Thread by @TuckerGoodrich

1/ Remember the credentialed dopes that sneered at those suggesting a low-sugar diet might be protective for coronavirus?

@DoctorTro @DrAseemMalhotra

#lcl6

2/ "Oral 100-g portions of carbohydrate from glucose, fructose, sucrose, honey, or orange juice all significantly decreased the capacity of neutrophils to engulf bacteria as measured by the slide technique. Starch ingestion did not have this effect."

3/ "These data suggest that the function and not the number of phagocytes was altered by ingestion of sugars. This implicates glucose and other simple carbohydrates in the control of phagocytosis and shows that the effects last for at least 5 hr...."

4/ "On the other hand, a fast of 36 or 60 hr significantly increased (P < 0.001) the phagocytic index." [1]

So sugar bad, fasting good.

Why is this relevant?

5/ "Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) infiltrate the airways early after infection by respiratory viral pathogens including rhinoviruses, influenza viruses, respiratory syncytial virus and coronaviruses."

6/ "These findings suggest that PMN are needed early during infection to elicit an effective cellular response to control viral replication and attenuate disease severity."

Perhaps it's best not to distract white blood cells with sweet treats while they have a job to do? [2]

7/7 1 "Role of sugars in human neutrophilic phagocytosis"

academic.oup.com/ajcn/article-a…

2 "Neutrophils are needed for an effective immune response against pulmonary rat coronavirus infection..."

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…