November 22, 2023

The inner layer of the blood vessels in the heart and lungs can become inflamed with a COVID infection, especially if you have arteriosclerosis. Inflammation of these (microscopic) blood vessels is severe and complicated to heal (sometimes not completely).

Moreover, this damaging inflammation of the arteries can spread to other organs. The calcified spots (‘plaque’) also form the dangerous blood clots (thrombosis).

Anyone considering stopping vaccination would do well to test their antibodies before heading out unprotected. ❄️

What about safety? Myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) is a possible complication of the m-RNA vaccine (1 in 100,000 people), usually occurring within seven days of vaccination in men under 40, and is relatively mild with usually full recovery. Studies suggest that increasing the interval between vaccinations may help.

 

Pigeons are granivores and are more likely to suffer from a lack of protein.

 

Proteins differ from carbohydrates (sugars) and fats (lipids) in their composition. In addition to hydrogen (H), oxygen (O) and carbon (C), they also contain a nitrogen (N) atom, which is an important chemical component in the formation of amino acids. The body's main building blocks are these amino acids (N-CHO). Carbohydrates and fats (CHO) are more likely to be involved in energy generation.

 

Depending on emergency needs, there is a certain degree of interchangeability between these three types of nutrients (fat, protein and sugar).

Protein overfeeding causes discomfort when excess nitrogen (N) is excreted as ammonia (NH3). This displaces the acid that protects against pathogens in the gut.

In nature (flora), excess nitrogen (versus over-fertilisation) displaces flora biodiversity and thoroughly disrupts the ecosystem (monoculture of rampant plants), hence the current 'nitrogen' debate in the agricultural sector.

 

Pigeons are granivores (grain eaters). Their diet contains less protein than that of insectivores and omnivores.

Although pigeon feed's recommended crude protein content is between 12% and 18%, this has not been experimentally established. It is based on breeding results rather than maintenance requirements.

• Young pigeons hatched 18%
• Laying, breeding, crop milk, rearing young 16%
• Yearlings 15 % 
• Old maintenance 14%

We know that racing pigeons are at risk of disease and also carriers of infection. Despite being domesticated for more than 7,000 years, their need for dietary protein to maintain their defences against (these) diseases has received little attention in the composition of their diets.

The pigeon's immune system comprises two components: the innate immune system and the acquired (humoral) immune system.

• The innate immune system (thymus, spleen and bursa of Fabricius ) responds quickly.

• The acquired immune system is slower to respond to pathogens. Still, it has a memory that acts specifically against specific pathogens (e.g., animals vaccinated in the past can protect themselves against subsequent exposure to pathogens).

The acquired immune system can be activated if the innate immune system fails to overcome an invading pathogen. 

Traditional studies use a balance between nutrient intake and excretion concerning maintaining body weight. The proper functioning of the immune system in relation to diet has rarely been considered.

In healthy pigeons, only a relatively small proportion of the daily protein intake (or its building blocks, the amino acids) is required for the immune system (consisting of a combination of cells and proteins) to function correctly. However, when the immune system is activated, the protein requirement increases. Young pigeons can develop a negative protein balance.

For example, in 2016, La Trobe University in Melbourne studied whether pigeons' immune systems functioned efficiently on diets containing 6, 10 or 14% crude protein.

Various antibodies (mostly in protein form) were subsequently measured in the blood.

• A low crude protein intake (6% of the diet) was sufficient for maintaining nitrogen balance and body weight in pigeons.

However, in these pigeons, compared to diets with higher levels of crude protein (10 and 14%), the essential immune functions of the innate immune system - in which immune cells (heterophils) and substances rapidly migrate to the site of infection to engulf and eliminate invading pathogens - were reduced.

• Pigeons fed on the 6 and 10 % crude protein diets had lower antibodies to Newcastle disease (acquired system) after vaccination than pigeons fed on the 14 % crude protein diet.

Curiously, some pigeons fed the 6 and 10% crude protein diets had parasites found in the gut (at the level of Peyer's patches) at autopsy; pigeons in the 14% group had no parasites. However, none of the pigeons in the study had previously had a parasite infection.

Conclusion

To maintain acquired immune function in pigeons, 6 and 10% crude protein diets are insufficient.

Research has shown that caged pigeons weighing 360 g a day need at least 3 g and 5 g of pure protein to keep their immune systems working.  During the breeding or racing period, pigeons need more.

Comed offers ENERCOM, a pure plant protein.

 

One tablespoon per kilo will increase the amount by 1 gram per pigeon per day.

Johan Cruyff's rule of "every advantage has its disadvantage" applies here. No matter how good the proteins are, we must always bear in mind that one too many is converted into ammonia, which immediately weakens the crucial acidity in the intestines and allows the germs of disease to emerge.

In an insufficiently acidic gut, minerals are not absorbed as well.

This ammonia problem can be solved perfectly with RONI, which puts things right by introducing live acid-producing bacteria into the digestive system.