BOOST YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM NOW!
Winter is always a good time to make an extra effort to boost your body’s natural capacities to protect and heal itself, especially through the immune system and the gut. With the interest now on the Corona-virus spreading world-wide, some people are possibly getting worried, how could this affect them? And, how can I help or protect myself and my family?
There are still many unknowns about this virus but what is known, is how to protect yourself from this and the multitude of viruses we are exposed to in the course of our normal daily lives.
As they say, prevention is better than cure. So, I personally, like to take a holistic and self-help approach to encouraging the foundations of good health, this being a pre-requisite for your health to flourish.
My go-to's are obviously Yoga, Ayurveda & Homeopathy with a bit of up to date nutritional input.
So, here are a few suggestions (in summary), that you might take on board to support your own health.
YOGA: 6 top Benefits of Doing a Regular Yoga Practice (all proven by research)
Increases strength, flexibility & agility
Positively impact blood pressure & heart health
Reduces stress hormones for body & mind; increases your resilience & enhances your ability to respond to stress
Improves cognition function, concentration & memory
Increases the Happiness factor by reducing anxiety & depression, improving mood, motivation & general sense of well-being
Living longer; blood test markers are positively impacted by yoga with the combined benefit of factors seem to translate directly into better health & living longer!
So, keep up your yoga practice – make it part of your daily regime.
AYURVEDA (the ancient sister Science to Yoga)
Cate Stillman’s book BODY THRIVE: up-level your body & your life with 10 habits from Ayurveda & Yoga - very concisely puts all the information there you need, neatly distilled from these ancient practices. She suggests that following these daily body habits will generate a body that is strong and at ease; a mind that is clear and sharp; dynamic relationships, and an unmistakable connection to spirit. This is based on Ayurvedic principles that dis-ease arises when we:
1. make careless choices (Prajnaparadha)
2. disrespect our Senses (Asatmendriyartha samyoga)
3. live out of rhythm with the Cosmic Clock (Parinama)
In summary, the antidote is to make these lifestyle changes/choices to bring the natural harmony of body-mind-spirit.
Habit 1: Earlier, lighter Dinner
Habit 2: Early to Bed
Habit 3: Start the Day Right
Habit 4: Breath Body Practices
Habit 5: Eat a Plant-based Diet
Habit 6: Self Massage
Habit 7: Sitting in Silence
Habit 8: Healthier Eating Guidelines
Habit 9: Come to your Senses
Habit 10: Easeful Living
Enjoy reading the book and putting some if not all of these daily habits into practice!
HOMEOPATHY
Some of you know I am a strong advocate for Homeopathy, I've personally been using this natural healing system for many years now and been a practising homeopath since 1995. It’s unfortunate that Homeopathy continues to receive bad press from the deniers that it can possibly work, or there are no scientific bases, and it’s all a placebo effect are just some of the beliefs. Maybe that’s what they say, however, ask anyone who has been treated with Homeopathy and they will tell you a different story. I can say from my own personal experience, it can be a lifesaver!
Homeopathy is known as a healing art & science; profoundly effective; gentle yet safe with no side effects; it encourages the body’s own natural ability to heal itself. It is a holistic practice that views all symptoms merely as an expression of disharmony within the person, therefore, the homeopath recognises the importance of individuality of the person and not just the symptoms of disease. It is a well stated and recognised fact now, that the effects of emotional traumas are often the underlying cause of ‘dis-ease’ which manifest as anxiety, panic attacks, depression, phobias rejection, divorce, shocks or accidents are some of the roots of disease which can be successfully treated with homeopathy.
Homeopathy also has its place for acute conditions, accidents & injuries (most people know the amazing healing effects of Arnica), but also acute viral and bacterial infections like coughs, colds, flu, food poisoning, sports injuries, pre-post-surgery & dental procedures.
Getting back to how to protect your immune system, I’ll share now current info on the pending coronavirus, from some of my homeopathic colleagues.
The Coronavirus or nCoV as it is being known.
A lot of fear is being whipped up around this – for some sensible input from the Guardian newspaper – highlights some of the main facts – namely it is a virus and there is no treatment for it.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aerq4byr7ps
A post from HPWCC - set up by Cathy Lemmon. Link to the website: hpwwc.org.
At HPWWC, we have been researching and waiting for confirmable data regarding how best to work with this virus.
"We are pleased to now be able to start releasing information to you.
Having just completed the third international conference for Homeoprophylaxis: A Worldwide Choice in New Delhi, India, we are now honoured to know better, first-hand, how hard and effectively working their Ministry of Ayush and Central Council for Research in Homeopathy (CCRH) are. They are solid and exemplary organizations.
They have released the following statement regarding the nCoV in reference to prophylaxis for this:
"At the instance of Ministry of AYUSH, Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH) discussed the ways and means of prevention of Coronavirus infection through Homoeopathy in 64th meeting of its Scientific Advisory Board on 28th January 2020.
The Group of Experts in ter-alia has recommended that homoeopathy medicine Arsenicum Album 30 could be taken as prophylactic medicine against Coronavirus infections, which has also been advised for prevention of ILI.
It has recommended one dose of Arsenicum Album 30, daily in empty stomach for three days. The dose should be repeated after one month by following the same schedule in case Coronavirus infections prevail in the community.
The Expert Group has further suggested that general hygienic measures for prevention of air-borne infections suggested by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India, for prevention of the disease should also be followed by the public."
Part of a post by a leading UK Homeopath, Miranda Castro: TUESDAY, 28 JANUARY 2020·
Coronavirus aka 2019-nCoV: My Notes
“I researched about the virus this morning seeking out papers and articles that were more informative than the fear-mongering being disseminated by the media*. Yes, some people are dying so this is a very bad virus but let’s see if we can think it though.
