement of experts be made compulsory at the point of their academic promotion and tenure.’”

    Yes another version of the adage that one gets promoted a step beyond ones capabilities. Of course it is even worse with modern politicians. Very few have experience and capability, and has happens in many fields today, those that do are often sidelined because their views don’t fit the current dogma.

    I have often thought and said to friends that anyone who wanted to be a politician should automatically be banned from taking part.

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    1. shirley3349

      I think it is unfair to judge people’s expertise by their age. What is important, is that their knowledge and experience is tempered by an openness to new ideas and a readiness to examine new evidence fairly. During my life I have learnt much from people of all ages and both sexes and I hope to go on doing so.

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    2. Sasha

      I agree, I think we should emulate traditional societies and come up with a system that has Council of Elders.

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      1. AhNotepad

        Sasha, I think we have that already. Parish Council, district council, County council, government etc. They all seem to think they were put there by the almighty, and we become intelligent just before an election. Otherwise we are dimwits who have to be told to stand 6 feet apart, wash our hands, don’t go outside, wear a mask, hold your knife properly, go home, protect the face of the NHS, (while successive governments have been systematically destroying it) save lives, and other meaningless phrases. (Do I sound irritated?)

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  35. Janet Hickie

    Great program this morning. It’s clear to see there is still a lot of confusion and lack of clarity about why governments have acted as they have done. My mum is 82 and used to work in a hospital prior to and during the ever reliance on evidence for doing anything and everything never mind the quality feel the width type of thing. Her view is “has anyone ever researched common sense? “ Is anyone looking at whether the flu vaccine or type of flu vaccine is another common denominator with people who have severe reactions? Not suggesting contamination although that is not unheard of but possibly something to do with the bodies natural reaction to a virus which then tops up as the antibodies produced by the flu vaccine recognize a coronavirus?I understand that “at risk” people such as the elderly and those with Co-morbidity are offered a stronger type of flu vaccine.  Thanks for the blog have learnt so much over the last 2 years.

    Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad

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  36. Patrick Snook

    I have noticed one headline reporting on a large number of Covid-19 deaths being diabetics. I wonder which other correlations, between pre-existing conditions and mortality from this virus, are being tracked? Age certainly is. But what about, for example, total cholesterol? Statin use? Insulin sensitivity? Anyone reading this blog notice any sources of information for such things?

    Thanks.

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    1. Shaun Clark

      Hi Patrick, Vitamin D3 is a major player in diabetes with respect to insulin resistance/metabolic syndrome… D3 levels/processing is also critically important in folk with impaired kidneys, and much more besides. I think 15% of UK age-related deaths COVID were actually kidney issues? I used to tell my ex-wife that the only thing that matters in this world is that the Sun comes up in the morning. If she needed to worry about anything, worry about when it’s next going to rain. Everything else is pretty much b*&^)%$s.

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      1. Patrick Snook

        Thanks. Yes—nice to be reminded of the Vit D inverse correlation. We need sunshine for that too!

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  37. Martin Back

    I watched the show live from beginning to end. It was a pleasure hearing Dr Kendrick’s thoughtful commentary on the Covid crisis. He doesn’t have an axe to grind, yet he has some very pertinent questions based on observation that need answering, and one wonders why the powers that be are not equally anxious to establish and apply best practices, but prefer to blindly follow outdated protocols.

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  38. andy

    Another hypothesis: Severity of covid-19 infection will depend on condition of endothelial glycocalyx.

    https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1165/rcmb.2018-0108ED
    “pathogens that infect cells through specific receptors (for example, the SARS virus via ACE2 [12]), an intact glycocalyx may act as a shield preventing host infection. Conversely, pathogens and toxins may degrade the glycocalyx, thus increasing permeability, as previously demonstrated by the effects of dengue virus on the endothelial glycocalyx (13), which may provide access for subsequent superinfections. Glycocalyx size and composition may also change during mechanical ventilation, which in turn could affect pathogen adhesion and invasion in the context of ventilator-associated pneumonia.”

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  39. John lennox

    I’m a high risk person with asthma and COPD and I can’t afford to feed myself I need a food bank to help me out within Plymouth Devon or I’ll have to go bin hopping from the shops I’ve not had a proper meal within 5 days my email address is ljohn2847@gmail.com

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    1. Jan

      If you can’t afford food, you can call 01752 668000, option 4, to speak to Plymouth City Council, a referral agency partner of Plymouth Foodbank, about getting a voucher.
      Also check out the web page for directions to the food bank

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  40. Martin Back

    If a doctor believed that a dose of vitamin C would benefit their patient, what stops them from administering it? Surely medical ethics compel it? I cannot understand why something allegedly cheap, safe, and effective is not in widespread use.

