BOOSTING IMMUNITY
There are things we can do to make sure that our immune systems are working well. Here are some things I've learned to do to keep sickness at bay:
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TAKE VIRACLEAR. I learned about this in massage school. According to the company’s literature, “ViraClear EPs 7630 from Integrative Therapeutics is a homeopathic 1X mother tincture containing a proprietary extract-EPs 7630 obtained from the roots of the South Africa Pelargonium sidoides plant.” Does it work? At the first inkling I might be getting something, I start on this and usually don’t get sick at all. If I do, it’s cleared out pretty quickly instead of turning into bronchitis or pneumonia, as it is wont to do in my body.
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"How Much to Sleep When Sick," Medical News Today
REST! When we’re tired and rundown, we’re more susceptible to viral invasions. Sleep all you can, and if you can’t sleep, become a couch potato for a little bit. Although exercise is good for us, this is not the time to push yourself. Your body’s fatigue is often the first symptom that it’s under attack. It’s trying to get you horizontal, so it can use all its energy to mount a strong defense. If you do get sick and start to feel better, don’t use this time to get caught up on everything you think you need to do. This is often the time to be extra vigilant against overdoing it because the virus will come back with a vengeance. Trust me: this is how I’ve ended up with pneumonia a couple times. If you’re still feeling good the next day, gradually increase your activity until you know the coast is clear.
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TAKE 500 mg. of QUERCETIN and 50 mg. of ZINC. Zinc is kinda magical. It keeps viruses from replicating, which is their prime directive once inside our bodies. Quercetin helps our body’s bioavailability of zinc. Think of zinc as the repairman and quercetin as the key to your house that lets him in to do the repair. You have to take quercetin 4 hours before the zinc, though, so I take it with breakfast and then lunch with zinc. Too much zinc can disrupt copper levels, so taking zinc with a little copper in it is a good idea.
TAKE SAMBUCOL. This is an elderberry syrup that’s an old European remedy. Many people take this daily as a tonic during cold and flu season. Take it at the first tickle of a possible respiratory event. You can now get Sambucol in gummies, too.
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TAKE VITAMIN C. Take 1000 mg. of a good timed-release Vitamin C in the morning and another in the evening. You can up this to 3000 mg./day, but more than that might be toxic. Vitamin C doesn’t stay in your system long, so unless you get a timed-release form, you’ll just be peeing your money away.
TAKE BROMELAIN? This one’s questionable, but it was listed on a clinical trial for possible Covid treatments in the days before vaccines because it’s a known anti-inflammatory. I took 500 mg. a day when I was exposed to Covid. My pain went down, and I didn't get Covid, so maybe? Experiments continue.
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KEEP YOUR VITAMIN D LEVELS ABOVE 30. We’re not sure why, but there’s a correlation between low Vitamin D levels (below 30) and our susceptibility to Covid and a whole range of other ailments. Although there is some controversy about Vitamin D's extraordinary claims for healing, there is no doubt that you should aim to have at least a blood serum level of 30 for Vitamin D in your system. Years ago, after living in a very gloomy city, my vitamin D levels were at a 9, and once I started on prescription supplements, my mood improved, my energy returned, and I wasn’t getting sick with everything going around.You may have to ask your dr. to order this test and plan on paying for it out of pocket. And then the amount you need to take depends upon this test. I doubled my normal amount when I was exposed to Covid. Here’s how you can get Vitamin D. Vitamin D3 is a more readily bioavailable form than Vitamin D2.
DRINK A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF WATER. Massive. Most of us should be drinking almost a gallon a day normally anyway. Put peeing on your calendar because that’s how much you should be pushing the fluids.
DRINK HERBAL TEAS. Traditional Medicinals makes some teas that are stock items in our pantry—Throat Coat, Cold Care, and Breathe Easy. There are others you might try as well; Yogi, for example, makes comparable teas. I’m no paid endorser for any particular brands; these are what I know. Before there were pharmaceuticals, there were teas and tinctures and plasters. Many of these are at least comforting, if not medicinal. Echinacea and elderberries are especially good for the immune system. And ginger also has a long medicinal history. As The Ginger People say, “A nightly tonic of ginger with a splash of lemon and honey will soothe the throat and give a kick to colds and flu.”
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EAT WELL. Anyone who knows me well knows that I struggle with an addiction to Coke Zero. When I feel a little under the weather, I stop drinking this immediately and start drinking water, adding about 1 T. of apple cider vinegar (the real stuff with the mother in it) each time I fill my 32 oz. container. ACV neutralizes our body’s acidity, which bad microbes like. They also love sugar, so my sweet tooth has to take a holiday, too. I up my greens, cut out any junk food. (In other words, I eat the way I should every day.)
