Coronavirus prevention ~ Important steps we can take now

I have often written about ideas for the prevention of viruses and ways that we can keep healthy during the year, especially in 'cold + flu season'. I even put together an eBook with lots of DIY ideas to help us to prevent and also treat both colds + flu. It's available here.  I am, as we know, NOT a medical doctor. I am not writing to tell anyone what to do -- but I love to share ways that we can be more self-reliant. I do feel that there are some very pragmatic steps that we can take, so sharing this Coronavirus prevention post with some steps we can take now. I hope that you will agree that preparedness not panic continues to be a good 'mantra' here.

 

Coronavirus Prevention

NOTE:  This article is not meant to replace the advice of your doctor. Please know that I am sharing ideas based on 20+ years of herbal medicine + nutrition studies.. Read on and add what appeals to you...  to your health care routine.

In our day to day.. we can work on our own personal habits, our lifestyle choices, and our "home apothecaries". I will continue to update this post with more ideas as time permits.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record:

• Wash your hands with soap and water, often^^^
• Avoid touching your face (nose, mouth, eyes especially)
• Use elbows to open doors. Gloves when possible. Pay attention to 'surfaces'
• Get sufficient rest
• Preparedness over Panic. Fear weakens us, on all levels
• Choose REAL food to nourish ourselves
• Supplement with herbs, minerals + vitamins for optimum immune function
• ^^^Do YOU wash your hands properly?
  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say that best practices for hand washing include not only rinsing the hands with water, but also applying soap and scrubbing the palms, the back of the hands, between the fingers, and under the fingernails.  A person should scrub for at least 20 seconds before rinsing the soap and drying the hands with a clean towel.A recent study states that only 50% of public washes hands properly after using restroom and 30% don't wash at all!!! People!!!

What we choose to ingest daily -- is truly under-estimated in terms of its power to keep us healthy!

A diet that features lots of caffeine, sugar and dairy, is heavy in junk food, with limited vegetables and fruit will slow down the immune response.
Alcohol, smoking, limited rest and ongoing stress also impact the immune system and how efficiently it will react when exposed to germs.

If the above lifestyle describes you to a 'T" ~ consider making some changes. Start with ONE thing.  Cut back on coffee and junk food. Choose real food!

Real food choices for winter health should include:
Home-made broths (bone broths, miso, or mushroom) packed with onions, garlic, horseradish, ginger and turmeric root as well as warming stews and meals with an emphasis on fresh veggies. (when possible fresh best, otherwise choose veggies frozen at peak harvest time)

Another great idea -- look after your liver -our body's very important filter. All of this 'inside living' and possibly excess food or liquor? Try this  easy food remedy.
It's a favourite DIY condiment called   milk thistle gomasio.

Check out this healing soup recipe ~ I always have this on hand at home. I make extra and freeze to have on hand, and enjoy it often.
Additions such as Reishi or other medicinal mushrooms can elevate broths and soups. Here's a potent medicinal mushroom broth recipe and some ideas for you via this link.

Keep hydrated. Drink good clean water... and often.
Make sure to drink lots of good water and supportive herbal teas. Want some ideas for the kids?  Make this longtime favourite from my days in my herb shop, Studio Botanica. It's called "Kiddie Calm Tea". It makes delicious popsicles too!

My other eBook is available here.  Herbal Teas for Winter Health has SO many ideas for you! In cases of any flu situations, we can actually drink our Vitamin C, we can support the 'process' of fever in the body, or when fighting infections when we are well hydrated.

Hydration is especially important for those with compromised immune systems due to any number of factors, youngsters, elderly folks or pregnant women as they may have issues with "thermoregulation." To learn more about how we regulate our body temps and fevers, read this article

Sleep is when the body does its best regenerative work and getting sleep is essential.  Make sure to have a comfortable place to sleep, clean sheets and blankets with good ventilation if possible. Read this article about ways to improve your rest and get best sleeps!  Want to learn about my favourite herbs for better sleep?

