Prepare for the Coronavirus

*Holistic Immune Boosting Tips for the Coronavirus 

Nervous about the coronavirus? When it comes down to any virus, vulnerability is more about the host’s ecosystem and less about the infecting pathogen.

The best preventative measures we can do is support our immune system with whole foods, stay calm and practice personal hygiene after being in public places.

Below you will find some of my tips and tips from other folks I found particularly helpful.

What to Eat:

General: 
Eat whole foods that are nutrient-dense, skip the sugar, make sure to get your rainbow foods in (colorful fruit and veggies!) and add natural anti-viral foods.

Gut Health:
The majority of our immune system is in our GUT. So that means fermented foods and bone broth! Also cutting back on the alcohol since it is a gut irritant and can drag down the immune system. Supplements: l-glutamine and probiotics. 

Antiviral Food
These include coconut oil, raw garlic, oregano, ginger, kimchi and other fermented foods, walnut, pomegranate, green tea, apple cider vinegar, and medicinal mushrooms (shiitake, maitake, reishi, cordyceps, turkeytail).  (source)

​Recipe for elderberry syrup

Vitamin C rich foods.
Vitamin C is probably the most well-known immune boosting vitamin. We can’t make this vitamin ourselves, so it's important we get enough through our food and supplementation! Vitamin C has antioxidant qualities and is proven to prevent and treat respiratory and systemic infections by enhancing various immune cell functions.

What to eat: The foods richest in Vitamin C are citrus fruits, bell peppers, acerola cherries, and rose hips.

If you choose to supplement with Vitamin C, I recommend liposomal forms because they are the most effective for our body to absorb.

Check out this scientific study for more info about the benefits of Vitamin C

Ginger
Fresh ginger is a powerful antiviral food that prevents the adhesion of viruses to the upper respiratory mucosa. This root has potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects and can be sipped as a tea, taken as a “shot”, blended into smoothies or cooked with food. 

Recipe for ginger turmeric shot

Check out this scientific study for more info about the benefits of ginger

Broth
Both bone broth and vegetable broth contain a plethora of minerals that are vital “co-pilots” for many of your body’s processes, including our immune system. There is definitely validity to slurping our grandmother's chicken soup when we are sick. 

Studies have confirmed that glycine receptors, an amino acid found in bone broth, have been identified on the outer surface of several different types of immune cells. The hydration of sipping broth or soup also helps to care for your mucous membranes and lessen the impact of viruses. 

Here is my recipe for bone broth.

Study on glycine.

Stay hydrated!
Water, coconut water, herbal teas, and bone broth. Estimate for how much water you need at a minimum: divide your body weight (in pounds) in half and drink that number in ounces.

If you weigh 150 pounds / 2 = 75 ounces of  water per day
​

What to Do:

Wash your hands
This simple habit may seem obvious, but studies have shown that frequent hand-washing is one of the most important things we can do to protect ourselves during cold & flu season. While the coronavirus is no regular flu, washing your hands every time you arrive at a destination while out and about, and first thing when you get home can’t hurt.

Another important tip is to avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth without clean hands. These mucous membranes are entry points for viruses and to lessen your exposure, washing your hands is a good idea.

Sleep!
An increase in sleep actually increases the number of your white blood cells. Loss of sleep even for a few hours at night, increases inflammation in our body which makes us more susceptible to catching the flu and having more severe symptoms.
(source)

Daily movement, but don’t overdo it.
Moderate exercise can boost the production of macrophages, the kind of white blood cells that “eat” bacteria and viruses. However, intense exercise can actually temporarily decrease immune function – so don’t go too hard.
(source)

Irrigate your nose.
"While we do not know if nasal irrigation makes a difference for prevention of COVID-19, I believe that one of the MOST preventive things you can do for any viral respiratory illness is to irrigate your, and your children’s, nasal passages with Xlear nasal spray at the end of every day and after any potential exposure (work, school, playgroups, plane travel, etc.). This is a saline nasal spray with xylitol and grapefruit seed extract, both of which have antimicrobial properties. You cannot overdo it, and will not get “addicted” to it. Other options for nasal irrigation are a regular saline spray, Neti pot, and other sinus rinses like Neilmed.
**Apart from regular hand washing, I believe that daily and frequent nasal irrigation is one of the MOST important things that we can do to prevent influenza and other viral respiratory infections from taking hold.** This is because after exposure to a virus, the influenza virus tries to invade and multiply in your nasal passages for at least 1-2 days before you develop any symptoms. Nasal irrigation can wash away viral particles before they have the opportunity to take hold, and thereby prevent many infections from happening in the first place!"
(quote from this source)

Prepare:

Prepare that you may have to stay home from work or school. If you are sick, plan to stay home to prevent transmission Don’t freak out and buy up Costco, but DO stock your pantry and freezer in case there is a shut down:
​
Frozen: meat, berries, veggies, bone broth⁣⁣
Pantry: grains, beans, nuts, seeds & root veggies
Canned: salmon, sardines, dolmas, apple sauce, beans and shelf table broth

Supplements

These are my collection of supplements.

Recommendations from Jessica Flannigan, Clinical Nutritionist
-Ester or Liposomal  Vitamin C (500mg up to 5 times per day) (immune supportive) 
-Cat’s Claw Nano by Quicksilver 350-450 mg per day (antiviral)
-Resveratrol 250mg twice per day (immune supportive) 
note that resveratrol downregulated NF-kb which is implicated in lung inflammation.

Recommendations from  Healthy Kids: Happy Kids:
Fish oil – Omega-3 essential fatty acids have a host of immune benefits too long to list!
Probiotics – One study showed a dramatic reduction in fever and upper respiratory symptoms in children who took a probiotic with a specific combination of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium daily throughout the cold and flu season. 
Vitamin C – Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant which assists our ability to ward off and deal with infection.
Vitamin D3 – Vitamin D3 increases our body’s production of cathelicidin, an antimicrobial compound, to help fight viral and bacterial infections. Make sure your Dnsupplement also includes K2 for absorbability. 
Zinc – Zinc is required for the normal functioning of white blood cells. Supplementing with just 15mg of zinc per day in adults has been found to improve our immune cells’ ability to ward off infection.

​Resources:

Video: how coronavirus works

* Note: this is not meant as medical advice or an alternative to treatment by a doctor or going to the hospital. If you show early signs of illness,  like a fever or a dry cough, contact your primary care physician.