Quote of the Month
“An inefficient virus kills its host. A clever virus stays with it.”
It’s that time of year when everyone seems to be getting ‘sick’. What many of us don’t realize is that we all catching these so called ‘bugs’. Some of us are able to fight them off before experiencing any symptoms at all; while others are not so lucky.
This is due to the difference in each of our immune systems. The immune system’s job is to recognize and destroy any foreign invaders, yet most of us don’t pay much attention to it’s functional status until we get sick. It’s status depends a lot on our lifestyle. On any given day, we’re either supporting or hindering it.
This year, the coronavirus is creating quite the hype; which makes it all the more important to give our immune system the support it needs. But at the same time, I don’t think we need to panic. I thought it would be helpful to put some things into perspective.
Do you remember SARS? 774 people died in the US and 44 in Canada. When it comes to the flu, Canada had approximately 300 deaths last year. This year, the CDC estimates that there will be 8,200-20,000 deaths in the USA from the flu alone. In terms of the Coronavirus this year, we only have 4 cases in all of Canada – no deaths.
I know some people are still concerned, but hopefully, some of the information I provide below will be useful…
Here are some things that weaken our immune system:
- Emotional/mental/physical stress
- overthinking, overworking, depression, anxiety…
- too much exercise can stress out an already ‘stressed’ out body
- too little exercise stagnates our lymphatic system
- Chronic illness
- Poor sleep – at night is when our body performs all of it detox and repair work.
- Diet
- Sugar – many people don’t know this, but 1 teaspoon of sugar will turn off our immune system for up to 6 hours! It’s a legal drug in my opinion and in absolutely everything (even some meds). The performance of white blood cells (WBCs) are negatively affected by it’s consumption.
- Sugar-free substitutes such as aspartame, sucralose and Splenda® are just as bad, if not worse, as they are chemicals that also impair immune function. Ironically they also cause weight gain.
- Refined, packaged and processed foods are often loaded with refined carbs (ie more sugar)
On a positive note, there are some things that we can do to help strengthen and support the immune system whenever we feel something ‘coming on’. Some of these may sound familiar. In times of need, my family often uses combinations of the following (these are adult therapeutic dosage levels):
- Garlic: 1-3 capsules, 3 times a day. Chopping some fresh garlic is another option – 1 clove 3 times a day. Don’t chew it, just swallow with a chaser of water. You’ll probably keep your friends and colleagues away with this one too!
- Vitamin C with bioflavonoids: 1,000 IU every 2-3 hours up to bowel tolerance. Camu Camu berries/powder have the highest source of vitamin C – 1 teaspoon has 750% of RDI!! It can be added to smoothies.
- Oregano Oil: Take one 150mg capsule, 4 times a day
- Echinacea: 1 capsule or 30 drops every 2 hours. Works well in conjunction with the herb Goldenseal. For example, if you feel a cough coming, you can take a full dropper of alcohol-free echinacea and goldenseal, hold it in your mouth for 5 minutes to stop the virus from multiplying!
- Vitamin D3 & K2: 10,000 IU a day (not a typo). Vitamin D helps with calcium absorption, prevents sunburn, acts as a hormone and also offers powerful immune support. It’s essential to make sure the supplement also contains K2 to ensure proper absorption of D3. Best taken with fats/oils as Vitamin D and K are fat soluble vitamins.
- Zinc: 15 mg capsule, 3-4 times daily along with 3mg copper
- Colloidal Silver: 1 teaspoon every few hours Great for bacterial and viral infections including pink eye and E coli. Looks and tastes like water. This is a very useful item to have at home for any internal or external infection….don’t worry, you won’t turn blue!
- Other suggestions
- Home made chicken or turkey soup: a classic immune supporter! Buy an organic chicken, put it in your slow cooker or pressure cooker with some water and let it do it’s thing.
- Drink lots of filtered alkaline (pH 8+) water
- Treat yourself to a lymphatic massage and start dry brushing
- Traditional Acupuncture can help expel pathogens
- Ginger, Cat’s Claw, Olive leaf, Colostrum, Astragalus, Elderberry, Reishi mushroom, essential oils, and the list goes on….
The body is smart and will adapt, so it’s best to take these remedies for no longer than a week at a time; otherwise, they will lose their effectiveness. It’s not necessary to take all of these at the same time. I usually pick several and use them.
Here’s another tip – don’t take anything to suppress a fever. Virus’s don’t survive well in warmer temps. The fever is there for a reason – to destroy the virus. So unless you have a very high fever, it’s best to sweat it out and let it be.
One word to the wise…when it comes to supplements and herbs, you get what you pay for. Some products are made from synthetic nutrients instead of the real thing. The body will use synthetic ingredients as best it can, but it’s really like trying to put a square peg into a round hole. Other supplements, have so many binders, our body’s can absorb them. Even worse, some may not even contain the listed ingredient at all.
If you have any health conditions or concerns, you may want to check with your family practitioner.