World Affairs Brief, May 28, 2021 Commentary and Insights on a Troubled World.
Copyright Joel Skousen. Partial quotations with attribution permitted. Cite source as Joel Skousen’s World Affairs Brief (http://www.worldaffairsbrief.com).

 HYDROXYCHLORIQUINE ALTERNATIVES by Andrew Skousen

There has been a renewed interest in the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloriquine (HCQ) recently because of its potential to not only block infection from coronaviruses like Covid-19 but also to lessen the impact of all spike proteins, especially those being “shed” or transmitted from vaccinated people. HCQ is a milder form of the drug Chloroquine that was invented in 1934, but had too many side effects. HCQ was brought to market in 1955 and quickly became one of the most common medications around the world—mostly where malaria is prevalent, but it is also prescribed for Lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. When taken in low doses it has a very low occurrence of side effects despite decades of use. In the US it was the 129th most commonly prescribed drug with over 5 million prescriptions in 2018 alone.

Early last year hydroxychloroquine showed promise against covid infections in countries that typically use it like South Korea and India (which recently reintroduced its use to combat the rising number of active cases there). The mainstream media universally scorns its use for covid because of studies that purportedly showed no benefit and some risk. But the studies purposely did not give zinc at the same time and prescribed doses that were too high that resulted in adverse reactions like heart palpitations. HCQ is thought to be a zinc ionophore similar to Chloroquine, meaning it helps cells absorb zinc which reinforces the cell walls against viruses and other attacks. When used early on, HCQ’s effectiveness against covid has been documented hundreds of times. Although HCQ can be obtained by prescription, US doctors are all pressured against prescribing it for covid. If you still want to take it AmericasFrontlineDoctors.com can help you get a prescription [They charge a $90 consultation fee, and also have Ivermectine, which is even better – editor], but here are some natural alternatives:

Quinine is the original natural anti-malarial compound from which chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine were developed. Their chemical compounds are different, so there is, as yet, only anecdotal evidence that quinine is as effective against viral infections as its drug derivatives, but I suspect it is. Quinine has been used for centuries to combat malaria and was made famous by the British centuries ago when they adopted it out of desperation to survive in malaria-ridden India but its extremely bitter taste was hard for the men to gag down. They started mixing it with juniper liquor (gin) and lemon, resulting in the now-famous “gin and tonic” drink.

But this natural alkaloid can be consumed in excess. Quinine is toxic in high doses. All quinine comes from the bark of the Cinchona tree (native to tropical climates) and too much of it can result in so-called “cinchonism” with symptoms of dizziness, nausea, headache, blurred vision and ringing in the ears. Fortunately its extreme bitterness helps limit how much you consume. Commercial “Tonic Water” today can only have a maximum of 83 ppm or 2.5 mg of quinine per ounce, a tiny amount but the hint of bitter aftertaste proves how potent it is. For therapeutic doses quinine is typically prescribed in 300 to 1000 mg doses.

You can buy quinine in cinchona bark tincture or pill form, or order cinchona bark itself and make a tincture or tonic yourself. To make your own quinine tincture remember that cinchona powder is around 5% quinine by weight. This blog post explains some common-sense ways to avoid toxicity problems when making quinine. Alcohol extracts quinine from the bark better than boiling water, but there are recipes for both. For a therapeutic dose of around 300 mg of quinine in an approximate 0.7 ml dropperful you would need to extract around 100 grams of cinchona bark in 1 liter of alcohol. Keep it in a warm place for at least week before straining out the bark chunks. It can be used as-is or combined with an infusion of quercetin.

Quercetin is a natural compound found in red onion skins, citrus rinds, apple peelings and berries. Like HCQ it seems to help cells absorb zinc but it also has been shown to help the body absorb and use vitamin C and vitamin D too. It is often taken by people during allergy season and it has shown promise against cold and flu sicknesses. It even helped mice survive against Ebola in lab tests. Like hydroxychloroquine it works best if you take it before you get sick or during the very early onset of symptoms. Quercetin can be purchased in capsule form (here are several options) or you can get it from food like citrus rinds. Because the outside of citrus fruits are heavily treated with fungicides I recommend only consuming the rinds from organic fruit. Citrus peels also contain immune-boosting vitamins and bioflavonoids, some of which are best consumed raw. Try them blended in smoothies, or zested in desserts or salad dressings.

You can make a quercetin-rich infusion by steeping the peelings from 2 organic lemon peels and 1 grapefruit in 1 quart of boiling water. 1 oz.gentian root is often added for improved results. Steep it together with the citrus rinds, covered, for 15 minutes and then filter out the solids. Add the juice of the lemon. Although this decoction has been mistakenly presented as way to “make your own hydroxychloroquine” it is likely similar in its effectiveness. Mix it together with the quinine extract described above for possibly even better results than HCQ can give.

This centuries-old tonic medicine is enjoying a resurgence among the imbibing crowd due to its improved flavor over commercial tonic water. The quinine tincture and quercetin decoction are mixed together with some sugar to create a concentrated tonic syrup that is mixed with carbonated water for a very tasty and healthy tonic water with both quinine and quercetin. Gin is not required—just add a wedge of lemon or lime to enjoy this rejuvenating drink for a refreshing way to keep the immune and digestive systems toned and happy.