NY Doctor Proved Everyone Wrong About Hydroxychloroquine

NY Doctor Proved Everyone Wrong About Hydroxychloroquine

HCQ Mechanisms of Action and Alternatives

Over-the-counter alternatives to HCQ include EGCG (green tea extract) and quercetin, both of which are zinc ionophores and therefore work much like HCQ does. Quercetin works best when taken in conjunction with vitamin C, however, as the vitamin C helps activate it. Zelenko recommends taking 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C with it.

Now, HCQ does have other mechanisms of action beside being a zinc ionophore, so it’s a better choice, but if you simply cannot get it, EGCG or quercetin are viable stand-ins. Additional benefits of HCQ include:

• Inhibiting viral entry into the cytoplasm, in part by changing the pH
• Inhibiting cytokine storms through anti-inflammatory properties
• Stabilizing red blood cells, which improves oxygenation

“Since it has four different mechanisms of action, it’s a very effective drug, and it has a half-life of 50 days in plasma,” Zelenko says. “But if you can’t get it, you can’t get it. So, I’ll take quercetin or EGCG.”