Ambassador Andrew Young is touting the benefits of selenium, a mineral found in soil, water and some foods, after his foundation recently delivered a large shipment of the item to Liberia.
“Ebola patients who received selenium had a much higher survival rate than those who didn’t,” said Young, also a former Atlanta mayor and Georgia congressman. “We’ve been working with African countries for more than 20 years, since before the foundation even opened.”
According to the National Institutes of Health, selenium seems to increase the action of antioxidants in the body.
Young touts research conducted by Dr. Ethan Taylor of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The foundation was working with Taylor, when he was at the University of Georgia, when the Ebola crisis began.
“Dr. Taylor said just one tablet of selenium a day could help control the virus,” Young said. “Five years ago, we used a Coca-Cola plan to deliver 1,000 bottles to Liberia.”
Recently, Young’s foundation sent 100,000 tablets to Monrovia to help combat the coronavirus, even though there is no substantive evidence the supplement is effective in preventing the disease.
Cynthia Blandford, Honorary Consul General of Liberia, approached Young when COVID-19 broke out in April, and the relief effort started immediately but took over three months to accomplish.
Young’s foundation got in touch with BioSyn, a pharmaceutical company based in Germany, and was able to procure 100,000 selenium tablets with the help of Dr. Roland Bardy, a longtime friend of Young. Paul Rosser, a foundation board member who also is a retired US Navy Rear Admiral, worked with Bardy to deliver the selenium by ship.
Young said he takes selenium every day and has for years.
“Too many people are dying unnecessarily,” Young said. “One of the hardest things to get in developing nations is modern medicine. In Liberia, ordinary folks are getting little or no medical attention. I said in my church when the coronavirus began, the only form of science is not a vaccine, but strengthening your immune system, exercising, drinking a lot of water and eating right.
“I’m 88. I can’t wait for a vaccine. I’ll take a vaccine when they develop one, but right now, I have to strengthen my immune system.”
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