Naturally Protect Yourself From COVID-19 (And Other Infections)

Naturally Protect Yourself From COVID-19 (And Other Infections)

 In Healthy Living

Reducing your exposure to the Coronavirus has been well covered in the media, and is of course #1 priority in your protection. If you’re not exposed, you can’t get it.

But we won’t be living in isolation forever.

At some point the world will go back to normal and you want your body to be as protected as possible from viruses and other infectious agents.

 

ENTER YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM.

 

The immune system is what protects your body from being overrun with harmful bacteria and viruses. In the case of a pandemic, such as the one happening now, we want to focus on supporting the immune system in it’s efforts to fight these battles.

You will see many supplements, herbs and other products that will claim to “boost” the immune system.

But be careful, because the immune system is complex, with up-regulating and down-regulating mechanisms to keep the system in check. Micromanaging this is tricky, and some things may do more harm than good depending on the situation.

For example in the case of COVID-19, data has shown that an hyper-immune response (known as a “cytokine storm”) is contributing to the number of deaths. (1)

So what you really want is to SUPPORT the immune system to self regulate and do the job it was designed to do. Many factors, such as stress, diet, chemicals, alcohol, sleep, mental health and emotions greatly influence the immune system, and so we want to look at these.

 

Basically, the best way to support optimal immune function is to provide what it needs and remove what is disrupting it.

 

Step 1: Provide What Your Immune System Needs To Function Optimally

  • adequate sleep (2)
  • good nutrition, particularly vitamin C and Zinc (3)
  • vitamin D (4)
  • probiotic bacteria (5)

 

Step 2: Remove What Is Contributing To Dysfunction

  • stress (physiological, mental, emotional) (6)
  • sugar and alcohol (7,8)
  • toxins (9)
  • food sensitivities (10)

 

In other words: relax, laugh, eat a variety of wholesome colourful foods, get sunlight (or supplement with vitamin D) and include some fermented foods. 

After taking care of these basics, which probably don’t come as any big surprise, the next step would be to go DEEPER and identify YOUR unique immune triggers. 

 

HERE’S WHY:

 

60-80% of your immune system is located in your gut. 

This means that food, which comes into the body multiple times of the day and interacts with the immune system consistently, has a very high potential to influence your immune response. 

The gut lining is one cell thick and can become more or less permeable depending on many factors. Again: stress, toxins/medications, poor sleep, etc can all increase the permeability of the gut lining. 

When this happens, food particles which have not yet been fully digested can slip through the gut lining and enter circulation. The immune system mistakes undigested food particles as “invaders” and mounts an attack. This creates inflammation, which can further damage the gut and surrounding tissues. 

A cycle of food reactivity and inflammation begins, which tends to worsen over time. Typical symptoms of food reactivity include headaches, body pains, sinus problems, brain fog, fatigue, digestive issues or irritable bowel, skin reactions, and other chronic conditions.

These symptoms indicate food sensitivities and immune reactivity.

These reactions are diverting the attention and resources of the immune system to FOOD, instead of to harmful bacteria and viruses. 

 

SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR COVID 19?

 

If your immune system is constantly dealing with and reacting to incoming foods, it has less bandwidth to deal with infection.

One of the best ways to optimise your immune system and ensure it’s able to perform its job properly, is to remove the triggers which are unnecessarily consuming its resources. 

 

OK, HOW DO WE IDENTIFY THESE TRIGGERS?

 

There is a simple blood test you can do to identify the foods and chemicals which are currently triggering your immune system.  It’s called MRT, or mediator release test, which I offer through my practice. 

 

To learn more about food sensitivities and other factors which impact your immune system and overall health, watch my FREE WEBCLASS.

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