Coronavirus is a class of viruses first identified as a serious human threat in 2003 with the SARS (Serious Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus in China. The current COVID-19 pandemic presented as a new strain of coronavirus on Dec. 31, 2019.
Coronaviruses are so named because they have a crown-like appearance of spikes on their surface. These spikes can penetrate human cells. (1, 2)
How Worried Should You Be?
There is a lot of contradictory information online and some sources claim the media has overblown the severity of the threat and we should all just enjoy cheap airfare. I disagree.
While many people will get only a mild or asymptomatic version of the virus, a fraction will become seriously ill and may perish. The elderly, those who spend time with the elderly and those with conditions that weaken immunity should be the most cautious.
Consider Italy. This small country has been hard hit, with a current case count of over 10,000, 631 deaths and 877 patients currently in the ICU. (source) Their 5% mortality rate is above average probably due to the age of their population, but it’s still as sobering number. (source)
I recommend that we all follow the advice of the CDC and other governmental agencies. Failure to do so could result in a worsening pandemic that will have economic effects on most everyone.
There is a current backlash against natural medicine that I write about below and you will likely observe online. While you should be prudent about what supplements you take (please read to close of article), to say that there is nothing you can do to support your immune system is total BS.
This article provides researched advice on boosting your immune system against viruses and presents immune system supplements.
How Do You Fight Off Viruses?
Let’s say your body does encounter a droplet of moisture that contains Coronavirus or another virus…. what happens next?
The immune system goes to work when a foreign substance (antigen) is detected. The first line of defense is B cells that make antibodies to identify the invader. Then other immune cells, such as T cells and complement proteins, come in to attack.
The immune system is composed of white blood cells, antibodies, the complement system, the lymphatic system, the spleen, the thymus, and the bone marrow. (3)
The health of the immune system depends on many factors.
Age
Children have fewer antibodies so tend to catch more bugs. However, they get antibodies through breast milk and have a more responsive immune system in many ways. They also currently have a zero fatality rate when it comes to COVID-19.
In advanced age, the thymus gland (an immune gland in your chest) shrinks, your T cells and macrophages are less responsive, and the quantity of antibodies produced lowers. This is one reason that there is a higher fatality rate with flu in senior adults. (4)
Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Another reason seniors have a higher fatality rate is that this population has a higher rate of:
Heart disease
COPD
Cancer
Diabetes
Other illnesses that weaken the immune system.
Other factors that affect immunity include:
Dysbiosis (unbalanced bacterial population in and on the body)
Leaky gut
High sugar and processed food diet
Lymph congestion (5)
Tissue adhesions/scar tissue (6)
Smoking
Chronic Lyme disease
Immuno-suppressant medications
Autoimmunity
Chronic Epstein-Barr virus
Within our community, the biggest question is, “I have autoimmunity/ toxic mold/ gut infections/ etc. Do I have a higher risk when it comes to COVID-19?”
To answer this, ask yourself:
How well are my health conditions currently managed?
How strong is my current self-care?
What is my current stress level?
If you are in the thick of mold remediation and highly symptomatic, your lung tissue is likely weakened, your immune system is dysregulated, and inflammation is high. This is not a good time to pick up a virus!
If you feel your health is already delicate, I would avoid contact with the virus and support your body’s immune system. I would also follow this advice if you are in frequent contact with seniors.
This means frequent hand washing, avoiding large conferences and airplane travel, avoiding group events if coronavirus is in your community, and supporting your body with some of the tips below.
Here are a few updates about viral susceptibility:
According to the NIH of the United Kingdom, hypothyroidism of any type does not increase your odds of seasonal flu (although if you tend to catch more colds and flu, act accordingly) source
According to a Stanford article, diabetes and pre-diabetes can weaken your ability to fight viruses (we have a good amount of functional pre-diabetes in our community) source
Autoimmunities like lupus can lower overall white blood cell count, as can malnutrition (which can come from poor absorption of nutrients due to poor gut health) source
How Does Your Immune System Interact with Other Body Systems?
Do you have chronic symptoms that need attention? Your immune system doesn’t go it alone, so think about supporting these supporting organs as well.