    I’m reminded of a story alcoholics tell.
    “My brother’s an alcoholic. I don’t know what to do.”
    “Has he seen a doctor?”
    “The doctor gave him pills. Didn’t help.”
    “has he spoken to a priest?”
    “The priest prayed for him. Didn’t help.”
    “He should try rehab.”
    “Spent three weeks in rehab and drank again.”
    “What about Alcoholics Anonymous?”
    “Oh no, he’s not that bad.”

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    1. Sasha

      Martin: MDs are subjected to all sorts of regulatory and legal pressures to “toe the line”. Most of them aren’t willing to risk their livelihoods for a cause.

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    2. Michal

      Because it’s cheap, as you wrote. There is no money in such treatment. Vaccine, yes. That is a billion dollars business. Sad, but isn’t it true..

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      1. Martin Back

        The fact that it’s cheap shouldn’t stop doctors from prescribing it if they think it’s of value.

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    1. Jennifer

      Yes Shaun. we had the same idea tonight….love getting the kids to do the essential shopping…they both bring unrequested little treats along….and today’s was a gorgeous beer to go with roast lamb.

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    2. Binra (@onemindinmany)

      I believe the benefits of Vit D were well appreciated and it was added to all kinds of things in the past – If I recall including some brands of beer. But the source I read claimed it was undermining a specific sector of the economy – and thus the scare story was generated whereby to reset the new normal. Then shift to IUs in the thousands and most people automatically socially distance themselves from their own good. Many who don’t hesitate to take drugs that have killed people are afraid of a high dose vitamin.
      Healthcare industry survives on sickness as Military industrial complex thrives on war and bankers on debt, What sort of debt is being so generously extended to support sacrifices made to save our NHS from overcrowding and ‘flatten the curve’?

      Beer will soon be found to test positive for covid19 – and be banned until gates comes up with a biogenetic brew.

      https://www.africanews.com/2020/05/06/tanzania-how-can-goat-papaya-pawpaw-test-positive-to-corona-morning-call//

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  42. kenckar

    Thanks Malcolm for your voice.

    We all want to see good science, but waiting for good science in the middle of a pandemic is like teaching a drowning man how to swim.

    There are very low risk actions that can be taken. Take vitamins C, D, and a little magnesium and zinc. Don’t go to crowded public places, especially indoors, wear a mask of some sort over your nose and mouth. All very low cost, low risk actions.

    Maybe the science is not definitive, but ffs…

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    1. AhNotepad

      ”There are very low risk actions that can be taken. Take vitamins C, D, and a little magnesium and zinc. Don’t go to crowded public places, especially indoors, wear a mask of some sort over your nose and mouth. All very low cost, low risk actions.”

      kenckar, The vitamins I agree are a good idea, not just now, but always. What is a crowded public space? I would normally not go to those anyway, as I don’t like crowds. I find it stressful, therefore bad for my system. However, I object to being told it is otherwise hazardous. If it was a political demonstration, I would also avoid it, but as far as a disease risk goes, I maintain my immune system, and I have no fear of catching anything. Now then, why wear a mask? there is no point for the wearer’s protection, in fact it has two disadvantages, one is the rebreathing of any pathogens the wearer might have, and the other is restricting airflow, which has a detrimental effect on the immune system. There is plenty of waffly stuff available about masks. but since the transmission mode of diseases is difficult to define (despite what some may have you believe, for information spend £90 on Edgar Hope-Simpson’s book on flu transmission) then masks and their benefits in the wider world are belief based.

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  43. Binra (@onemindinmany)

    Dear Malcolm, the epithet of ‘expert’ is a devalued term.
    the problem I see is that of the cosiness of connections between the vested interests.
    No one in their right mind could call Ferguson an expert in anything but coming up with the results that his paymaster dictates.
    These kinds of experts are not uncommon. Their career or funding and reputation and privileges depend on finding the politically expedient predictions.
    the other thing is the integrity to call up advices until all sides of a problem have been aired – and then make an informed decision and stick to it unless new information comes in that requires a new response. However, I don’t believe ‘our Boris’ is running scared of opinion or employed as a statesman. But a crisis actor to put a spin on what is in any case being enacted. We have a Gated Government.

