Tips to Boost Your Immune System during COVID-19 and Beyond

We are hearing a lot about the immune system these days. COVID-19 has illuminated it’s importance.

This is not news to any of my patients!

EVERYTHING I teach about:

Food as Medicine
Microbiome support
A healthy liver
A Whole Food Plant Based Diet

does just that — it boosts your immune system.

The liver is the first responder in immune defense. When a germ enters the body, the liver coats it and presents it to the immune system to kill it. This is done through proteins that coat the germs, which illuminate the germs so the immune system can see them. If the liver is ‘lazy’ with alcohol, fatty liver or stress, it will not do this efficiently and the germs will multiply as they won’t be killed right away.

So think of coronaviruses entering your nasal passages.

The liver presents them to the immune system, there will be an attack, you will have a runny nose, sore throat, maybe a cough and it will likely go away.

If the liver is not working efficiently , the virus will enter the cells, replicate and the viral load will increase, meaning the virus will replicate as it has gone unchecked. When the immune system attacks this viral load, it creates a HUGE reaction called, “a cytokine storm” which destroys the virus but also your lung tissue.

It is like throwing acid on lung tissue in order to kill the coronavirus.

So the first responder in the immune system is the LIVER

Keep your liver clean by:

1. NOT DRINKING ALCOHOL

2. EATING LOTS OF GREENS

3. DRINKING 6-8 GLASSES OF WATER PER DAY

4. GETTING 7 to 8 HOURS OF SLEEP PER NIGHT

5. EATING A WHOLE FOOD PLANT BASED DIET

6. DOING DAILY AEROBIC EXERCISE FOR AT LEAST 20 MINUTES

Some foods that boost the immune system are:

1. Garlic — let it sit after crushing or cutting it for 10 min. This activates its anti-cancer and anti-oxidant effects

2. Ginger — a great immune booster and anti-inflammatory

3. Onions along with garlic are high in Quercitin, which hypothetically can block the entry of coronaviruses into cells.

4. Turmeric — taken as a capsule, this does not do much, but cook it in a bit of oil with a grind of black pepper, and it increases its potency 2000 fold! Mix that in your smoothies, curries, stews or soups. Turmeric is a potent anti-oxidant and anti-inflamatory spice which also stabilizes blood sugar.

5. Cilantro — This is a potent liver cleanse. Check out the Cilantro Chutney recipe, which concentrates cilantro with garlic and lemon for a powerful liver cleansing effect in a teaspoon per day.

6. Blueberries or any dark purple/blue berries — rich in antioxidants, they assist in white blood cell function and neutralize the toxic substances produced when the immune system attacks germs

7. Deeply colored fruits and vegetables. The deep color denotes antioxidants which neutralize toxic by-products of the immune response that are created during an immune attack.

Supplements:

1. Vitamin C 2000 mg per day

2. Zinc 20 mg per day

3. Quercitin 500 mg per day

4. Curcumin 500 mg per day

5. Vitamin D 2000 to 5000 IU per day (make sure you check blood levels as you don’t want to over do this)

6. A broad spectrum probiotic with 10 to 14 strains of organisms per day.

7. Immune boosters to support the immune response and keep it regulated and not hyperreactive.

EXERCISE: 20 min per day out in the open oxygenates your tissues and also boosts liver and immune health!

Here is the URL for my immune boosting recipes. They are easy, fast and delicious!

Let’s get our country healthy and well.

The standard American Diet is NOT working!

I don’t want any of you to get sick!

And if you do, to recover quickly.