Please realize there is nothing that has been shown to
protect people from Ebola. However, there are people who survive it and the
question is why does one person survive it and another succumb to the disease.
Although, there is no data to show what protects people from Ebola, I can share
with you general information on how people protect themselves from infectious
viruses in general. We know that our bodies have mechanisms in place to protect
us from disease.
Two Main Areas to Be Aware of: Barrier Method & Immune System
Our skin is our first
barrier that protects us. However, there are multiple entry points that allow
entry of germs if they come in contact with mucous membranes of the eye, nose,
mouth, vagina, urethral opening, anus and of course any cuts or micro-cuts in
our skin allow entry of germs. The immune system is of course our greatest
asset. Learning to be aware of entry points for viruses and making sure you use
barriers for protection such as masks, gloves or even whole body suits in some
situations is your first line of defense. Supporting your bodies immune system
and being in good health is your second line of defense. I suggest you work
with a qualified health care practitioner to decide what will work best for
you. I will give some ideas below that you can discuss with them. Realize that
everyone is different. Some people will react to herbs/nutrients in undesired
ways. Pregnant women and others with special conditions may not want to take these
supplements. It is really best to work with a health care practitioner who can
guide you appropriately. This is just educational information to discuss with
your practitioner. Please do not take it as medical advice. It can not
substitute for your health care practitioners advise.
I am going
to tell you what I do when there are viral illnesses going around in my
community.
When I have
friends and family with colds or flus they all know they are not welcome at my
house. I love them but I ask them to stay home and care for themselves when
they are sick. If they are so sick that I need to go to their home to help
them, I wear a mask and gloves. This is just standard infectious control for some
fairly easy to care for conditions. However, Ebola is a bit more serious than
the cold or a standard flu. Our government should tell people who have
passports from countries with active Ebola that they are not allowed to come
into the United States until the outbreak is over. They should also say the
same for people who have been in a country with an Ebola outbreak in the last
21 days. Additionally, they should have put out talking points on how people
can protect themselves from getting Ebola. This is just simple 101 infectious
control on a worldwide stage. Obviously, we can’t depend on our government to
protect us, so you really need to consider what you need to do to protect
yourself from coming down with Ebola or other infectious diseases if it is in
your community. Once again, I suggest you discuss this with your health care
practitioner.
So what if
Ebola ends up in my area? How would I change my protocol as far as my first
line of defense (barrier method)? I would once again tell everyone to stay home if
they are ill and not visit me. I would additionally limit my interactions with
people to a minimum. No hand shaking, no hugging on greeting others. I would be
careful about who I let into my house. I would treat any package or other item
being delivered to my home as possibly being contaminated. With Ebola I would
suggest people who think they have it, go to the hospital to be isolated from
the community and cared for. If someone is sick with the flu and I need to help
them I would completely cover my body with protective clothing that can be
either thrown away or can be decontaminated each time I go to their home. If
Ebola is in the area, I can’t be sure they have the flu, so when I go to their
home this is a method to protect myself in case it is really Ebola.
What about decreasing your chance of
getting viral infections at the work place?
When I
owned an herbal company, we gave people health days to use, but there were
those who would take them as fun days and come into work sick. I was always frustrated
about this, but could not seem to change their behavior. I did what I could at
work to decrease other employees and myself from getting the flu or other
viruses they would bring in. Here is what we would do.
• Get the sick person to go home if you are able to.
• Get the sick person to go home if you are able to.
• If they are at work at least remove them from the vicinity of others or have them wear a mask if possible. It is best for the sick person to work in their office by themselves or off away from others if possible.
• Wash your hands regularly.
• Have people cough or sneeze into
their shirts. People usually cover their mouths with their hands and then they
shake your hand or they use the phone etc. The best thing to do is to pull the
top of your shirt out and to cough or sneeze inside of the shirt. If you can’t
pull the top of your shirt out, you should cover your mouth with your upper arm
as you do not touch things with your upper arm usually.
• Clean instruments such as phones, door knobs, etc that are shared with others with some type of antimicrobial cleaner. I use a lavender spray or another antiviral essential oil spray during flu season. You can make a simple spray by starting with a base of 40%
rubbing alcohol & 60% water or a Base of 20% grain alcohol and 80% water.
