A lot has been written and reported on COVID-19 over the past few months and, to me, surprisingly the focus has been on death rates, stopping the spread and “flattening the curve.” Most interesting to me is the lack of discussion about what, if anything, we can do ourselves, short of common-sense personal hygiene, social distancing, and now, quarantine, to fight the viruses, like COVID-19.
There are many well documented natural remedies and steps that you can take today to help strengthen your body to ward off potential infection from illness. One of my medical colleagues that I highly respect and trust is David Brownstein, MD, a holistic physician in West Bloomfield, MI at the Center for Holistic Medicine. Dr. Brownstein and I have collaborated on the successful treatment of patients for close to 10 years. Below are his recommendations from a recent series of blog posts on COVID-19 (Coronavirus IX: What to Avoid-Ibuprofen-And What to Take) regarding what you can do to help improve your immune system and help you potentially avoid problems like COVID-19 and other viral infections.
• Eat a healthy diet FREE OF REFINED SUGAR! It should also be free of all refined food sources including salt, flour, and oils. Remember, refined sugar paralyzes the ability of white blood cells to perform their duties for hours.
• Make sure you always STAY WELL HYDRATED with clean water. Take your weight in pounds, divide the number by 2 and the resultant number is the minimum amount of water in ounces to drink per day.
Dr. Brownstein’s antiviral protocol for his patients with acute illness or exposure to someone ill:
• Vitamin A (NOT beta carotene)
– Adults: 100,000 IU/day for four days for adults (not pregnant or breast-feeding women)
– Children 25-50 pounds: 20,000 IU/day for four days
– Children 50-100 pounds: 50,000 IU/day for four days
• Vitamin D3
– Adults: 50,000 IU/day for four days
– Children 25-50 pounds: 10,000 IU/day
– Children: 50-100 pounds: 25,000 IU/day
(Note: Both Vitamin A and D are fat-soluble vitamins. They can build up in the body. These doses are NOT meant to be taken for longer than four days at a time. If you need to repeat the doses, seek advice from your physician.)
• Vitamin C
-5-10,000 mg/day.
If you can take more, do it. If you get loose stools, lower it.
• Iodine
– 25-100 mg/day and more if ill.
– Kids can take lower doses.
– Children: A useful number is to use 0.08mg/pound.
My hope in sharing this with you is to help you see that we are not helpless in the fight against viruses like COVID-19. It is said that knowledge is power. However, knowledge is only potential power. It only becomes power when we apply and use it. My hope is to provide you with a little more power and control in these uncertain times. Now is not the time to panic. Now is the time to take control of your health and wellness.