    The current situation has multidisciplinary vulnerabilities to real challenge in my opinion – and so the established order has been increasingly brought out as lacking legitimacy by a growing movement of the disenchanted and non-compliant. The restatement of ‘authority’ under the stamp of lockdown so far embodies an authoritarianism that the terrified look to for their protection.

    (NB – I had a few days of not being able to post here – that then cleared.)

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  45. Dr. John H

    Check out this 45 second clip where Fauci says wearing masks is useless, from a “60 Minutes” episode in March that has been scrubbed from the internet:

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  46. Kevin Frechette

    Hi Malcolm,
    sorry to hear that your knee is buggered. Hope you had a great ski trip at the Grand Massif. That would be a trip of a lifetime for me. I rejoined Ski Patrol this year and was the patrol leader on Sundays. Our ski season was cut short with the closing of our local ski hill, Searchmont, all glorious 750 vertical feet and 3 lifts. I had the March break booked off work and was planning on skiing every day but only got thru to the Monday. Our gang hadn’t planned a ski trip out west but I was watching the specials daily for a deal to drop. Had a good season and skiied every weekend from Dec to March.

    I enjoyed your interview on the Food Bank.

    Hope to see you on the slopes someday!!!

    Regards,

    Kevin

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      1. mmec7

        6.00 p.m. BBC-1 News – Woo-Hoo – Admit the loss of taste and smell is part and parcel on the OFFICIAL list, and ‘doctors say’ “***Should have been added ages ago …” Many would have been injured due to ignoring this loss by the WHO. Ho-Hum !
        Good coverage – NHS brought to task who : ‘Regret they did not avise earlier’.

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        1. AhNotepad

          I think you might have a loss of taste to end up with a lack of taste, assuming you had some taste in the first place.

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  49. andy

    Dr. K. for me that was a hypothesis generating interview.

    Tight Junction (TJ) hypothesis: A person will be asymptomatic with covid-19 infection if their TJ’s are not compromised.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6389123/
    “The vitamin D pathway is an attractive target for intervention studies, particularly for COPD, because vitamin D deficiency may simultaneously enhance chronic airway and systemic inflammation, reduce bacterial clearance, and increase the risk for infectious exacerbations. VDR (vitamin D receptor) deficiency may cause defects in airway epithelial barrier function that contribute to a variety of lung diseases.”

    This study explains why D3 is an essential part of being healthy by maintaining TJ integrity. Pulmonary oedema is one result of leaky TJ’s. Calcium channel blockers anyone?

    Apparently dysfunctional TJ’s also are involved in enabling spread of metastatic cancers.

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  50. mmec7

    CoVID-19 – an informative podcast on the use of LDN in treating this tedious virus : –
    From Dr Phil Boyle, a GP in Ireland –
    https://youtu.be/iydWaAmHblM – (under 10 mins)
    “A vaccine for the novel coronavirus is underway but could take months to years to finally hit the market. However, LDN is available now. With limited treatment options for the Novel Coronavirus and the severity of the disease, it is imperative to search for therapeutic options to improve immune health and reduce the spread of COVID-19. Low Dose Naltrexone could be used as an immune boosting agent for those who are at high risk of contracting the COVID-19 disease. Those who should be considered for this Low Dose Naltrexone therapy include the elderly, those who are immunocompromised, and those who have structural lung disease.”

    There is an additional presentation on Naltrexone of 59 mins which addresses a fuller coverage of using Naltrexone in various areas of medicine. Very informative and interesting –

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  51. mmec7

    Here may be an item of interest – an article in The Times – I have never heard of a Geko – apart that is from the name for a small lizard ! But this was put up on a vascular site. Sounds interesting :-

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    1. mmec7

      Oh – for Pete’s sake. I ‘had’ put it up here. it *was there, then, disappeared. So, I started again, and put up on CoVID -19 Update. Look for Geko DVT appliance – Can’t think ‘why’ it was named after a small green lizard !

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  54. Sharon

    Re Vit C dosage
    Check out Andrew Saul – bowel tolerance for Vit C
    doctoryourself.com
    I think you would be kindred spirits
    And this
    Applications of Vit C – Theoretical and practical.

    I am a huge fan and promote Doctoring Data at every opportunity- and then some.

