[Alex3917]

A few days ago I started taking a low dose of an OTC ACE inhibitor in order to upregulate my ACE2 receptors. This is what the literature that was written before the current epidemic about surviving novel Coronavirus pandemics says to do, and the new evidence that comes out each day is actually validating this strategy.

It's only the scientists who didn't start studying Coronaviruses until two weeks ago who seem to think that having ACE2 receptors is dangerous.

[refurb]

If the virus is infecting a cell through the ACE2 receptor, wouldn’t upregulating the receptor just increase the risk of infection?

As per the paper, you want to either block the receptor or down regulate it.

[Alex3917]

That definitely could be true, but from what I've read it probably isn't. One of the ways the virus kills people is by destroying their ACE2 receptors, which your lung cells need to function. If you blocked them all, your lung cells would die anyway. So as long as the virus can enter your lung cells, you might as well prevent it from killing them by making extra ACE2 receptors. That's the theory anyway.

There are also many other ways you can block the virus from entering your lungs that don't involve downregulating your ACE2 receptors.

[webmobdev]

Asking as a lay man, are you taking this as a preventive measure?

[Alex3917]

Yes. My risk of death is supposedly nominal, but I want to avoid any lung damage.

I'm taking a low dose though, in part to hedge my bets, and in part because I don't want to bleed out if I get into a bike accident.

[dboreham]

>OTC ACE inhibitor

Which country are you in?

[Alex3917]

USA.

[dboreham]

Hmm...according to doc friend there are no OTC ACE inhibitors in USA.

Edit: Luckily I own several acres of Hawthorn bushes.

[Alex3917]

I think Hawthorn or hibiscus. You can get them certified as USP or cGMP, and/or independently tested by Consumer Labs.

I'm not 100% sure on the mechanism of action on Hawthorn. I've read that it's an ACE inhibitor, but I don't have a good source. But I can see at the very least that it's an elastase inhibitor, which is supposed to be protective against ARDS.

edit: I think proanthocyanidin is the component that is supposed to be an ACE inhibitor.

Sources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12866623

https://www.phcogj.com/sites/default/files/PharmacognJ-10-25...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6612254/

[webmobdev]

> I think Hawthorn or hibiscus.

Do you take them like some herbal remedies (grind it, add honey etc.etc) or do you process it in a lab?

[Alex3917]

I'm just taking some expired Hawthorn pills that I happened to have lying around the house. In my case I don't have high blood pressure to begin with, so I'm just taking about 1/3rd of the recommended dose and then periodically checking to ensure that my blood pressure isn't getting dangerously low.

People make their own hawthorn jam and jelly though, so it isn't excessively dangerous, but on principle it's probably better to take a conservative approach, or at least one that's commensurate with the initial risk.

Because I'm in NYC we actually have them growing everywhere because they are one of a handful of approved small-sized street trees, and they're in all the parks, but regardless it's easier just to buy as a supplement.