Once you make your base put the base into a spray bottle. For each oz of base
add 40-60 drops of lavender essential oil. Spray this on items you are sharing
with others such as phones. Make sure you don’t spray it on anything you think
will be damaged by the essential oil or the alcohol. (I spray this on most
things with no problem, but it can damage wood and may damage some fabrics etc.
You can test an area first to make sure it will not harm the item.)
I have worn a mask to stores when there are infectious outbreaks in my area. I can’t
be ill as I have too many responsibilities, so the inconvienence of the mask is
worthwhile. I don’t get sick from air born viruses this way of from someone sneezing in my face. I also make sure I wash my hands a lot.
Even when there are no infectious diseases in the community, the first thing I
do after entering my house from having ran errands in town, is to wash my
hands. If I am at someones house with an infectious disease (only if I am assisting them) I am masked and
have gloves on. I take the gloves off either at or outside of their door and I
am careful of disposing of them. You can also keep wet wipes in your car. The
custom of shaking hands is just crazy and really should stop. If you have any
epidemic taking place shaking hands, or any other of our greetings involving body
contact is an activity that will make it more likely that the virus will
spread. Some viruses are spread in the air while others such as Ebola are not.
However, they can still be spread in droplets that someone has sneezed onto you
or other objects that you might touch. They can sneeze into their hands and
then shake your hand. Most people, especially sick people do this
absent-mindedly. People really should sneeze into the top of their shirt (Just
open it and sneeze inside.) or use their upper arm to stop their sneeze from
sending out a mist of virus onto everyone. It is important to realize that contact with a person’s body fluids who is ill with a virus such as Ebola may transmit that virus to another person. If the sick person wipes their nose with
their hand and then push an elevator button and you follow by pushing the same
button, that is not good news for you. Especially, if you have a tiny cut on
that finger or use your finger to rub your eye afterward. The virus needs a way
to get into your body and any opening on your skin will do. Other viruses can
be spread even easier if they are air borne. At this time Ebola is assumed to
be non-airborne. Viruses do mutate and it is always better to be safe
than sorry.
So, this is
not in depth but that gives you a brief idea of how to protect yourself from
viruses by using barrier methods. Now let us look at how to make our own bodies
stronger and able to withstand viruses. Our immune system is responsible for
protecting us from viruses, so we can decrease our chance of getting a virus
and increase our body’s ability to fight off a virus once we get it if we take
care of our immune system.
Please
realize that there are no vaccines, herbs, nutrients or anything else that has
be shown to prevent Ebola. However, we can still make our immune system as
strong as possible. We should keep our immune systems in good working order as
a general rule. There are some people on immunosuppressant drugs who should not
do this however. An example would be those with organ transplants. However, as long as they consult with an
appropriate practitioner prior to implementing any health routine their
practioner can guide them as to the safety of the following material to their
health.
The
following below are some educational ideas we can use to increase our
likelihood of protecting ourselves from infectious disease. Let’s start
by examining some of the general things we can do.
Methods to support a healthy immune
system include:
• Avoid allergens
or food sensitivities.
• Eat a nourishing
diet of whole organic or biodynamic foods with healthy oils and fats,
adequate protein, high-fiber, and complex carbohydrates. Eat plenty
of fresh, ripe fruits and vegetables.
• Eliminate
chemical sensitivities in your environment.
• Nourish, tonify,
and enhance organ systems that are depleted or not functioning properly.
• Discontinue
recreational drug use.
• Decrease
prescription drug use as much as possible under the guidance of your physician.
• Get adequate
exercise.
• Rest and
meditation/prayer.
• Drink 6-8 glasses
of clean water each day.
• Drinking fresh
squeezed lemon juice helps maintain the body’s internal ph.
• Breath clean air.
• Get sunshine.
• Enjoy the
benefits of massage and hydrotherapy.
• Include joyful
activities in your day.
•
Adequate sleep is very important.
•
Avoid Stress
•
Sanitation is very important: Wash hands
•
Support your digestive tract: 80% of your immune system is in the
digestive tract. Probiotics can help.
•
Eat only Organic Food. Do not eat GMOs.
Free radicals can keep your immune
system from functioning optimally. Free radicals are
destructive molecules that lack electrons. They are formed as a natural result
of normal metabolic processes like breathing. However, they can increase due to
things like stress, infections, poor diet and environmental stressors. So antioxidant rich food can be helpful to protect your immune
system and entire body from them.
