Naturopathic Medicine & COVID-19: Natural ways to support the body as we move to yellow reopening phase!
As we move to yellow phase, and as people start returning to their daily routines of work and shopping at retail stores, focusing on our health, and taking extra precaution has never been so important.
SARS-CoV-2 is new, so there is still a lot we don’t know about it. There’s no research to show that any of the nutritional and herbal information mentioned below prevents or treats COVID-19. However, there’s lots of information on nutritional and herbal interventions for already-existing viruses, including other coronaviruses. Nevertheless, there is so much one can do to improve one’s overall health and vitality. Naturopathic medicine can be a great tool to balance and support one’s immune system.
It is still highly recommended to always wash your hands with soap and water especially after touching surfaces, before eating, or touching your face. However, there are a few other things one can do.
Some beneficial supplements include:
Vitamin D is essential for immune function. It can reduce one’s risk of infections. It also helps the body’s ability to fight inflammation. However, it is highly recommended to get your levels tested before taking it as a supplement.
Vitamin C has powerful antiviral actions. A study recently showed an improvement in symptoms, a shortened hospital stay of 3-5 days, and no mortality among the group of hospitalized patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 who received intravenous ascorbic acid (IVAA), a form of vitamin C. The paper also illustrated the low risk of this affordable intervention, as IVAA in a hospital setting has been shown to be well tolerated, with no adverse side effects, in a variety of conditions.
Zinc was found to have an inhibitory effect on previous coronaviruses by inhibiting RNA polymerase activity, blocking the replication of SARS-CoV and other viruses.
Propolis is a powerful antimicrobial and antiviral substance from bees, whose high flavonoid content provides antioxidant protection. Studies have shown that propolis possesses anti-influenza virus activity, decreasing influenza symptoms.
Astragalus contains anti-viral properties, while raising immune resistance. In addition, it also reduces inflammation and helps the body adapt to external stressful influences.
Previous research have shown elderberry to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Elderberry blocks viral uptake and that its flavonoids block viruses’ ability to infect host cell. Therefore, it has been found to be beneficial for treatment of colds, flus, acute infections associated with fever, headache and nausea.
One of the most important lifestyle considerations is getting adequate sleep. Darkness and sleep stimulate the production of melatonin. It supports general antiviral immunity, in addition to helping control the inflammation in viral infections, partially because of its antioxidant properties. Studies have also found that melatonin specifically inhibits the production and activation of the proinflammatory mediators seen in sepsis.
Getting enough sunshine and fresh air. It is interesting to note that during the 1918 influenza pandemic, those who received treatment for influenza, pneumonia, and tuberculosis in open-air treatment where patients were exposed to direct sunlight and plenty of fresh, ventilated air, had much lower rates of infection and less severity of infection and symptoms.
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