The Liver and Your Immune System
The liver helps support the immune system quite a bit! In this era with rampant environmental toxins and frequent fatty liver disease, there’s a good chance your liver is stressed and not supporting immunity fully.
The liver:
Produces acute immune proteins
Kills antigen particles
Clears waste particles
Produces local inflammation
Deletes activated T cells
Induces tolerance to ingested and self-antigens
“The liver is a major site of extrathymic T cell development, which assumes increasing significance with aging in mammals. Perturbations in hepatic structure or function can result in significant ramifications in both the innate and adaptive immune systems.” (7)
If your liver needs support, consider:
Avoiding food additives & pesticides
Sauna therapy
Our Detox Greens powder
Our Detox Greens powder is a helpful item to have in stock in case of quarantine so you still get some sort of greens!
Glutathione, the master detox antioxidant, supports immunity. In 2017 study, a high dose of glutathione supplementation (500 mg and 1000 mg) dramatically increased “Natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity, which was elevated by up to 400% by 2 weeks and lymphocyte proliferation, which was elevated by up to 60% after 2 weeks.” (8)
We sell a micronized spray, ACG glutathione, and suggest 12 sprays twice daily for high dosing.
The Digestive System
Having strong digestive health supports your immune system. If you have leaky gut, dysbiosis, incomplete digestion, gut infections, or an inflamed gut, it can affect your immunity.
“...the immune system and the gut microbiota developed a mutualistic relationship, regulating one another and cooperating to support each other. The importance of this interaction is clearly highlighted by the fact that 70–80% of the body’s immune cells are found in the gut. (9)
To support your gut, I always encourage a top-down approach. This starts with chewing your food and eating slowly, plus supporting digestion with enzymes, HCL, and bitters.
Avoid sugars and processed foods that feed unfriendly bacteria. Treat gut infections with botanicals like Biocidin, a broad-spectrum antiviral, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial tincture only after gut testing and under the supervision of a practitioner.
Heal leaky gut with the immunoglobulins in our MegaMucosa and Mega IgG 2000. Feed friendly bacteria with our Mega Prebiotic Fiber and Megasporebiotic spore-based probiotic.
Your Mouth
“Saliva is also one of your body's main defenses against disease-causing organisms, such as bacteria and viruses. It contains antibodies that attack viral pathogens, such as the common cold and HIV.” (10)
The mouth is a gatekeeper of immunity. We covered this more in a past blog and interview here.
To contract coronavirus, it needs to come into contact with your eyes, nose or mouth. This is why you should avoid touching your face. But the fact is that you do often touch your face, and you may come within six feet of an infected person and their respiratory droplets.
This is why I encourage you to support a healthy mouth with our Dentalcidin toothpaste and Dentalcidin LS mouthwash. Both of these products support a healthy oral microbiome. I am especially excited about the ability of Dentalicidin LS (a liposomal formula) to penetrate your lymph system as well.
Dentalicidin LS can make a great travel companion, along with our ACS Nasal Spray, a handy way to damage virions (the complete, infective form of a virus outside a host cell) that land in your nose. I would use both one to two times a day.
Your Mind
I have seen several posts that getting stressed about coronavirus weakens your immune system. While this may be true, you don’t have to be overly stressed about coronavirus to get informed and stack your deck towards safety.
If you are feeling stressed, go to bed earlier and use some cortisol-lowering essential oils before bed and as needed throughout the day.
Some of my favorite oils for stress are sandalwood, rose, cedarwood, lavender, Serenity blend, and Balance blend.
Side note, my favorite blends for germs and viruses are Purify (great for making cleaning sprays and diffusing), Breathe (diffusing and helps congestion), and OnGuard (both the oil and the hand sanitizer product.)
For me, the biggest stress of coronavirus has been the decisions around travel. I usually go to about one conference a month and it’s stressful to make decisions about attending. Southwest Airlines let you cancel a flight and be credited towards a future flight. If you book an Airbnb, choose one with a friendly cancellation policy. Most big events are now being cancelled.
