CoVID – that’s all we’re hearing about in the news now a days…that and the fact that people think that toilet paper might help them!

I walked into a general supermarket yesterday and I saw that the meat and veggies are flying off the shelves as well. It was funny because, all the fruit and veg was gone, except for the organic section. I wonder why. This is a time when you should decrease your pesticide and chemical intake, or it would compromise your immunity.

At times like this, I’m glad we live the lifestyle we do. CoVID19 is another version of the flu, spreading at a time when the flu comes around naturally anyway – change of seasons. So, don’t be scared, be empowered.

How to combat this sensibly is to boost your immune system. You really should be doing this all year round, but especially so during change of seasons and in the cooler months.

This is what my family does – we take zinc, Vit D and magnesium supplements. We use Vitamin C if we think we need to ramp up our immune system. We use elderberry syrup and probiotics daily. Sometimes we have a bath and chuck some magnesium sulphite flakes in there. So what do all of these things do? Where can you get them and how to make some of them?

Zinc – This is an immune boosting mineral that is useful in decreasing flu symptoms due to its antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects. It is wonderful to calm you down and is used as an anti-depressant as well.

Foods that contain high zinc levels are oysters, lamb, beef, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, chickpeas and raw cacao powder.

We eat all these foods and more. Plus we supplement as well, as zinc is deficient in soil world-wide.

Vit D – The sunshine vitamin! It kills all bugs and helps to increase our Vit D levels. Get some sunshine at least twice a week for around 10 minutes. If you can’t, then take a supplement. Although most people need to supplement regardless.

Good Vitamin D levels help to boost your immune system and prevent disease.

You can get Vitamin D in food such as mushrooms, some fish, liver, eggs, etc.

We use the Thorne brand drops from iherb.

Magnesium – Magnesium is another mineral that is deplete in soils world-wide. It is an essential mineral for relaxing the muscles, boosting our energy levels and improving our sleep.

The top magnesium rich foods include cooked spinach, swiss chard, pumpkin seeds and raw cacao. A great excuse to make and eat chocolate!

I use the flakes that are called magnesium chloride (or the ‘master magnesium compound’) in baths. I also use it to make a spray – I spray this on myself and my kids’ feet every night and sometimes during the day.

You can make a spray by adding 1 cup of flakes in a cup of hot water and stirring till it dissolves. Once cooled, pour this into a glass spray bottle and use whenever required.

I get my flakes in bulk here – www.blants.com.au

Probiotics – This is proven to increase your good bacteria in your gut (and your gut is your immune system!) It plays a very important role in helping you fight these bugs and superbugs that go around. Choose a good brand with a really high CFU (colony forming units). A good marker is 5-10 billion CFUs per day for kids and 10-20 billion CFUs for adults.

We take them everyday in various forms. We get the store bought ones (I change them every time we have to get a new bottle as this gives different bacteria a chance to populate). I brew kombucha, so we drink this. I lacto ferment different veggies, which we eat a few times a week. We eat yoghurt (either plant based or milk based) a few times a week as well.

I also make my fermented idli and dosa batter once a week and it lasts us for 3-4 meals. I make miso soup sometimes. I use tamari at times…all these provide my family with a variety of good bacteria.

Omega-3 fatty acids – is another amazing way to boost your immune system. You can take a supplement like we do (Nordic naturals brand fish oil). Or you can also include high omega 3 foods in your diet (we also do this). These foods include chia seeds, hemp seeds, flax seed oil, wild caught fish (mackerel, salmon, tuna, herring), etc.

Omega-3, taken with Zinc and Vitamin C is very beneficial for children with respiratory illnesses such as asthma.

Vit C – is used world-wide to combat illnesses and boost the immune system. Our bodies can’t make it, so we need to eat food rich in this vitamin and / or supplement.

Liposomal Vitamin C is one of the best absorbing types that is available. These are quite expensive though. However, don’t buy the cheap and nasty ones which are gummies or the flavoured ones. These will contain fillers and a whole range of other ingredients which are unnecessary and some that could be bad for you.

We use the absorbic acid which is the next best type for your body to absorb. This type is very acidic, so make sure you gargle your mouth after drinking it.

We also juice and eat Vitamin C rich foods such as oranges, strawberries, kiwi fruit, kale, bell peppers, etc.

Elderberry syrup – This not only helps with preventing illness, but also to reduce the symptoms of illness. Elderberries have proven immune boosting properties.

I use this recipe, which also contains clove, local raw honey and cinammon – https://wellnessmama.com/1888/elderberry-syrup/

The elderberry syrup I make is yummy, so I can mix other supplements in with it and my kids would happily take it.

Raw honey is antibacterial, an antioxidant and antimicrobial. It is especially beneficial if you can get it locally as it will contain all the local pollen and propolis to help keep you healthy. If you can get your hands on some local Australian jellybush honey, use it. It is Australia’s manuka and is much cheaper than the more expensive and widely known and advertised brand, Manuka.

I get my elderberries from here (although everyone has caught on to the powerhouse of elderberries and it is out of stock!) – www.australherbs.com.au

Besides all of the above, I meditate and do a bit of yoga everyday, eat only organic (unless I can’t source an organic product), drink plenty of filtered water through the day, stick to my sleep routine of going to bed at the same time everyday and getting enough sleep, diffusing thieves essential oil (the recipe I follow is from here – https://www.lovingessentialoils.com/blogs/diy-recipes/thieves-oil-recipe),  avoid processed white sugar (and all sweetners at the moment), exercising through the week, take my ashwaghanda and reishi mushroom mix, add bone broth to a lot of meals I cook, drinking herbal teas like this one (https://www.australherbs.com.au/shop/item/immuni-t) and use some superfoods (amla, Davidsons plum powder) and medicinal spices (fresh turmeric, cumin and coriander powder, etc).

REFERENCES

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51491763

Abdulhamid et al: Effect of zinc supplementation on respiratory tract infections in children with cysticbrosis. Pediatr Pulmonol 2008 Mar;43(3):281-7

Biltagi et al: Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin C and Zn supplementation in asthmatic children: a random- ized self-controlled study. Acta Paediatr 2009 Apr;98(4):737-42

Micronutrient Deficiencies in Global Crop Production (pp.63-92)

Chermesh I, Eliakim R. Probiotics and the gastrointestinal tract: where are we in 2005? World J Gastroenterol 2006;12:853-57

https://draxe.com/nutrition/probiotics-benefits-foods-supplements/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19528881

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15496046

Altura & Altura: Tension headaches and muscle tension: is there a role for magnesium? Med Hypoth 2001;57(6):705-13

Barak et al: The effect of Sambucol, a black elderberry-based, natural product, on the production of human cytokines: I. Infammatory cytokines. Eur Cytokine Netw 2001 Apr-Jun;12(2):290-6

Molan: Why honey is effective as a medicine: The scientic explanation of its effects. Bee World 2001;82(1):22-40

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29900424