I would also suggest that you make up some  Fire Cider!  It is a food, it is a medicine and loaded with all the goodies to support your immune system. If you are not familiar with this easy to make traditional remedy... you may want to make some!!  These simple food can be a part of a good support system. There are many here at Studio Botanica.  Here's "FIRE CIDER 101" -- Make yourself a batch soon!  After you have made your own Fire Cider, check out these yummy recipes with fire cider!

Nutrients to help with Coronavirus prevention:

Vitamin C
It's been a while, now, but Toronto MD Dr Fred Hui, had a lot to say about IV vitamin C treatment during the SARS pandemic in 2003.

Toronto Star, 30 May 2003: "Fred Hui, MD believes that administering vitamin C intravenously is a treatment worth trying. And he'd like to see people admitted to hospital for the pneumonia-like virus treated with the vitamin intravenously while also receiving the usual drugs for SARS. 'I appeal to hospitals to try this for people who already have SARS,' says Hui. Members of the public would also do well to build up their levels of vitamin C, he says, adding that there is nothing to lose in trying it. 'This is one of the most harmless substances there is,' Hui states. 'There used to be concern about kidney stones, but that was theoretical. It was never borne out in an actual case.' Hui says he has found intravenous vitamin C effective in his medical practice with patients who have viral illnesses."

In one well-controlled, randomized study, just 200 mg/day vitamin C given to the elderly resulted in improvement in respiratory symptoms in the most severely ill, hospitalized patients. And there were 80% fewer deaths in the vitamin C group. Here's another recent report about Vitamin C and pneumonia.

If you do nothing else, start taking vitamin C right away; at least 3 grams a day, spread right across the day. That's a 1,000 milligram capsule every 8 hours, or a level teaspoon of powder dissolved in a pint or so of water, drank all through the day. Vitamin C is not difficult to locate at your local health food store. Don't buy the cheap stuff if possible. This is your health we are talking about. Here's another good article about Vitamin C ~
Here are some of my favourites -- these are available locally for most of us.
If not; here are some ideas via Amazon affiliate links:
From Solaray ~ 1000 mg capsules with rosehips and acerola berries.
Nature's Plus Ultra C ~ 2000 mg capsules

Vitamin C is IMPORTANT.

Magnesium:
400 mg daily (in citrate, malate, chelate, chloride or Bis-Glycinate form).  A long-term deficiency of magnesium can build up in the body. I am using the Bis-Glyicinateform of Mg  which is very
bio-available (use-able by the body)  Check out your local health food store or order this one online from Can Prev and I like the taste too!

Vitamin D3:
The recommended dose normally is 2,000 International Units daily. With the omicron variant rampant in the world, we can safely increase this dose from October until May.
I take 10,000 iu daily.
Start with 5,000 IU/day for two weeks, then maintain that dose or increase in middle of dark winter days.
Vitamin D is stored in the body for long periods but takes a long time to reach an effective level.
The maintenance dose "prior to the pandemic"  varies with body weight, 400-1000 IU/day for children and 2000-5000 IU/day for adults. It is your choice. I vote for a higher dose, for a few months during the winter, and then back to 2000 iu..
I have taken the liquid drops of Vitamin D. D Drops which give 1ooomg per drop! Personally, as I said, right now, I am taking 10 drops daily. Research indicates that another choice is D3K2 -- this formula also is available in drop form. I tend to alternated between the D3  and the D3K2  drops daily. This second version is a synergistic combination which is a great way to incorporate the healing qualities of both vitamins. They support each other. K2 is all about enabling more calcium to be well absorbed which supports bone health, healthy circulation and cardiovascular health.

