Heightened Immune Response

As we are more and more affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, our stress about being able to survive is getting worse. Are you concerned about what would happen if you were to contract this virus? Are you confident that you have enough resistance to get through it? So many people across the world are nervous about surviving a bout with COVID-19. Many will not survive. So, what is the difference between those who do make it and those who don't? My personal opinion is that it mainly depends on the person's immune system strength. Unfortunately, a lot about this virus is unknown. What we do seem to understand is that it is possible for some to survive and others not to. What is not known is why there is such a wide difference from person to person. Some are very mildly ill from this while others get violently ill very quickly. It even appears that some people never manifest the illness at all, but can be carriers and spread it anyway. Unknowns are so difficult because it just opens the discussion up to speculation. A lot of what we hear about the Corona Virus called COVID-19 may be false and just fabricated due to fears and other concerns. Which is why I believe it is important to get informed about it as much as possible. Usually, it is what we read that is the most susceptible to speculation. Since we know little about this virus, mostly what we have learned in the last couple of months, we should only really listen to reputable sources. The CDC and the federal government are the leading authorities in what is being researched, although there are also private companies that have launched their own investigations. Be careful to know that your source of information is valid before making any rash judgements or decisions. I believe that this is a perfect time to also learn about your own ability to get through something like this. If you feel that you are at risk of developing a serious problem from being exposed to COVID-19 or any other potentially life threatening illness, now is the time to be proactive about it. You might believe that if you become ill, you will have a place to find support, but you may be mistaken. As more hospitals and clinics experience an increase in the amount of patients believed to have contracted the virus, less will be available for common illnesses. Also, we have to consider the risk of going to one of those places and finding that there are people that have the virus already.

This is a great time to get into today's topic. The immune system. We have come to depend on medicine as a way of getting through illnesses. Sadly, there is always a consequence to this behavior. You either develop a yeast infection, or a stomach problem, or a rash, or some other reaction when you have to use conventional medicine. Chemicals that make up these drugs are most of the time difficult for the body to filter out, especially when we are sick. The simple fact that we rely on these "quick" remedies makes it so much harder to think outside the box when it comes to being healthy. Most people do not know to give the body an opportunity to get through an illness on its own. Of course, some don't have the time. Illnesses, especially those caused by viruses, can take a long time to go away. But what if I said that it would not take so long if your system was strong? Yes, that is right, a person will get over a normally long lasting illness quickly if their immune system is up to par. I use the example of my kids. Whenever we notice that the kids have picked up something and are not feeling well, we will give them a natural remedy, and they are over it in 12 hours. We allow the fever to run it's course , and just monitor giving them fluids and immune boosting foods, and supplements. Rarely does anything last even a day usually. Taking the example of a young, rather intact immune system, we can also overcome these issues as adults. The key is to make sure your filters are not blocked or sluggish. I refer to the liver, the lungs, the kidneys, the lymphatic system, etc. We can eat foods that are great for these organs and glands, plus take supplements that support them. Also, if we avoid harmful drugs and the chemicals that make our filters struggle, it is easier to depend on our body.

We keep our defense mechanisms working through not using things that will weaken or plug our filtration abilities. By doing this, we strengthen our immune system and improve the time it takes for it to kick in. Even better, we can use things like herbs to cleanse all of those areas that are more frequently taxed by less natural behavior.

Yesterday I talked about vitamin C as a great immune system support. Today I will mention other things that are great for our immunity. As I mentioned earlier, keeping our bodies in as much an optimal state as possible really helps immune system response. To achieve maximum response time and effectiveness, I believe that it is wise to think about how our bodies function. We need nutrients from foods and the enzymes, fiber, and such that some of those foods provide to have energy. The energy in turn, helps us with our day to day lives, but also helps fuel the protection that we need daily. Besides eating a proper diet of fruits, vegetables, meats, and grains, we can ensure a better level of nutrition through supplements. Of course I would love to get everything through our food, but it is not as easy as it seems to be certain you get everything from food alone. I feel that things like Zinc, Calcium, Iron, Iodine, and Chloride are great for supporting the immune system. Although these are nutrients you get from foods, I doubt we ever get enough that way. There is always the option to eat more of the foods rich in these nutrients, but I don't find too many people being consistent enough with this. So to find a true whole food source of such nutrients can be helpful. What I am referring to is that there are many supplements made synthetically, and most are, and then there are those made directly from foods. Since what you are trying to do by supplementing is to get more nutrients, I believe if you do it from whole foods, you are essentially ensuring you get your necessary nutrition regardless of the foods you consume. If you do both, it just makes it more probable that you actually are getting everything you need. You can take additional zinc, and calcium, and iodine to boost the chances of having a more intact immune system. Combining this idea with cleansing (making sure your filters work better), is a great way to have more resistance. I will write about how to cleanse on another day. For now, we can look into the foods that can be beneficial for our immunity, and add in some whole food nutrition to feel more confident in our ability to fight disease. Having a good level of intestinal flora is also key in having a strong immune system. Probiotics provide us a way to replace flora that we have lost, and I will write about this topic tomorrow. We can get healthier creating less of a need to rely on the conventional ways of doing things. Through eating better and being certain that we get great amounts of nutrients via quality whole food supplements we can have more faith in our own defenses. Believe in your body, give it what it needs, and it will help you through even the most unknown threats, including COVID-19. Lastly, I want to reiterate what I wrote a couple of days ago, please be thoughtful of others. We can put an end to this pandemic faster if we think more about what harm we do if we are sick and going out. Even if you think it is just a minor thing, stay home, you can't be certain of anything with symptoms. If you don't feel 100%, please just take a few days off. God bless everyone.