KBW | Be Prepared Not Scared - Immune Support Vs. The Coronavirus

Coronaviruses are not anything new. They can cause anything from a cold all the way to SARS. COVID-19 is new in humans, however, which means little is known about the virus, which, of course, makes it scary.

But being scared never helped anyone. So let's talk about the facts as we know them so far and what we can do to be prepared, not scared. 

Coronavirus Statistics

First of all, as I launch into statistics, I want to preface it by saying I in no way view people that have died as just a statistic. These are real people, and it is really sad. No loss of life is ok, but numbers are the easiest way to help us wrap our brains around this and sort out facts from fears. 

I think we can all recognize that the media hype is getting out of control and causing fear and panic, and fear and panic aren’t good for ANYONE. 

Mortality Rates & Age Factors

There are widespread reports of under-testing. The US, in particular, is being criticized for not testing very much at all. This is a crucial fact because this skews the data. Let’s look at the flu for a moment, which has a death rate of about .1 percent. 

The media has been reporting the death rate of COVID-19 is between 2-3% which is markedly higher. But the fact is that as testing becomes more frequent, we are likely to see a drop in this number. It's simple math. This means that it may be far less deadly than we’re currently being told. *Update: as of June, as I predicted, now that more testing has FINALLY been done, we now see the death rates of COVID are much closer to those of the flu (current death rate of covid 19 worldwide). 

The vast majority of the deaths are in those over the age of 80 or in those that are immune compromised. Now again, this doesn’t make it ok that, for the most part, people are fine except the elderly and immunocompromised, but it’s important to remember that if you are an average healthy person, your risk of death is probably fairly low.

It was originally reported that there were no deaths in children. Currently (as of April 30th, 2020), out of the 34,521 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the US, only nine deaths were in children under the age of 15. There was even a small study of 9 women in Wuhan in their third trimester infected with COVID. The women had fairly mild symptoms and gave birth to healthy babies. I don't know about you, but as a mom, one of my biggest fears is something bad happening to my kids, so I find the incredibly low death rate in children comforting. 

Mortality Rate & Country

Something else to note statistically is the mortality rate in China and Iran are far higher than in South Korea. China, unfortunately, had a tragic lack of hospital staff, medical supplies, ICU beds, and test kits, which could have contributed to the higher death rate of 3.8% vs. South Korea’s .7%. 

All in all, these stats paint a more comforting picture of our situation than what we are often seeing on the news.

Coronavirus Symptoms

How do you know if you have coronavirus? This one's tricky because it can look very similar to the common cold or the flu. Reported symptoms are fever, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, malaise, headache, muscle aches, and in more severe cases, difficulty breathing, acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, and septic shock and death. Some cases of COVID even begin with gastrointestinal symptoms and dysgeusia (lack of taste). 

It is believed that many will contract the virus and be asymptomatic the entire time or have only a mild manifestation of the disease. The bad news about the mild form of the virus is that is how it spreads so widely and rapidly. 

This means asymptomatic vectors can carry and spread the virus, but they have no signs of the disease. Large studies in this area are lacking, and the existing studies are contradictory.  One asymptomatic woman studied transmitted COVID to 5 other people over the course of 19 days before she became symptomatic, while an asymptomatic man was studied and found to have come into contact with 455 people over the course of 14 days, and not a single one contracted COVID. 

What Happens When You Have Coronavirus 

 First, your body will produce mucus in an attempt to contain or trap the virus. This is why some people have congestion and coughs. COVID-19 also tends to negatively affect the lungs’ system of hair cells that move debris, mucus, and infectious agents out of the body. There are also micro-blood clots that can form in the lungs of some. 

As the infection progresses, there is an overstimulation of the body’s defenses against the viral infection. Research on coronavirus from The Lancet shows a marked upswing in the production of infection-fighting chemicals produced by the body’s immune cells called cytokines. These cytokines signal immune cells to try to engulf the virus, resulting in cell death and widespread inflammation.

The coronavirus has a high replication rate which can lead to such an overwhelming immune response that it results in local tissue destruction and depletion of infection-fighting cells. Cytokines can also travel through the circulatory system to other organs causing damage to the liver, kidneys, and lungs. This overwhelming influx of damaging cytokines is called a cytokine storm. The presence of a cytokine storm is a key difference between a severe respiratory virus and a lesser virus like the common cold.

