02/27/2020
With panic over Coronavirus, here’s a great read on how to protect yourself.
THE CORONA VIRUS, What to Do?
The Corona Virus is beginning to spark fear in people. To an extent, this fear is welcome news and hopefully will make folks aware of the potential risks involved and motivate them to become educated about the virus. Past warnings about viruses, Zika virus, the Bird Flu, Swine Flu have all turned out to be far less dangerous than we were warned they would be. But these new viruses have got to be taken seriously. Eventually, one like the Spanish Flu, the last severe virus in 1918-1919 infected 500 million people worldwide and killed about 10% of those infected will arise. People have argued that medical care is so much better and this is true. However, people travel far more freely, and therefore the chance of spreading the virus far faster than in previous points in history is very real.
In this article, I will attempt to summarize some key strategies to keep families and yourself safe.
Respiratory viruses like Corona virus are mainly spread through mucus droplets release and sprayed during sneezing and coughing directly onto another person or in close proximity where it is breathed in. Viruses also can survive outside of the body for various lengths of time and can be transferred by touching a settled droplet on a surface of some kind. The virus does eventually die, and this type of transmission is not thought to be the main avenue of infection at this time. Avoiding people with upper respiratory illness is helpful with this, but not always possible. Remember, it is physically contacting virally infected fluids and then transferring that contamination to your mouth or nose that causes transfer of the disease. This is why doctors talk regularly about washing your hands, avoiding touching of handrails and other commonly touched surfaces and why you see people walking around with surgical masks on their face. In the same way, if you become sick with a respiratory illness, it is best to stay home until you feel better. Most people with respiratory illness do NOT have the Corona virus.
Another suggestion I would make is to avoid flying or going on a cruise if possible. I would only do so in the case of emergency. It is especially important to avoid destinations where there is known outbreaks of the Corona virus. Traveling to those areas, your chances of encountering the virus are far greater than in areas with very low levels of infected people. You can find updated information on the Corona virus at the following link: https://www.cdc.gov/media/dpk/diseases-and-conditions/coronavirus/coronavirus-2020.html.
The next point I wish to make is deaths from viral and other infections are far more common in people with compromised immune systems. The very young who do not yet have a fully formed immune system and the very old, whose immune system is wearing out are the most vulnerable. People with immune deficiency issues, such as HIV, those undergoing treatment for cancer and those who are taking immune suppressant drugs for organ transplant or autoimmune disease treatment also need to be especially careful.
I believe there are some commonsense strategies though that healthy not at-risk people can also take to minimize both the risk of contracting the disease and the ability to survive it if contracted. To begin you need to understand some simple basics of the immune system. We are protected from infectious agents by a variety of cells, primarily the white blood cells (WBC’s) of the body. Two WBC’s that are especially important to fight viruses are natural killer cells (NK cells) and T cells. People with significant allergies, asthma, hay fever can be prone to having weak or insufficient T cells and NK cells. You can strengthen your overall immune system and natural killer cells and T cells with the following advice.
1. Take lots of vitamin C with bioflavonoids, not just ascorbic acid. How much is different for everyone. I would start with 1000mg tablets and keep adding one per day until your bowels get lose. Then back off one tablet and maintain that dosage. Most people will be able to handle 4 to 5000 mg/day.
2. Have optimum Vitamin D levels. Ideally, you would take vitamin D until you blood levels are about 70-80ng/ml. A deficient level is under 20 and a sufficient level is over 30. You will not get levels at 70-80 by taking 2000iu of Vitamin D per day. Feel free to contact me at the office about this.
3. Take Vitamin A. Normal range of Vitamin A on blood testing is greater than 20ug/dl. I would take Vitamin A until I had levels of about 30ug/dl. This test can be ordered by your doctor or again I can help you with this. Vitamin A is critical for the development and maturation of the immune system.
4. Healthy zinc levels are important. 80 to 120ug/dl are the normal range. I would want it at the top level. For those of you who have recently had blood work done, a common test is alkaline phosphatase. Levels under 70iu/L indicate a zinc deficiency. This again can be supplemented for.
5. Curcumin and/or turmeric in modest doses can be helpful. Too much can suppress the immune system which can be helpful in allergies or autoimmune disease, but counterproductive when trying to fight off an infection. Viruses must enter a host cell and hijack the host's machinery in order to replicate. Curcumin inhibits a cytokine in the body called NFKb that is required for viruses to replicate. By keeping NFKb levels in normal range you slow down the virus’s ability to turn into a severe infection. NFKb levels are high in people with high inflammatory levels. If you take a lot of Aleve or Advil and deal with pain, chances are your NFKb levels are high.
6. Buy Sh*take mushrooms and eat as many as you can. Use them in the form of soup, on salads, sautéed, but eat them. Supplement with Reishi mushrooms and Coriolus Versicolor mushroom extracts are especially helpful. These are very important in strengthening your natural killer cells.
7. Glutathione levels are very important for effective functioning of Tcells and NK cells. Liposomal glutathione and n-acetyl cysteine or NAC are both good at raising glutathione levels.
8. Do not give into fear and anxiety. Fear and anxiety will suppress your immune system as it raises stress in your body. Use common sense and talk to your doctors instead of being afraid.
If you have pre-existing health conditions or are taking medication, speak with your doctor first before implementing the supplementation discussed above. I believe these are some simple common-sense tools to help us all get through this. Be vigilant, be safe and above all else be at peace.
John Rees, D.C., C.F.M.P.
Functional Chiropractic
506 Union Street
Milton, DE 19968
(302) 684-1995
