There is great news to share when it comes to the Coronavirus!

Your very best protection is not in a public policy, a quarantine or avoiding contact with the virus. Your best physical protection is actually something more intimate and personal. It’s your body’s own immune system.

The advantage of a strong immune system is that it protects you from any acute contagious illness, and improves your chances of avoiding chronic disease. So be encouraged! The Corona Virus is a clarion call to an improved immune system and ultimately, to better health! And, you can work NOW to improve it!

Let’s take this on, implementing a STOP and GO strategy:

STOP:

1. Eating sugar and sugar containing foods. Sugar is inflammatory, causing your immune system to expend itself on the wrong thing. Examples: cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), beet sugar, blackstrap molasses, brown sugar, buttered syrup, carob syrup, confectioner’s sugar, fruit juice concentrate, molasses, etc.
2. Drinking sugary beverages. Like sugary foods, they decrease your immune system’s ability to function properly. Here’s what to look for: pop, energy drinks, sports drinks, imitation fruit juice, fruit punch, lemonade,
3. Drinking fruit juice. Though it may contain vitamins and phytonutrients, the liquid carbohydrate in it is readily converted to sugar in your blood stream. Remember, we want to avoid foods that quickly dump a bunch of sugar into our bloodstream.
4. Drinking purchased fruit smoothies. Wait a minute! I thought they were healthy for you! Even so-called healthy beverages can be loaded with carbohydrate and sugar. This carbohydrate is rapidly converted to sugar in your body, leading to a challenge for your immune system.
5. Drinking tea and coffee sweetened with sugar, sugar syrups, and artificial creamer. I know this is personal, but it is true. How about eliminating the beverage adds for this season? The other option would be a switch to a limited amount of raw honey and real cream or full fat milk.

GO:

1. Add immune boosting nutrients from real food. The key is a variety of nutrient dense, real food!

• Vitamin C foods: citrus fruits (orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime, etc.), berries, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cantaloupe, cauliflower, melons, tomatoes, peppers.
• Vitamin E foods: green vegetables (e.g. broccoli, spinach) nuts, seeds, peanuts and peanut butter.
• Vitamin A foods: Deep yellow or white vegetables and fruits (e.g. carrots, cantaloupe, winter squash, sweet potatoes), dark green leafy vegetables (e.g. kale, spinach, broccoli), eggs, liver.
• Vitamin B6: fruits (other than citrus), chickpeas, salmon, tuna.
• Vitamin D: eggs, fish (mackerel, salmon, trout, tuna), fortified dairy. (Get out in the sun to let your body produce its own Vit. D.)
• Magnesium: Avocados, bananas, beans, peas, dairy products, green leafy vegetables, nuts, pumpkin seeds, raisins, whole grains, sweet potatoes.
• Selenium: eggs, meats, nuts (e.g. brazil nuts) and seeds, poultry, seafood, whole grains.
• Zinc: beans, peas, beef, dairy products, nuts, poultry, seafood, whole grains.

2.  Add probiotic food: Probiotic foods bolster your own gut microbiome that is intimately involved with your immune system. Remember, probiotic foods need to be raw, heat destroys them (so do some food additives, read the label). You can make your own at home.

Examples: Sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, yogurt, fermented vegetables.

3. Immune boosting supplements you might try:

• Probiotics (especially if you have recently been on antibiotics or have recently had a colonoscopy).
• Vitamin C: 3,000 mg Vit C (for adults) in divided doses. This recommendation is for short term use if you suspicion exposure or anticipate being exposed. Some research shows that long term use of high doses of Vit. C can be a risk factor for kidney stones, especially in men, and especially if you have a previous history of oxalate kidney stones.
• Some research indicates higher doses may be indicated, again for short term use to fight the actual infection.
• 2000 IU Vit. D. (if you are taking this long term, consider taking this with Vit K. Come ask me why!)
• Magnesium
• Zn
• Selenium

Contact Mary Lou Block, RDN if you have questions.

Questions?  Reach out to me, Mary Lou Block, RDN. 

308-537-5619

Mary Lou Block
Registered Dietician

Sources: FDA vitamin and mineral chart. http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v16n04.shtml