A USDA study analyzed the antioxidant content of commonly
consumed foods. Researchers tested over 100 foods. Here is a ranked list of the
top 20 fruits, vegetables and nuts:
1. Small red bean (dried), 1/2 cup
2. Wild blueberry, 1 cup
3. Red kidney bean (dried), 1/2 cup[br[
4. Pinto bean, 1/2 cup
5. Blueberry (cultivated), 1 cup
6. Cranberry, 1 cup (whole)
7. Artichoke (cooked hearts), 1 cup
8. Blackberry, 1 cup
9. Prune, 1/2 cup
10. Raspberry, 1 cup
11. Strawberry, 1 cup
12. Red delicious apple, 1
13. Granny Smith apple, 1
14. Pecan, 1 ounce
15. Sweet cherry, 1 cup
16. Black plum, 1
17. Russet potato, 1 cooked
18. Black bean (dried), 1/2 cup
19. Plum, 1
20. Gala apple, 1
For a comprehensive list of Nutrients ingested for their
antioxidant effects go to:
What about herbs that are antioxidants. Here is a list of a few
from "Herbal Medicine From the Heart of the Earth" You will notice
some of them are also listed in the research above.
• Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus)
• Chaparral (Larrea tridentata)
• Fo ti (Polygonum multiflorum)
• Ginger (Zingiber officinalis)
• Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)
• Ginseng (Panax ginseng)
• Hawthorne (Crataegus spp.)
• Ligustrum (Ligustrum lucidum)
• Milk thistle (Silybum marianum)
• Propolis
• Rhubarb (Rheum officinalis)
• Sage root (Salvia miltiorrhiza)
• Schisandra (Schisandra chinensis)
• Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)
• Tumeric (Curcuma longa)
Some of the more important nutrients
and herbs used to support the immune
system are listed below. If you want detailed descriptions on any of these
herbs you can get them at this link: http://www.herbaltransitions.com/MateriaMedica.html
Nutrients to Support
the Immune System
• Eating antioxidant rich foods (lots
of bright colored fruits and vegetables), which is also a diet rich in Vitamin
C, beta-carotene and essential minerals is helpful. See above.
• Increase immune system supportive
nutrients such as vitamin C with bioflavonoids 500 mg in the AM and PM at
minimum. If someone is sick they usually take vitamin C up to bowel tolerance.
(This is the amount that causes your stools to become slightly loose.) Once
they reach bowel tolerance they lower the dose slightly so they don't have loose
stools. Also zinc, about 15-30 mg per day. If taking zinc for more than 3
months you should take copper in a ratio of 8 parts zinc to one part copper. So
if taking 15 mg zinc per day you would take 2mg copper also unless you have
Wilson’s disease or some other reason for high copper levels. (Why you consult
your practitioner.) Last but not least consider vitamin D (sunshine,
supplements such as cod liver oil) (need to check D3 lab levels to decide on
amount to take-see below). A multiple B vitamin can be helpful in addition for
general cellular energy production.
• Getting a 25-hydroxy-vitamin D test
is a good idea as many people do not have adequate levels of vitamin D, and
often these people find they can prevent flu with just this one change. Research
shows that low levels of vitamin D predispose one to getting the flu as well as
the common cold. Until recently there was not a reliable measurement of vitamin
D available. The vast amount of new research has shown we need much more
vitamin D than thought previously. People who test low in vitamin D usually
need to use D3 supplementation to raise their levels to within normal limits.
The amounts necessary are often between 3000 IUs to 8000 IUs per day. One
should not take large amounts of Vitamin D without testing occasionally to
check for toxicity. Although it is best to work with a professional health care
worker, many cities have independent labs that will let you order this test
without a physicians order.
Selenium is another supplement that
is helpful if you have a low selenium diet. Selenium is a mineral that can be
problematic in large amounts, so I suggest eating foods with selenium or asking
your practitioner for a suggested dosage.
Selenium: brazil nuts, tuna, beef,
poultry, fortified breads, and other grain products.
Zinc: oysters, red meat, poultry,
beans, nuts, seafood, whole grains, fortified cereals, and dairy products
Vitamin D: sunshine, cod liver oil,
mackerel, shitake, sockeye salmon, herring, sardines, catfish, tuna, eggs (Not
as much as the fish.)
Vitamin C: Raw, or consume liquids
cooked in as you loose vitamin C in the cooking water. Peppers, horseradish,
parsley, kale, leeks, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprounts,
potatoes, onions, orange, papaya
Now, lets take a look at herbs that
are used to support the immune system. I have taken out “low dose” botanicals
from these lists for safety sake. Below is a list of immunomodulator herbs.