"For those unfortunate enough to get the ’flu or any viral illness, Dr. John Cannell of the Vitamin D Council recommends taking 50,000 IU daily of vitamin D at the first sign of the ’flu for 5 days, then dropping the level down to 5 – 10,000 IU daily for the winter season." (source)

From functional medicine doc Jessica Seaton (source):
"Increased levels of vitamin D require increased levels of vitamin K, especially of vitamin K2 (menaquinone). Without enough vitamin K2 there is an increased risk of hardening of the arteries and other soft tissues. Vitamin K2, along with vitamin D, are essential for the bones to uptake and incorporate calcium. Vitamin K2 is found in a soybean product called natto, and in dairy products and egg yolks"
Dr Zoltan Rona says "Vitamin D works even better if taken with vitamin K2. Both are anti-inflammatory and can prevent as well as treat infections successfully"

"I have found the value of bolstering immune function with Vitamin D to be incredibly powerful."

Dr. Zoltan Rona has written an entire book just about the powers of Vitamin D and our need to supplement with this important nutrient. Here's the link for his book:

From the latest Vitality Magazine here.:

In a retrospective analysis of 646 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, researchers found that those patients deficient in vitamin D had more comorbidity, longer hospitalizations, and more ICU admissions.  They also required more invasive mechanical ventilation and had significantly more overall complications than those whose levels of vitamin D were adequate. The authors concluded that “Vitamin D supplementation may be able to prevent or improve the prognosis of COVID-19 during this pandemic.”

The report, entitled Prevalence and Clinical Outcomes of Vitamin D Deficiency in COVID-19 Hospitalized Patients: A Retrospective Single-Center Analysis was published online at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34645738/ in October 2021 by Afaghi S, Esmaeili Tarki F, et al. Tohoku J Exp Med. Oct. 2021;255(2):127-134. doi: 10.1620/tjem.255.127.

Zinc

Zinc is a powerful antioxidant, essential for many biochemical pathways. It has been shown to be effective in helping the body fight infections.  A recommended dose is 20-40 mg/day for adults.
Purchase Zinc lozenges to have with you during the day. These can be very soothing and help to keep sore throats at bay. For more indepth info, read this Zinc information.

Selenium: 100 mcg (micrograms) daily. This mineral has been shown to be deficient in the soil and definitely is the case 'historically' in areas where these coronaviruses originate.
I tend to take a few nutrients together. I really like ESTER ACES from SiSu .. It's a combination of Ester C + vitamins A, E + selenium. Check your local store or order this alternative from Carlson Labs  here.

B-complex vitamins and vitamin A: A multivitamin tablet with each meal will supply these easily and economically.

Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is a bioactive molecule with an array of health-promoting properties. Melatonin has been successfully used to treat sleep disorders, atherosclerosis, respiratory disease and viral infections. Previous research has documented the positive effects of melatonin in alleviating acute respiratory stress induced by virus, bacteria, radiation, etc. READ here for more information.

 

Nutritional supplements are not just a good idea. For fighting viruses, they are absolutely essential.

Immune support via gut health: Nutritional experts suggest that a good quality probiotic from your health food store is another solid immune support, and I agree. I've found this to be true for me personally.

We can also consume probiotic foods and it's more important now than ever.

Yogurt -  It is made from milk that has been fermented by friendly bacteria, mainly lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria. Make sure to choose yogurt that has active or live cultures.

Kefir is a fermented probiotic milk drink. It is made by adding kefir grains to cow's or goat's milk. It is  thought to be a better source of probiotics than yogurt, and people with lactose intolerance can often drink kefir with no problems.

Kimchi is a fermented, spicy Korean side dish. Cabbage is usually the main ingredient, but it can also be made from other vegetables.

Sauerkraut is finely shredded cabbage that has been fermented by lactic acid bacteria. In addition to its probiotic qualities, sauerkraut is rich in fiber as well as vitamins B, C and K. There are many healthy benefits associated with sauerkraut.

 

Coronavirus Prevention ideas from Vitality Magazine:

Read more here about nutritional support for Coronavirus prevention. When researching this article, the latest issue of Vitality Magazine arrived in my inbox. I laughed -- There's a need for this information and here's an entire article with many citations + studies.. So why re-invent the wheel? Please check it out here..