This article is a curated recap of a recent conversation between Dr. Peter McCullough and Dr. Michael Gaeta on the McCullough Report, focused on the McCullough Protocol for base spike detoxification. As a physician, I'm presenting the key clinical insights from this discussion — not as endorsement, but as intelligence. At CI Mavericks, our Wealth + Health advisory exists because we believe the people building serious portfolios deserve the same rigor applied to their physical health as to their capital allocation.
Why a Financial Advisory Firm Is Covering This
We get asked this. Our answer is simple: what good is a compounding portfolio if you're not around to enjoy it? CI Mavericks operates at the intersection of wealth and health because the two are inseparable for the people we serve. Our members are founders, investors, and operators who need their bodies to last as long as their businesses. When a world-renowned cardiologist proposes a concrete protocol for a problem that may be affecting hundreds of millions of people, that's intelligence worth curating.
Dr. Peter McCullough is a cardiologist, internist, and epidemiologist. He is the co-author of The Courage to Face COVID-19, founder of the McCullough Foundation, and the chief scientific officer and co-founder of The Wellness Company. He has authored or co-authored over 700 peer-reviewed publications. What follows are the key takeaways from his recent discussion with naturopathic physician Dr. Michael Gaeta.
The Core Problem: A Protein the Body Can't Break Down
The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein — the spicule structure on the surface of the virus — is approximately 1,200 amino acids in length with roughly a dozen glycosylated side chains. According to Dr. McCullough, this protein was engineered at the Wuhan Institute of Virology to dock with human ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme II) receptors, which are present on virtually every cell type in the human body.
The critical distinction McCullough draws: the human body has natural proteases that break down most viral proteins. Influenza, staphylococcal toxin — these get cleared. But the spike protein, he argues, resists normal human enzymatic degradation. And that's the root of the problem.
From infection, the S2 subunit of the spike protein has been found persisting in exosomes and white blood cells for years. From vaccination, the situation is more acute — the mRNA codes for the full-length spike protein, held open in its prefusion conformation, which does not fuse with or get catabolized by ACE2 receptors. Instead, it trimerizes, circulates, and deposits in tissues throughout the body.
Where the Spike Protein Has Been Found
McCullough references over 320 peer-reviewed studies demonstrating spike protein distribution across the body's major organ systems. The confirmed sites include the lungs, heart, kidneys, brain, gastrointestinal tract, blood vessel linings, and skin. It has been found at the site of blood vessel ruptures causing stroke, embedded in blood clots, and in the capillaries of skeletal muscle in patients with post-exertional fatigue.
The variability in symptoms between patients — one person develops neuropathy, another myocarditis, another blood clots — is attributed to differences in blood distribution patterns and what McCullough and French researcher Martin Giado describe as the "bolus theory": whether the vaccine injection inadvertently entered a blood vessel rather than remaining in muscle tissue, affecting where the spike protein concentrated during its first pass through circulation.
The Autoimmune Dimension
Research from Florida Atlantic University has identified approximately 32 human proteins with structural homology to the spike protein — meaning spike-targeted antibodies can cross-react with healthy tissues. McCullough reports checking ANA, rheumatoid factor, and anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies in every patient with suspected spike-related illness, and is seeing autoimmune positivity from both infection and vaccination.
The syndromes described include mixed connective tissue disease, rheumatoid arthritis, gluten sensitivity, and myasthenia gravis. McCullough's clinical approach for autoimmune cases: spike detoxification combined with hydroxychloroquine — which he notes is derived from the bark of the cinchona tree — typically for three to six months, with ocular toxicity concerns only becoming relevant at the five-year mark of continuous use.
The McCullough Protocol: Base Spike Detoxification
Developed in 2022, published in 2023, and now approaching four years of clinical use across thousands of patients, the McCullough Protocol centers on three natural compounds:
Nattokinase — a proteolytic, thrombolytic enzyme derived from the fermentation of soy or chickpeas. It has been demonstrated to dissolve spike protein in preclinical studies, works both inside and outside cells without harming cell viability, and has measurable pharmacodynamic absorption into the bloodstream. Protocol dose: 8,000 fibrinolytic units (at two capsules twice daily).
Bromelain — a family of proteolytic enzymes derived from pineapple stems, also available as a prescription topical drug. It functions as a natural anticoagulant by prolonging prothrombin time and has shown the ability to physically dissolve spike protein in preclinical models. Absorption is partial — approximately 40% reaches the bloodstream. Protocol dose: 500 mg (at two capsules twice daily).
