FoundMyFitness · 2021-03-03 · Rhonda Patrick (host), Roger Seheult

Dr. Roger Seheult from MedCram on COVID-19 Vaccines, Vitamin D, and Heat Hydrotherapy

73 claims checked against research: 3 contradicted 5 overstated 5 needing context 49 supported 2 corroborated online 9 unverified

Contradicted by research

0:25:40 Roger Seheultcontradictedlow

Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were found to have significantly lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels than symptomatic patients hospitalized with similar symptoms who tested negative for SARS-CoV-2.

"We see people being admitted to the hospital had lower rates than those that had similar symptoms but were not SARS-CoV-2 positive." (said at 0:25:40)

Observational research directly evaluating hospitalized COVID-19 patients alongside hospitalized symptomatic controls who tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 found no statistically significant difference in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels between the two groups.

contradicts: Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and its prognostic impact on patients hospitalized with… (Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.) 2021) · cited 23x in the literature
"Serum Vit-D level was comparable between patients with COVID-19 and COVID-19-negative inpatients with sepsis (P = 0.397)." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)

1:21:20 Roger Seheultcontradictedlow

Heating human subjects in a 39°C water bath elevates interferon and TNF levels, and monocytes exposed to LPS produced 10 times higher interferon at 39°C compared to lower temperatures.

"And what they found was that they were able to independently of of these uh potential mutations that fever or or temperature itself was able to cause a secretion, an elevation in interferon, tumor necrosis factor, those sorts of things. There's one study that they did where they took subjects, put them in hot water baths at at various degrees... interferon levels were 10 times higher once they got up to about 39° uh centigrade" (said at 1:21:20)

The claim asserts that immersing human subjects in a hot water bath to reach ~39°C elevates interferon (IFN) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) by up to 10-fold. In controlled human experimental trials examining hot water bath hyperthermia (e.g., raising core temperature to 39.5°C), hyperthermia did not significantly elevate ex vivo production of interferon-gamma or TNF-beta from stimulated blood mononuclear cells. Furthermore, in vitro studies of human mononuclear cells cultured at febrile temperatures (e.g., 39–40°C) generally demonstrate modest or suppressed 24-hour accumulation of TNF-alpha and fail to show a 10-fold increase in interferon secretion.

contradicts: Effects of hypothermia and hyperthermia on cytokine production by cultured human mononucle… (Journal of interferon & cytokine research : the official journal of the International Society for Interferon and Cytokine Research 2000) · cited 103x in the literature
"During culture at 40 degrees C, the initial rates of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) secretion were preserved, but the duration of secretion was shorter than the duration at 37 degrees C. TNF-alpha and IL1-beta concentrations in 24-h 40 degrees C culture supernatants were reduced 18%-50%." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)
contradicts: Cytokine production ex vivo: effect of raised body temperature. (International journal of hyperthermia : the official journal of European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology, North American Hyperthermia Group 1995) · cited 13x in the literature
"Eight healthy volunteers were immersed into a hot water bath (water temperature 39.5 degrees C) for 2 h, during which their rectal temperature rose to 39.5 degrees C... Hyperthermia did not influence the production of cytokines from stimulated BMNC." (abstract, results)
pubmed full study (doi)

1:47:24 Roger Seheultcontradictedhigh

In the cell, mRNA remains in the cytoplasm and does not enter the nucleus.

"mRNA is in the cytoplasm of the cell. It's not in the nucleus of the cell." (said at 1:47:24)

In eukaryotic cells, messenger RNA (mRNA) is transcribed from DNA and undergoes essential processing steps—such as 5' capping, splicing, and assembly into messenger ribonucleoprotein complexes—within the nucleus before being exported across the nuclear pore complex into the cytoplasm for translation. The assertion that mRNA is not in the nucleus of the cell is contradicted by standard eukaryotic cell biology.

contradicts: HSV ICP27 hijacks host splicing factor SRSF3 to regulate pre-mRNA splicing and export for … (PLoS pathogens 2026) · cited 1x in the literature
"Furthermore, ICP27 co-opts SRSF3 to promote nuclear-export of unspliced mRNA targets via the nuclear RNA export factor 1 (NXF1)." (abstract, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)
contradicts: Escorting mRNAs - the multifunctional and divergent roles of cap-chaperones in post-transc… (Journal of cell science 2026) · cited 1x in the literature
"Transcripts undergo a variety of processing steps - including splicing, nuclear export and translation - to ultimately produce their protein product in the required form." (abstract, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)

Unverified means no publication matching the claim was located; it does not prove the claim false. Spotted an error? See the corrections policy - disputes from the people quoted are prioritized.