Immunomodulator is a term used for herbs that enhance the body’s natural defense system to
assist in infectious conditions or other situations which tax the immune
system.
Immunomodulators:
• Ashwaganda
(Withania somnifera)
• Andrographis
(Andrographis paniculata)
• Astragalus
(Astragalus membranaceus)
• Calendula
(Calendula officinalis)
• Cedar (Thuja
spp.)
• Echinacea
(Echinacea spp.) - see the pdf on Echinacea at: http://www.herbaltransitions.com/herbalresources.html
• Elecampane (Inula
helenium)
• Garlic - fresh
(Allium sativa)
• Ginger (Zingiber
officinale)
• Goldenseal
(Hydrastis canadensis)
• Hyssop (Hyssopus
officinalis)
• Lomatium
(Lomatium dissectum) – Very useful herb but beaware it can cause problems in
some folks, so should be used by trained practitioners.
• Monarda spp.
• Oregon grape root
(Mahonia spp.)
• Osha (Ligusticum
porteri)
• Paracress
(Spilanthes acmella)
• Prickly ash
(Zanthoxylum clava-herculis)
• Propolis
• Red root
(Ceanothus americanus)
• Reishi mushroom
(Ganoderma lucidum)
• Wild indigo
(Baptisia tinctoria )
• Wu wei zi
(Schisandra chinensis)
Lymphagogues
are also used when someone has an infectious condition.
Lymphagogue: Supports the lymphatic organs or stimulates activity of the
lymph system.
Examples:
• Burdock (Arctium
lappa)
• Calendula
(Calendula officinalis)
• Cleavers (Galium
aparine)
• Mullein
(Verbascum thapsus)
• Ocotillo
(Fouquieria splendens)
• Red clover
(Trifolium pratense)
• Wild indigo
(Baptisia tinctoria)
For details on each of the above
herbs, go to:
Each herb can be looked up here under either it's common or
latin name. The information is completely free. There is updated newer data in my book. Sorry, it is not online.
Now remember, I mentioned above that 80% of your immune system
is in your gut. So, take good care of your gut.
Do not eat GMOs. If you want to
know why, read these articles I wrote:
Consider gut microflora replacement. They are also
called probiotics or your microbiome. Additionally consider increasing your
consumption of prebiotics. Prebiotics are food for the gut bacteria.
Around 100
trillion of these beneficial bacterial cells populate your body, particularly
your intestines and other parts of your digestive system. In fact, 90 percent
of the genetic material in your body is not yours, but rather that of bacteria,
fungi, viruses and other microorganisms that compose your microflora.
The composition
of this microflora has a profound impact on your health. For example, we now
know that your intestinal bacteria influence your immune system as well as
genetic expression, weight, brain development, memory, mental health, as well
as the risk of various acute and chronic diseases.
How to
Optimize Your Gut Flora
The good
news is that positively influencing the bacteria growing in your body is
relatively easy.
Reserve
antibiotics for serious cases of bacterial infections only.
Eat a
healthy diet that is low in sugars and processed foods and devoid of GMOs. Eat
only organic food.
Eat
fermented foods and drinks.
Feed your
gut bacteria herbs that are considered probiotics (food for good gut bacteria).
Those herbs with high inulin are good sources. These include dandelion root,
and burdock root. Inulin is usually higher in the roots in the late autumn.
These two roots are used as a food source in general. Another herb (not used as
a food and only as an herbal medicine) is called elecampane. It too is high in
inulin.
Most water soluble fiber is "good food" for your good gut bacteria. Examples of foods/herbs with water soluble fiber is oats, apples, marshmallow root and slippery elm.
Most water soluble fiber is "good food" for your good gut bacteria. Examples of foods/herbs with water soluble fiber is oats, apples, marshmallow root and slippery elm.
One last
thing I would say regarding infectious disease. If there is an infection such
as Ebola in the United States and it appears to be spreading. (We do have one
case in Dallas Texas now.) Then, I suggest you have reserve supplies on hand.
Food, water, herbs, medicines and anything else you need. People will be quarantined in their own
homes as the Dallas family of the man who currently has Ebola. You also might
want to quarantine yourself for your own safety at some point. Having supplies
on hand will allow you to do that. It is always a good thing to have supplies
in case of electrical outages, storms etc anyway.