Curcumin — derived from turmeric, a natural anti-inflammatory that has demonstrated anti-SARS-CoV-2 properties in human randomized trials, reducing the risk of severe COVID in meta-analysis. Notoriously difficult to absorb — should be taken in liposomal, micronized, or biopiperine-enhanced form. Protocol dose: 1,000 mg (at two capsules twice daily).
Critical safety caveat: Patients on prescription blood thinners (eliquis, xarelto, pradaxa, warfarin) should use this protocol with clinical supervision. McCullough reports one serious bleeding case across several thousand patients — a patient with occult liver disease and a pre-existing prolonged prothrombin time. All three products should be stopped at least two days before major dental work or surgery. The enzymes must be taken on an empty stomach.
The Expanded Protocol: Additional Interventions
N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) — added to the base protocol for its detoxification properties. The Wellness Company offers an Ultra-NAC formulation combining NAC with milk thistle and other detoxification support compounds.
Sweating — McCullough considers this a critical, non-supplement intervention. Since spike protein and synthetic mRNA have been identified in skin and sweat glands via biopsy, sweating represents a measurable excretion pathway. Infrared saunas, outdoor exercise in heat, and any activity producing perspiration are actively recommended. McCullough observes that his most severe cases are patients who are completely sedentary and unable to sweat, and notes that athletes — who sweat profusely — appear to have cleared the protein more effectively after the initial wave of cardiac events.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy — at least 20 sessions at 100% oxygen at two to three atmospheres. McCullough notes that every published study on this intervention has been positive, though the exact mechanism against spike protein is not yet established.
Exercise and circulation — any intervention that improves microvascular blood flow is considered beneficial, including foods, herbs, and PEMF (pulsed electromagnetic field) devices. McCullough's observation: the worst cases are uniformly sedentary patients.
What Doesn't Work — According to McCullough
McCullough is blunt about interventions that have failed in his clinical experience. Plasma exchange doesn't work because most spike protein is deposited in tissues, not circulating freely in blood. Ozone therapy has not demonstrated efficacy. Stem cell treatments have caused blood clots and even heart failure in some patients — likely because the stem cells themselves are contaminated with spike protein. IVIG (intravenous immunoglobulin) is almost certainly contaminated with spike protein given it's pooled from thousands of donors.
He also notes that pharmaceutical drugs have not solved the spike protein problem. Even blood thinners, while managing symptoms, don't address the underlying cause — the persistent protein itself driving a rubberized, amyloid-type fibrin clot that requires enzymatic dissolution.
Monitoring: How to Measure Your Exposure
McCullough recommends quantitative antibody testing against the spike protein through Lab Corp using the Roche Elecsys system. This can be self-ordered at labcorp.com under "Labs on Demand" for $69 — no physician order required.
The clinical interpretation McCullough uses in practice:
Below 1,000 units/mL — very low risk post-exposure. Strong negative predictive value. Most people with one or two prior infections and no vaccine fall in this range.
Around 2,000 units/mL — average for patients with long COVID syndrome (published data by Bar Hammond and colleagues).
Around 11,000 units/mL — average for patients with vaccine-related syndromes.
Over 25,000 units/mL — Lab Corp's current reporting ceiling, though they can measure up to 100,000 with additional dilutions.
McCullough also recommends four cardiac biomarkers in patients with suspected vaccine injury: troponin (myocardial damage), BNP (heart failure marker), galectin-3 (cardiac fibrosis marker, available through Lab Corp), and D-dimer (micro blood clotting). He orders all four on a single lab ticket.
The CI Mavericks Takeaway
I'm presenting this as curated intelligence — not prescription. As a physician, I can evaluate the clinical reasoning here, and I find it substantive enough to warrant our members' attention. The peer-reviewed literature on spike protein persistence is real. The clinical observations across thousands of patients are documented. The protocol compounds have established safety profiles when used appropriately.
Whether you had the infection, the vaccine, or both, the question McCullough raises is worth sitting with: is the spike protein still in your body, and what are you doing about it?
This is the kind of intelligence our Wealth + Health advisory exists to surface. Not secondhand commentary. Not fear-based marketing. Clinical data, from a physician who is actively treating this population, curated by a physician who understands the stakes.
Your health is the one asset class you can't diversify away from.
Resources Referenced
Dr. Peter McCullough — PeterMcCulloughMD.com
The Wellness Company — twc.health
McCullough Foundation — mcculloughfnd.org
Lab Corp Spike Antibody Test ($69) — labcorp.com → Labs on Demand → Infectious Diseases → COVID-19 Antibody