The cytokine storm can result in sepsis or septic shock, which is incredibly deadly. **Remember - the number of people that will experience this is VERY LOW. I mention it not to scare you but so you can understand why certain herbs and immune support vitamins can be helpful in treating coronavirus.

The supplements I will be explaining below either quell cytokine storms, have anti-inflammatory properties, stop viral replication, or offer increased immune support. 

How Can You Prevent Coronavirus

Have you seen the memes floating around poking fun at people that have never cared about their health in the slightest before (twinkie in one hand, beer in the other) but are suddenly very protective about their health and wellbeing, sportin' a hazmat suit to the grocery store to stock up on toilet paper? 

It's kind of funny... and kind of sad... and kind of mean... but also... kind of true. 

You can't treat your body like a trash can for 40 years and suddenly expect it to respond like Superman and become "bulletproof" to the coronavirus. And sadly, all the toilet paper in the world can't help a lick if your immune system is trashed. 

When I say prevention, I don't mean wash your hands and don't touch your face. Everyone knows that already. 

What I want to talk about with prevention is the TERRAIN of the body and how it relates to immune support. It’s important to understand that the terrain of the body is crucial when it comes to ANY illness. You can picture your body like a garden; if you give it good soil and take care of it, it will thrive, but if you throw a bunch of trash all over the place, have no nutrients in the soil, and never weed it, it’s going to be a great place for weeds (pathogens) to take over instead of flowers (your immune system). 

I work with my clients every day on improving their terrain; it’s a whole lot more than I can fit into one post, but let's hit some highlights so you can get started. Then we can move on to discuss immune support supplements and herbs to help prevent and treat viruses. 

1. Your air quality matters. 

Indoor air quality is usually WORSE than outdoor air quality. This increases your toxic body burden. Make your home a safe haven and get some good quality air filters. I have an Austin Air in my home and on my Amazon store.

2. Avoid EMF Exposure. 

Avoiding EMF exposure is another good way to help provide immune support, as well as increase your body's overall health. Nick Pinault is a leading expert in that field, so you can go follow him for more advice on EMFs. Nick Pinault's Website.

3. Stop Eating Sugar. 

Sugar suppresses the immune system, AND it feeds bad bacteria (like Candida) that contribute to an overall weakening of your terrain. Candida is a weed growing in your garden that you want to starve out, so stop giving it sugar. 

4. Stop Eating Junk Food.

It’s full of chemicals, is overly processed, and does nothing helpful for your body whatsoever... it is definitely detrimental to the overall health and strength of your body and provides nothing in the way of immune support. 

5. Stop Stressing Out. 

The grand irony of stressing over corona because you don't want to get corona... is that after all that stress, you are MORE likely to get sick with corona. Stress lowers the immune system and opens you up to catching more diseases. The best thing you can do for immune support is to take a deep breath and focus on what you can control. Eat well, sleep well, and breathe. 

6. Eat More Fruits and Vegetables. 

They are packed with antioxidants and are crucial for maintaining proper immune function. We all know oranges are packed with Vitamin C, but please don't stop there. Try to get an entire rainbow of fruits and vegetables each and every day for a full spectrum of immune support vitamins. By expanding your selection, you can be sure you're getting enough folate, panthene, and more, not just Vitamin C. 

7. Exercise, But Not Too Much. 

There is a law of diminishing returns with exercise; you want to do it enough to keep your body strong but not so much that you are run down and depleted, which leaves you more susceptible to disease. 

8. Sleep. 

You need to make sure you're getting 7-8 hours of sleep every single night, consistently, or again you'll be run down and more susceptible to disease. And make sure you're getting GOOD QUALITY sleep. Not sure? If you wake up after 7+ hours and don't feel rested, you're not getting good quality sleep. Check out my blog post on sleep for help with that: "How's Your Sleep? Chances Are, Not Good Enough". 

What Immune Support Supplements Fight Coronavirus?

Most of these things my family and I took ALREADY because I believe in the power of strengthening the body and seeking immune support at all times… not just when there’s a pandemic… but some of these are additional precautions specifically targeted at dealing with viruses, controlling cytokine storms, and treating sepsis. 

Keep in mind when buying immune support supplements that there are GOOD supplements and BAD supplements. And the bad can be very bad (think heavy metal contamination and herbal misidentification that can lead to serious injury). To read my blog post on this topic, go here: The Dangers of Bad Supplements. 