The maps above are as of January 27, 2020 |
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/
I looked for information that would be useful to the homeopathic thinker.
This is an RNA virus—like influenza—but there are some key differences from the common flu virus symptoms. These differences will help us to be clever about selecting effective homeopathic solutions.
The common symptoms:
The fever is typically low grade (99ºF-102ºF)
Fatigue (malaise) and aching muscles (myalgia)
The uncommon symptom:
A dry cough develops which is accompanied by breathlessness
There is no coryza (runny nose)
People who continued to get sicker developed pneumonia. In some patients the kidneys and/or the liver and/or the heart became affected.
(the following gives you an idea on how we Homeopaths work)
My thoughts about remedies are theoretical at this point. I have not seen a patient with this disease.
It looks like this virus comes on slowly.
The incubation period is unknown but the initial symptoms (fever and cough) last a good week.
Therefore, Aconite doesn’t look like a sensible remedy as it is mainly indicated at the first signs of an illness that comes on suddenly and would be used here if it did.
The first symptoms are fever with muscles aches and fatigue.
This is good for Gelsemium.
Especially if the muscles aches are all over, if the fever is accompanied by chills (in the back) alternating with heat, and there is thirst lessness.
A cough develops which is dry and accompanied by breathlessness.
If there are no other symptoms at this stage Ferrum phosphoricum will be the first remedy to consider.
If there are any modalities or general symptoms, then:
Phosphorus, Bryonia, Arsenicum, Ipecac or Antimonium tartaricum may be indicated depending on the symptoms.
There’s no treatment and no vaccine so it is wise to take as many obvious precautions as possible. I never thought I’d write this—or do it myself but if you must travel by plane:
Wear a mask
Don’t drink the water (including tea/coffee) or eat the food
Don’t wash your hands in the restroom
Purell the heck out of everything”
Being a homeopath, we work on resonance. If you start panicking if someone even sneezes in the office and, you feel fearful, that will not help your immune system – it thinks it is about to be attacked!
So, don't buy into the fear. Secondly - make sure your immune system is not compromised by being sensible - Eating well. Cutting down on alcohol. Sleeping well etc. If there is an underlying condition, such as diabetes, extra care needs to be taken to protect the immune system. Have plenty of Vitamin C -preferably in the form of fresh, organic fruit but if this is not possible then at least as a good supplement. This advice is for any virus of course.
If anyone needs homeopathic advice, I can offer a telephone consultation if its an acute condition or a more in depth person to person consultation for more chronic states.
You are welcome to contact me to have an initial no obligation 10-minute discussion.
NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS I do advocate getting your nutrition naturally from the foods you eat. However, sometimes we must turn to supplements because we need extra help because of a deficiency or need a boost because of extra demand. Below are some for you to consider:
Vitamin C and other foundational nutrients
This newly published blog by Andrew Saul PhD, Vitamin C Protects Against Coronavirus, offers sage foundational advice.
The physicians of the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service and the International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine urge a nutrient-based method to prevent or minimize symptoms for future viral infection. The following inexpensive supplemental levels are recommended for adults; for children reduce these in proportion to body weight:
Vitamin C: 3,000 milligrams (or more) daily, in divided doses.
Vitamin D3: 2,000 International Units daily. (Start with 5,000 IU/day for two weeks, then reduce to 2,000)
Magnesium: 400 mg daily (in citrate, malate, chelate, or chloride form)
Zinc: 20 mg daily
Selenium: 100 mcg (micrograms) daily
Vitamin C, Vitamin D, magnesium, zinc, and selenium have been shown to strengthen the immune system against viruses.
Additional rationale for vitamin C
In another blog by Andrew Saul PhD, Nutritional Treatment of Coronavirus, offers additional rationale for vitamin C: “Abundant clinical evidence confirms vitamin C’s powerful antiviral effect when used in sufficient quantity” and states that the “physicians on the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service review board specifically recommend at least 3,000 milligrams (or more) of vitamin C daily, in divided doses. Vitamin C empowers the immune system and can directly denature many viruses.”
It’s very encouraging to read that just 200mg a day” given to the elderly resulted in improvement in respiratory symptoms in the most severely ill, hospitalized patients.”
This statement from the above blog puts much of what is considered to be media hype and fear-mongering into perspective: “The common cold is a coronavirus, and SARS is a coronavirus, so they are the same viral type” ~ David Jenkins, MD, Professor of Medicine and Nutritional Science, University of Toronto.
Here are some additional links that I have found : Vitamin D, olive leaf extract, oregano oil, elderberry, NAC and diet
Vitamin D and the anti-viral state “These results support the hypothesis that vitamin D … may play a major role in the inhibition of viruses.” I’m very aware of the immune-boosting properties of vitamin D.
Olive leaf extract “decreased the duration of upper respiratory illness in high school athletes.”
Oregano Oil “A number of preliminary in vitro or animal studies have shown that compounds in oregano oil are virustatic and virucidal against several viral pathogens.”
Black elderberry liquid extract “displays an inhibitory effect on the propagation of human pathogenic influenza viruses” and has antimicrobial effects against bacteria responsible for infections of the upper respiratory tract. (I actually make this myself from elderberries found locally - one bottle last the whole winter!)
N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) “antioxidants like NAC represent a potential additional treatment option that could be considered in the case of an influenza A virus pandemic.”
Here are some well-balanced perspectives from Peter D’Adamo on Facebook mentions drinking plenty of water, stocks, garlic (freshly crushed), onions, leeks, elderberry and Andrographis paniculata.
Stay well - Stay Calm - remember - "only nature heals" - Hippocrates
