COVID-19 Resistance and Resilience
By Fred Harvey, MD
Well folks, looks like we are in this one for the long haul. Now that we are deeply embedded into the COVID-19 pandemic, we are getting some understanding of the process. We have been educated by public health officials to understand a new term: "flattening the curve". When we flatten the curve of the graph that represents the number of new cases, it means that the number of new cases on a daily basis level off. That suggests that the contagion has stopped spreading as rapidly. That does not mean that the contagion has stopped spreading. Therefore, health officials caution against rapidly reopening commerce and social contact. Since the virus is still active in the community, there will likely be more people infected once we resume activities. For this reason, we should wait to resume full activities only when new cases drop to ZERO. My goal is to stay healthy in the context of an ongoing pandemic. This pandemic may last 18 months.
There are two things for any individual to consider regarding this disease: Resistance and Resilience.
Resistance is the ability to prevent the disease. Resistance can come from a vaccination or a prior infection that creates antibodies which may protect you from a new infection. Since those things are not readily available at this time, there are many other things we can do. First and foremost, is to continue physical distancing for the indefinite future. Wash your hands after each exposure. Wear a mask when you go out in public. Reduce the frequency that you go out in public. Calm your immune system so that it has reserves to act quickly and respond to an infection. Do this through meditation. Meditating to the frequencies of 2.4 Hz and 432 Hz are very calming for your nervous system. Regular exercise is critical to pump the lymphatic system to move your immune cells throughout your body. Deep breathing exercises would be helpful to keep oxygen levels up because this is a respiratory illness. Hydration is critical to maintain the integrity of your mucous membranes - the wet skin inside your nose, mouth and eyes. Balanced nutrition with adequate calories especially in protein are important to maintain the integrity of your immune system. Nutritional supplementation can be very helpful, there is a suggested list below. Resilience is about response and recovery.
Resilience is your ability to build a balanced immune system that responds appropriately rather than overreacting, and then to rebuild after the infection. Meditation, exercise, hydration and nutrition are all important for resilience. Remember this disease is actually an overreaction of the immune system to the virus. Consider that this is a simple Cold-virus Family organism. Humans don't generally die from a cold, and humans do not die from this infection. People are dying from an overreactive immune response. We want to do things to balance our immune response, the activities mentioned under resistance as well as nutritional supplementation will be very useful in helping to provide better resilience. Many of the supplements support both resilience and resistance in fighting the virus and calming the immune response.
Supplements:
D3 5000-10000 units daily
Vitamin C 3000-6000 mg daily, in divided doses
Vitamin A 3000-1000 units daily
Echinacea or beta glucan twice weekly
Quercetin 500-1000 mg twice daily
Curcumin 500-1000 mg, enhanced absorption extract
NAC (n-acetylcysteine) 600-900 mg twice daily
Resveratrol 100-150mg daily
Melatonin 3-20 mg daily
Elderberry 500 mg, 17% extract daily
Zinc 20-60 mg daily, divided
Dr. Fred Harvey has been serving the West coast of Florida since 1996, Board Certified in Internal/Geriatric Medicine and Holistic/Functional Medicine. For more information or questions about supplementation, please call The Harvey Center for Integrative Medicine Phone 941-929-9355, located at 3982 Bee Ridge Road in Sarasota, FL.
Well folks, looks like we are in this one for the long haul. Now that we are deeply embedded into the COVID-19 pandemic, we are getting some understanding of the process. We have been educated by public health officials to understand a new term: "flattening the curve". When we flatten the curve of the graph that represents the number of new cases, it means that the number of new cases on a daily basis level off. That suggests that the contagion has stopped spreading as rapidly. That does not mean that the contagion has stopped spreading. Therefore, health officials caution against rapidly reopening commerce and social contact. Since the virus is still active in the community, there will likely be more people infected once we resume activities. For this reason, we should wait to resume full activities only when new cases drop to ZERO. My goal is to stay healthy in the context of an ongoing pandemic. This pandemic may last 18 months.
There are two things for any individual to consider regarding this disease: Resistance and Resilience.
Resistance is the ability to prevent the disease. Resistance can come from a vaccination or a prior infection that creates antibodies which may protect you from a new infection. Since those things are not readily available at this time, there are many other things we can do. First and foremost, is to continue physical distancing for the indefinite future. Wash your hands after each exposure. Wear a mask when you go out in public. Reduce the frequency that you go out in public. Calm your immune system so that it has reserves to act quickly and respond to an infection. Do this through meditation. Meditating to the frequencies of 2.4 Hz and 432 Hz are very calming for your nervous system. Regular exercise is critical to pump the lymphatic system to move your immune cells throughout your body. Deep breathing exercises would be helpful to keep oxygen levels up because this is a respiratory illness. Hydration is critical to maintain the integrity of your mucous membranes - the wet skin inside your nose, mouth and eyes. Balanced nutrition with adequate calories especially in protein are important to maintain the integrity of your immune system. Nutritional supplementation can be very helpful, there is a suggested list below. Resilience is about response and recovery.
Resilience is your ability to build a balanced immune system that responds appropriately rather than overreacting, and then to rebuild after the infection. Meditation, exercise, hydration and nutrition are all important for resilience. Remember this disease is actually an overreaction of the immune system to the virus. Consider that this is a simple Cold-virus Family organism. Humans don't generally die from a cold, and humans do not die from this infection. People are dying from an overreactive immune response. We want to do things to balance our immune response, the activities mentioned under resistance as well as nutritional supplementation will be very useful in helping to provide better resilience. Many of the supplements support both resilience and resistance in fighting the virus and calming the immune response.
Supplements:
D3 5000-10000 units daily
Vitamin C 3000-6000 mg daily, in divided doses
Vitamin A 3000-1000 units daily
Echinacea or beta glucan twice weekly
Quercetin 500-1000 mg twice daily
Curcumin 500-1000 mg, enhanced absorption extract
NAC (n-acetylcysteine) 600-900 mg twice daily
Resveratrol 100-150mg daily
Melatonin 3-20 mg daily
Elderberry 500 mg, 17% extract daily
Zinc 20-60 mg daily, divided
Dr. Fred Harvey has been serving the West coast of Florida since 1996, Board Certified in Internal/Geriatric Medicine and Holistic/Functional Medicine. For more information or questions about supplementation, please call The Harvey Center for Integrative Medicine Phone 941-929-9355, located at 3982 Bee Ridge Road in Sarasota, FL.