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  56. Gary Ogden

    Good article today on Mark’s Daily Apple by Louis Ignarro (the discoverer of NO health benefits) on inhaled NO in coronavirus treatment.

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  57. Craig E

    Thanks Dr Kendrick I watched the program. As usual your messages and insight are on point. What got my interest was the part where you were talking about melanoma and the relationship of rates to sun exposure. I have read all your previous blog posts about sun, melanoma and vitamin D but am still intrigued as to why Australia has the highest melanoma rates in the world:

    https://www.wcrf.org/dietandcancer/cancer-trends/skin-cancer-statistics

    In the 1980s and 1990s, we had the wits literally scared out of us in Australia via media and advertising campaigns about melanoma’s link to sun exposure and to ‘slip, slop, slap’. I remember a 60 minutes episode that profiled a young melanoma patient (with inoperable cancer) who used to lie out in the sun all the time pleading with people to cover up lest it be them next.

    Let me say that I’m a huge fan of sun exposure and it’s health benefits. I don’t wear sunscreen at all unless I’m going to be in the sun for many hours at once. I have had my share of BCCs excised…but that’s another story.

    But…I am wondering why Australia, given how much sunshine its citizens get, is top of the list? I can understand Norway, Sweden and Denmark being high the list (if lack of sun/low vitamin D is a factor), but Australia?

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    1. David R

      I believe Doc Kendrick covered that in the prog. Australians get a type that can be removed. Malignant melanomas are much more dangerous and don’t seem sun related.

      I hope I understood that correct Doc

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      1. Dr. Malcolm Kendrick Post author

        A number of things happened. First all ‘skin cancers’ got lumped together. Basal Cell Carcinomas, Squamous Cell Carcinomas rodent ulcers, malignant melanomas – which made the figures look bigger and more scary. The first three are caused by excess sun exposure in light skinned people living in high sun countries. Also, more and more and more things that may (or may not have been) malignant melanomas were bunched together as malignant melanomas. I covered this in Doctoring Data. So, whilst the total number of melanoma diagnoses went through the roof, the mortality rate remained virtually unchanged. Same sort of thing happened with breast cancer screening. More and more ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) lesions were picked up, increased the breast cancer diagnoses. However, DCIS almost never becomes significant…. Oh yes, the games that are played, rather depressing really.

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        1. Craig E

          Well that would explain it because there are lots of people I know who’ve had BCCs removed…but then again I’ve known a few who’ve succumbed to melanoma too. The link I posted must be misleading as it talks melanoma only. In any case, as I mentioned on this blog a few years back…it’s a sad day when school children are forced to wear hats in Winter!!!

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  58. Anna M

    I redid my calculations and came up with a death rate for China that is 100 X less than the US. Our population 330 million, theirs 1/4 billion, about 5 times. Our deaths 90 thousand, theirs 4600. A rough calculation puts that at 100 X less. They should have had about 500 thousand deaths with their population, and had instead 5. England would scale about the same, so China had 100 X less deaths than the UK.
    So this doesn’t add up at all.

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    1. AhNotepad

      Anna M, I agree it doesn’t add up, but these are “official” statistics, and we know the test results are suspect. If you are a goat, pawpaw or motor oil you could get a positive result. In my book this would mean the tests are rubbish. So by and large, we have no idea of the infectivity of this years virus, except given the right circumstances it kills some people, and others never notice it. In Sweden you can meet 50 people, in Northern Ireland you can now meet 6, in England you can meet 1, in France distance is 1m, in England it’s 2. What a total farce.

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  59. Göran Sjöberg

    What a nice balanced overview of our fragility on life and death!

    Especially the frontline, barricade position on vitamin and health in the spirit of Linus Pauling is encouraging in our fake medical world!

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    1. JDPatten

      Yes, Gary. Very interesting. And concerning. Everyone wants to DO something – to make money, to make a name/reputation . . . to actually try to help. It’s like running through a forest in the pitch dark. Too much of an early investment and you can really come up short. Maybe the stock market could be shut down? Profiteering today is abominable.
      Ah, but if a teeny percentage of new tests and, dare I say, vaccines prove to be safe and effective (Months; years? Patience!), then maybe all the chaos of desperate and selfish – or innocent – bait-and-switch will have been worth it for the head-start. Iatrogenesis seems necessarily part of the process.