If you're looking for a safe place to buy good quality immune support supplements, head over to my Wellevate dispensary here: 10% off KB Wellness' Wellevate dispensary. 

1. Vitamin D 

Vitamin D provides immune support by activating T cells, has antimicrobial and immunomodulatory effects, and neutralizes the damage done by LPS we see in sepsis.

• The recommendation is 1,000 IU per 25 lbs of body weight
• I follow the Stoss protocol for any of us that are sick, which is pulses of extremely high doses. 

2. Vitamin C 

Provides a boost to immune support and is a powerful antioxidant.

• My daily dose is 1,000mg a day, but I increase the dosages to "bowel tolerance" when any of us are sick.
• Bowel tolerance means that you continue to take it until it induces diarrhea, and then you stay at just below that dose. Your body will actually absorb and use much higher amounts of vitamin C when it’s sick. This is why it’s best to dose until bowel tolerance and not a set dosage for everyone. Your body is smart; it will tell you when it’s had enough vitamin C. 

Due to its antioxidant abilities, Vitamin C is extremely important for fighting the free radical damage in the body caused by the cytokine storm, which is where IV Vitamin C comes in, as you can achieve MUCH higher doses with IV than with oral (remember the diarrhea thing?). 

A study done on sepsis patients found that 1.5 grams of IV vitamin C given every 6 hours with hydrocortisone and thiamine significantly decreased mortality and prevented progressive organ failure. The death rate of those given this cocktail was 8.5%, and the control group was 40.4%. READ THOSE STATS AGAIN.

There are currently three clinical trials underway in China right now using IV Vitamin C at 6 grams every 6 hours to treat coronavirus. 

3. Selenium 

Helps prevent viral replication and can be taken preventatively as well as during illness for increased immune support. (Sidenote on selenium, it’s important for thyroid function).

•  I take 200mcg per day 

4. Zinc 

Zinc not only provides immune support but is a negatively charged ion that has been shown to stop viral replication.

• Recommendations are 25-50 mg a day but no more than that and no more than 45 mg per day for more than four months because it competes for binding sites with copper and can cause a copper imbalance. 

5. Lysine

Lysine helps the body absorb zinc when they are taken together; it not only provides immune support but is an antiviral as well. Lysine can be taken preventatively as well as during illness.

• The recommendation is 1,000-2,000 mg a day. 

6. Colloidal Silver

Silver has been shown to destroy the SARS coronavirus and MRSA when taken internally and nebulized. 

• The recommendation is 1 teaspoon internally per day.
• And/or nebulize one teaspoon of silver daily in distilled water. Nebulizing is simply taking water and adding products to it (like silver) and then breathing the cold steam produced by the nebulizer into your lungs and sinuses. Dr. Wendy Meyers recommends doing this to help support sinus and lung health after you go out in public or suspect an exposure.

7. Vitamin A 

Has antiviral abilities and provides immune support when under viral attack. It also protects your upper respiratory mucus membranes and lining.

• The recommendation is 25,000 IU daily with a high dose pulse when sick with a virus.

8. Glutathione 

Glutathione is an antiviral, it strips biofilms, and it supports lung and liver health.

• The recommendation is a teaspoon of liposomal glutathione daily.

9. Probiotics 

Help protect your gut, which is where most of your immune system lies.

• I take megaspore probiotics daily.  Because it is so strong, I recommend starting at half a capsule and working your way up to the full dose. 

10. Curcumin, Boswellia, and Quercetin 

Have all been found to be helpful in sepsis by inhibiting Nf-KB pathways (and remember, sepsis can be deadly).

• The recommendation for each of these is 500 mg per day.  

11. Lomatium

While this herb tastes absolutely horrendous, it is a very promising herb. One of the inflammatory chemokines involved in the Coronavirus family is CXL10. Lomatium appears to inhibit CXL10 secretion by lung cells. It was used by Native Americans during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918 and was hailed as a cure at the time.

• I use Herb Pharma Lomatium, which instructs one full dropper full in juice or water 2-3 times per day. 

So there you have it, friends. I hope you found this to be informative, helpful, and empowering. Remember, don't be afraid. Just be prepared. 

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***Nothing from this blog is intended to be treated as medical advice. This is for educational purposes only***