A Taiwanese friend once told me that ginger is her culture’s go-to for anytime anyone feels like they might be getting something. I started adding ginger to my immune-boosting regiment, and, if nothing else, I get to eat really good food: hot and sour soup and green curry with extra fresh ginger added is my favorite take-out when I’m feeling under the weather. Ginger is such amazing stuff that that’s why I also add it, along with turmeric, to my healing chicken soup. There’s some scientific evidence that chicken soup is therapeutic. It actually does thin mucus. So I boil up a whole chicken in a large pot of water, debone it and set the meat aside. Then I crack open the bones to get the nutrient-rich marrow into the broth. After straining, I put everything I know to be good for us—onions, garlic, ginger, turmeric, peppers, celery, carrots, parsnips, black pepper, parsley, thyme, rosemary, a bay leaf or three—into the broth along with the previously deboned chicken. I add salt to taste and often some hot sauce. Then I pour some of this soup over cooked noodles to eat. I freeze any leftover soup so that all I have to do is defrost it and make some noodles during another possible bout. |
Make sure your apple cider vinegar has "the mother."
This is what fresh ginger should look like.
Click on photo above for a healing chicken soup recipe.
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BATHE IN EPSOM SALTS, BAKING SODA, AND ESSENTIAL OILS. Soak for 20-30 minutes in a hot bath with 5 cups Epsom salts, 4 cups baking soda, and essential oils known for their properties that are supportive of healing what ails you. I mix up a batch of what I call my Healthy Essential Oil Blend and put 3 droppers-full of that mixture into my bath. The Epsom salts and baking soda bath are something that my mother learned to do while on chemotherapy. It reportedly detoxifies the body. It certainly relaxes it. The Epsom salts help with digestion and muscle aches.
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HUMIDIFY. The reason why we’re more likely to get viruses in the winters isn’t because of the cold; it’s because the air is drier, making our mucus membranes less able to ward off a viral invasion so that more virus gets deeper into our respiratory tract. You should aim for a 40-60% humidity in your environment for optimal health. You can check your home’s humidity with a $10 humidity sensor. My mother used to just turn the shower on and/or have a big pot of water on the stove all day just to get more humidity in the air. Here are some other ideas to humidify your home. Sleeping with a portable humidifier in the room is also a big help.
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RUN AN AIR PURIFIER WITH A HEPA FILTER. They really can catch and trap viruses from the air. Consider your ventilation and air out the place by opening a window, if possible. This is why old folks used to sleep with windows cracked at night: it helped with ventilation, reducing any viruses trapped inside.
Click on the photo above to see New York Times' Wirecutter for reviews of the 8 best air purifiers of 2022.
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CLEAN. You probably know this, but let’s review some things. Wash your hands as incessantly as the guilty Lady Macbeth. Carry hand sanitizer and use it after you touch anything commonly touched by others—gas pumps, door handles, money, etc. Wipe down surfaces in your home with antiseptic. (Remember, soap is an antiseptic.) Don’t forget to clean door knobs, faucets, light switches, commode handles, microwave touchpads, handrails, refrigerator door handles, anything touched often by others in your house. I also wipe my purse, keys, car, and phone down regularly. I’ve been known to wipe my credit cards. Scrub toilets with gloves and a mask on, especially if someone in your home’s been sick. Close off any infected rooms, if you can, and let them sit for 72 hours, a standard duration of viral viability. After that time, go in and gently gather any bed linens and clothing for the laundry and put them straight into the washer, or a closed container if that’s not possible right then. Wash them in water that’s as hot as can be without damaging the fabric. You may want to add Borax to the wash. Dry on hot. Shower and/or bathe and change your own clothes daily. Brush your teeth 2-3/x a day and gargle with an antiseptic mouthwash. Rinse your toothbrush with hydrogen peroxide after each use, and replace it after any illness.
LET YOUR FEVER BURN. A fever is your body’s brilliant way of warming up to kill microbes that can’t take the heat. So unless your fever gets to 102, don’t take anything to bring it down. Drink more water, rest, and don’t forget to . . .
“Inner Mongolian Child” by photographer Han Chengli, 2003.
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LAUGH. According to a 2009 study, laughter boosts our immune system. Now is not the time to watch the movie Rwanda or call your sour aunt. Bathe yourself in positivity. Many people use time in quarantine to grow spiritually. As the Bible says it, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil. 4:8).
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