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      1. Her who's still indoors

        https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1uLormkjoKO5JMkQh80-nGiKk-X5Ik5idi3gWqwd_Up4/mobilebasic
        Reading a few of these and remembering that China tried to share their vitamin C approach, as well as being a major world producer, may give you comfort and concern. Comfort in vitamin C treatment protocols (100% survival rates in USA and Chinese hospitals) and concern at those who blocked this knowledge and refuse to use the protocols in the NHS.
        Add in Large Intestine 5 and Lung 9 acupuncture points ‘needled through’ and go about your life with confidence.

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      2. Gary Ogden

        JDPatten: What is of greatest concern to me is that we no longer have a news media which keeps the powerful honest. They shape the narrative; they frame the questions. And since Trump, everything is politicized, even this disease. This division increases the ability of the powerful to control. It’s not that broadcasters and editorial boards are bad people, but they are ignorant of so many things, such as history, such as a basic understanding of science. Humans are naturally reticent to rock the boat, to ask questions when something appears to be not right. School reinforces this tendency. And they want to keep their jobs. Who wouldn’t? It is up to us to educate ourselves and those we interact with. Only we can save us from folly. As for drugs or vaccines for the ‘Rona, I’m now on my fourth reading of “A Statin Nation.” Dr. Kendrick talks about many of the wonderful things modern medicine has done for us, and the list is long, but in “Doctoring Data” are cautionary tales about treatments thought to be good until RCT’s proved them deadly. With all approved drugs we have RCT’s prior to licensing, yet drug companies are known to hide adverse effects (certainly, in the case of Vioxx, and very likely with statins). There are both post-marketing surveillance and liability. With vaccines there are no RCT’s. No control group in any trial. A very weak post-marketing surveillance system and no liability. Were Anthony Fauci and Bill and Melinda Gates to enroll themselves in the Moderna trial, I would suspect that they are on to something. But I’m not holding my breath. After reading the Crowe paper, my trust that antibodies reliably show immunity (or anything else, for that matter) is shaken to the core.

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  61. Jerome Savage

    Chilling with some old Eagles music (+ Van the man o.c.) happened to check Glenn Frey on wiki (yes wiki) Poor Glenn; “suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, affected various joints of his body.The medication that he was prescribed to control the disease eventually led to colitis and pneumonia” “died – 2016, at the age of 67 from complications of rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis, and pneumonia” “Frey’s widow filed a suit against Mount Sinai Hospital in 2018”
    Which brings me neatly to the Harvard report which you Malcolm touched on in the pod, 200,000 die from prescriptions annually.
    https://ethics.harvard.edu/blog/new-prescription-drugs-major-health-risk-few-offsetting-advantages
    Furthet “Medications for rheumatoid arthritis or ulcerative colitis can compromise the immune system’s ability to fight off pneumonia”
    Being very rich, famous & wealthy didn’t save him.(at the time of course, that is)
    Harvard report says “Few know that systematic reviews of hospital charts found that even properly prescribed drugs (aside from misprescribing, overdosing, or self-prescribing) cause about 1.9 million hospitalizations a year. Another 840,000 hospitalized patients are given drugs that cause serious adverse reactions for a total of 2.74 million serious adverse drug reactions. About 128,000 people die from drugs prescribed to them. This makes prescription drugs a major health risk, ranking 4th with stroke as a leading cause of death. The European Commission estimates that adverse reactions from prescription drugs cause 200,000 deaths; so together, about 328,000 patients in the U.S. and Europe die from prescription drugs each year.”

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  62. Lynne

    I have read your books – except Statin Nation, basically because I wouldnt touch a statin with a barge pole. However I will be missing out on a lot of your humour and so will buy for the summer garden reading. I just thank goodness that there is a British doctor like you out there helping us. I just wondered if you thought Dr Kendrick, that the Mitochondria – ‘Cell Danger Response’ (British Nicki Gratrix) ties in very nicely with your theory of life disruption and the stress caused by, being a main cause of heart disease and illness, death in general. Possibly to be seen in irresponsible Covid 19 strategies in the future also.

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  63. Naples

    Vampires and Werewolves

    On Sat, May 16, 2020, 11:55 Dr. Malcolm Kendrick wrote:

    > Dr. Malcolm Kendrick posted: “16th May 2020 I am doing my last Food Bank > Show on Sunday 17th May, (tomorrow). Unless, the lockdown tightens up again > – so who knows for sure. I am hoping to talk about what I have learned > about COVID. A tricky task as information floods in from a” >

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