COVID-19 Series: How to boost your immune system with diet, nutrition and antiviral herbs.
My office is being flooded with requests from people wanting to protect themselves naturally, in the fight against COVID-19.
In light of this, I want to share with you the many, many ways that you can protect yourself from the coronavirus and/or stimulate the healing process if you have taken ill.
And those ways relate to diet, nutrition and the use of antiviral herbs.
Did you know? The right nutrition will block the virus’ ability to replicate, boost our body’s ability to create antiviral proteins and antibodies, and increase the production of the cells that recognize and kill infected cells in our bodies.
So, let’s get into it.
Diet
When it comes to looking after your immune system and protecting yourself from viruses, a healthy diet is vital!
Start by decreasing or eliminating sugary and high starch foods from your diet.
Stable blood sugar keeps the immune system strong, so you want to avoid foods that cause your blood sugar to spike.
Instead, replace those calories with high-protein foods, fibrous foods, and healthy fats.
If your diet is plant-based, your highest sources of protein will be sprouting foods such as seeds, nuts and beans. These are naturally rich in fiber and healthy oils as well.
If you take in animal proteins, in addition to the vegetable protein foods mentioned above, consider taking in organic, grass-fed meats, organic poultry (grass-fed if you can find it), wild-caught fish and organic, free-range eggs.
You will also want to take in foods that are high in minerals such as veggies, nuts, seeds and herbs – particularly those which are high in zinc, selenium and copper!
Finally, you should be taking a wide variety of fiber sources. The greater the diversity of your fiber sources, the greater the diversity of intestinal flora species, and the stronger the immune system becomes.
So, it’s not about WHO comes to your intestinal flora party, it’s about HOW MANY came to your party! The more species that show up, the more powerful your immune system becomes. We drive the diversity of flora with the diversity of our fiber sources.
I have been managing to get about 60 sources of fiber into my family’s diet every week. Since I determine how to get this accomplished, NO ONE HAS FALLEN ILL! Try it for yourself.
You can achieve this by taking in fiber from all kinds of plants including vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, bran and a wide variety of herbs. I also include fiber supplements (many are now being made from a wide variety of fiber sources), juice fiber (the waste from juicing produce), and various types of gluten-free brans while preparing meals. My family has NO IDEA how much fiber they take in!
Why not sign up now for my new upcoming Healthy Food Recipe Club (launching in the fall).
Nutrients
The three most important nutrients for fighting viruses are
- Vitamin A – I recommend 10,000 international units per day for protection & 30,000 international units per day if you’re sick
- Vitamin C – I recommend 1000mg 2-3 times per day for protection & 2000mg 3-4 times per day if you’re sick
- Vitamin D – I recommend 5000 international units per day for protection & 10,000 international units per day if you’re sick
Minerals
In addition, they are several minerals which are crucial to a strong immune system and will be burnt up by your body when fighting-off a virus infection.
These dosages are general, safe-for-all recommendations but the ideal amount may vary from person to person. For more information on the specific products I recommend and dosages, take a look at my eBook “title”.
As I mentioned earlier, the most important minerals for protecting yourself from viruses are zinc, selenium and copper.
Zinc is the most important mineral for your immune system. Consider taking in 30mg per day for protection and 90-100mg/day if you’ve taken ill.
Selenium is another essential mineral for helping your body fight viruses. Consider taking in 200-400 micrograms of selenium per day or 600-800 if you are unwell.
If you’re eating mineral-rich foods such as Brazil nuts, around an ounce per day will suffice if you are not ill.
Copper is also crucial but is a little trickier to work around.
Many people already have high copper levels, and further supplementation can be dangerous for their heart health. This is why you must get your serum copper levels tested at the blood lab.
However, if you’re unwell, your body will be burning copper very rapidly, and so a safe dosage would be 1-3mg of copper.
Antiviral Herbs
With these sorts of changes to our diet, we are able to support the natural functions of our immune system that are designed to fight viruses.
And there are amazing, natural products that combine herbs and nutrients that will make your body able to knockout COVID-19.
These immune-building and antiviral herbs include
- Medicinal Mushrooms
- Garlic
- Oregano
- Echinacea
- Andrographis Extract Arabinogalactan fiber from Larch
- Lauric Acid (food or supplementation)
And more!
Where to start?
In addition to practising cleanliness and social distancing, there are basic steps that you can be taking in terms of your diet, use of herbs and nutrition to protect yourself from COVID-19.
For more in-depth information about how to optimize your immune system, protect yourself from viral infections, and how to manage your health if you have become ill, take a look at my e-Book VIRUSES! – How to stop respiratory viral infections before you get sick.
I put aside a bit of time each month to help individuals with their questions and concerns. If you require additional information, don’t hesitate to contact my office for a free, fifteen-minute consultation.
You should also check out the following Dr Sandy audio downloads:
