How I Make My Body Virus-proof - part 2

You can read part 1 of this article here.

Foods, supplements and botanicals that can help you make your body a hostile environment for viruses include:  

Antiviral foods – raw garlic, onion, leek, ginger, broccoli sprouts, reishi and shiitake mushrooms, green tea, cinnamon, clove, oregano, thyme, bitter melon, stevia.

Botanicals (I recommend taking a mix of 2 or 3 of these preventatively and rotating every 4-6 weeks) - cistus (Cistus incanus), olive leaf (Olea europea), echinacea (Echinacea purpurea), goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis), elderberry (Sambucus nigra), Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus), cat’s claw (Uncaria tomentosa), mullein (Verbascum thapsus), Chinese skullcup (Scutellaria barbata), Pau d’arco (Tabebuia impetiginosa), St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum), Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica).

Vitamins, minerals and other supplements – vitamin C (liposomal or at least whole food), methylated B complex vitamins, vitamin D3 + K2-MK7 (should really measure your levels first to determine the right dose), selenium (no more than 100 mcg / day), zinc, omega 3 fatty acids (EPA + DHA), vitamin A, vitamin E, broad-spectrum probiotics, liposomal glutathione, colostrum.

In addition, it pays off to support mitochondrial function. Useful supplements include: PQQ, CoQ10, magnesium, resveratrol, alpha-lipoic acid.

Be aware that fat soluble nutrients, such as vitamin A, can build up in the system and cause toxicity so more is certainly not better! Pregnant ladies must be careful when using supplements and botanicals. Please work with a practitioner of you’re not sure what you might need.

Essential oils - oregano, thyme, tea tree, may chang, palmarosa, clove, cinnamon, manuka, citronella, eucalyptus (globulus), niaouli, melissa, geranium.

I tend to mix 5-7 of these with carrier oil (coconut oil, almond oil, jojoba oil, etc.). When I use this while traveling or to deal with an acute infection, I use a 6-8% dilution (18-24 drops in total of the different essential oils per tablespoon of carrier oil). You can apply it on your lymph nodes, throat, chest, back of the neck, inside of your wrists, soles of your feet, etc. In an acute situation, I apply the blend multiple times per day. I would also smell it as I apply it.

I also make an anti-viral spray by mixing 5-7 of these oils with 95% alcohol for traveling. If you want to use it more regularly / preventatively, I recommend using a 1-2% dilution (3-6 drops per 1 tablespoon of carrier oil). Finally, you can diffuse essential oils preventatively as well and many of these oils kill viruses and bacteria on contact. However, do not diffuse cinnamon and clove because they can irritate our airways.

It is very important to know your basic essential oil use safety. I cover a lot of the basic precautions in this article.

IMPORTANT!!! These recommendations are for preventative use. If you happen to get the coronavirus or a "regular" flu, you should avoid immunostimulating foods and herbs due to the tendency for cytokine storm seen with these particular viruses. There is some research that supports the use of the following nutrients/foods to reduce IL-6 and/or TNF-a:  vitamin C, vitamin E, curcumin, green tea, St John's Wort, cat's claw, resveratrol, quercetin, tea tree steam inhalation. If you are infected with coronavirus or flu, you must avoid elderberry, echinacea, kimchi, chlorella, spirulina, ginseng, chocolate, honey, as there is some evidence that they increase the production of IL-6 and/or TNF-a.

"A cytokine storm is the systemic expression of a healthy and vigorous immune system resulting in the release of more than 150 inflammatory mediators (cytokines, oxygen free radicals, and coagulation factors). Both pro-inflammatory cytokines (such as Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha, InterLeukin-1, and InterLeukin-6) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (such as interleukin 10, and interleukin 1 receptor antagonist) are elevated in the serum, and the fierce and often lethal interplay of these cytokines is referred to as a "Cytokine Storm". The primary contributors to the cytokine storm are TNF-a (Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha) and IL-6 (Interleukin-6). The cytokine storm is an inappropriate (exaggerated) immune response that is caused by rapidly proliferating and highly activated T-cells or natural killer (NK) cells. The cytokine storm must be treated and suppressed or lethality can result." From the intro of Cytokine Storm and the Influenza Pandemic, by Angela P. Johnson, RN, MPH, CHES (Northwest Ohio Consortium for Public Health)

Other supplements that can help build your immunity include:

Binders – fulvic acid in particular goes after viruses, but also bioactive carbon

Redox signalling molecules supplement – amazing supplement that optimizes the immune and mitochondrial function and assists with detox, among other things (you will not buy this in a shop because it is quite a futuristic supplement that utilizes nanotechnology so ask me about this if you are interested)

Infoceuticals – these are energy medicines (or as the developer Harry Massey calls them - Homeopathy 2.0). Part of the BioEnergetiX WellNES System (find out more about it here). They are superb. This is the future of medicine. We have a number of options here, e.g. The Immune Driver Infoceutical - helps boost immune function and clear infection, The Spleen Driver Infoceutical - helps bring balance to your immune system, mind and body, as well as helps drive antibody production and resist infection, The Heart Driver Infoceutical - viruses have a special affinity for the heart and this infoceutical can protect the heart against being damaged as a result of a viral infection. There are many more.  

The final two immune system hacks that I want to mention, because they are extremely effective at improving your immune function, are exercise, as well as cold and heat exposure. There are endless benefits to moving your body and immunomodulation is one of those benefits. Exercise prescription is a very individual thing so I cannot make much of a recommendation.

W.H.O. recommends 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week. If you currently do none, I recommend you build it up slowly from a few minutes per day. There are different forms of movement of course and it is best to mix those different types of exercise. One thing for sure, you cannot have optimal health without moving your body. Generally, the less physically fit you are, the more susceptible you are going to be to infections. You can overdo it too so you really do need to make sure you are moving at the right level for you.

Since we are talking about exercise, we should also mention adequate hydration because dehydrated body cannot fight infections particularly well, and most people these days are chronically dehydrated. Hydration is NOT just about drinking water. You need to have the right levels of minerals to rehydrate your body. So it is also about minerals. Adding some sea salt to your water is a good start. Additionally, you can achieve better levels of hydration with hydrogen water. Molecular hydrogen is also a powerful antioxidant, which is bad news for any viruses. Also, at NES Health we have an infoceutical called Polarity, which is also very helpful when it comes to rehydration.

As for cold exposure, e.g. in a form of cold showers, it takes a bit of getting used to, but exposure to cold for brief periods of time really builds immunity and it is one of the best ways to stimulate your vagus nerve. This phenomenon is called hormesis. It is a temporary stressor to the body that produces that adaptive response. You get the same effect from exposure to heat. Infrared saunas are particularly great if you want great immunity and longevity. In fact, there is research that shows that you are 30% less likely to catch a virus if you use saunas regularly.

One last thing. Coronavirus attaches itself to the throat and mucous membranes first, after which it travels to the lungs. This process takes a few days. So a good preventative measure is to gargle every day. I use hydrogen peroxide but you can use a very strong saline solution as well. There is another advantage to gargling as well. Strong gargling stimulates the vagus nerve, and as I said earlier when you activate the vagus nerve you strengthen your immune function. 

So this is how I make myself and my family virus proof. I hope you will use these recommendations to protect yourself.