Later on, with more quarantine, the economy will be further affected. If you are in the service industry, you could be hit harder sooner. Consider saving versus spending now to cushion your bank account.
Best Practices with a Natural Pharmacy
According to a recently updated article published by the NIH (National Institute of Health), “There is no scientific evidence that any of these alternative remedies can prevent or cure the illness caused by this virus. In fact, some of them may not be safe to consume.” (11)
This article and statement really got me in a tizzy, and struck me as a little funny considering that PubMed, a free search engine offering access to abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics maintained by the NIH, hosts hundreds of articles on natural immune boosters. (12)
Just today an article was published in the New York Times detailing the ‘crack down’ by the FDA on companies claiming their natural remedies address COVID-19. (13)
There is a good body of research on natural antivirals; however, there is less on antivirals for coronaviruses, and virtually none for COVID-19. COVID-19 is only a few months old, so it makes sense.
However, research that has been conducted on RNA viruses or coronavirus previously can shed light on the current best approach to COVID-19.
For the record, I always recommend you seek testing and treatment locally from a qualified medical practitioner. I also do not claim to treat, mitigate or cure coronavirus or any disease.
Though it does not replace your relationship with your doctor, I believe you can safely boost your immune system with nutrition, healthy lifestyle practices and nutraceuticals in most cases.
The following section on supplements is well-researched and cited and is meant only as educational information, not medical advice.
I had the pleasure of talking to Dr. Guillermo Ruiz earlier today for an interview, and it turns out he is not only a naturopathic physician but a virologist. He has studied antiviral herbs, essential oils for viruses and more.
He shared with me some excellent points as we consider the use of natural remedies for COVID-19.
Antibiotics (manmade or natural) do not kill viruses but can kill friendly bacteria.
A natural antiviral that suppresses a DNA carrying virus could actually replicate an RNA carrying virus-like COVID-19. (14)
A virus can develop resistance to natural herbs, so we mustn’t overuse them (only use after testing positive).
Not enough is known about dosage with natural supplementation.
That being said, it is safe to boost your immune system in most cases! I’ll get more specific with suggestions below. He likes medicinal mushrooms as safe immune modulators and best practices like testing vitamin D deficiency and addressing as needed.
Please always talk with your physician before starting any supplementation program. Each person is unique and I do not know your health background! Even beneficial supplements can have side effects. To learn more, please download this Guide to Side Effects of Supplementation.
Supplements to Boost Immune System
I have chronic Epstein-Barr virus and I found that out well before I discovered my mold toxicity. By the time I discovered my root cause of toxic mold, I discovered a typically long list of comorbidities such as Hashimoto’s, parasites and Candida infection.
So by the time I opened my online store, Hormone Detox Shop, a couple of years ago, I had already honed my personal arsenal of immune support. This current coronavirus outbreak inspired me to dig deeper to the research on the best supplements for the immune system.
Please enjoy this list of best vitamins to boost the immune system that we carry at Hormone Detox Shop.
As I mentioned in best practices, it’s best to support your immune system generally and only take antiviral herbs once infected. So I’ll start with the safest products and move later into products with more specific usages.
Chelated Magnesium Powder
You may not have even considered magnesium for immunity but it’s one of my favorites! Not only does magnesium support the immune system but it lowers inflammation in asthma, reduces Epstein-Barr virus levels and helps for various pains, cramps, and headaches in the body. (15)
Many people have expressed concern over the ‘cytokine storm’ that can turn fatal with coronaviruses. This is when an inflammatory compound of the immune system overwhelms the body. In my opinion, let’s boost immunity but also lower overall inflammation as a way to hedge our bets. Magnesium is perfect for this!
Low magnesium speeds the rate of shrinkage of the thymus gland. It also decreases macrophage production in the spleen. (16) It is a very important mineral to facilitate the movement of nutrients in and waste out within a cell, as well as supporting cellular energy. (17)
Most people are deficient in magnesium due to poor diet and poor soil quality. I am currently taking one teaspoon of our highly absorbable magnesium powder twice per day.
Omega-3
Fish oil may no longer be the hot supplement of the hour, but it’s still pretty sexy in my book. You may know it for heart health, but it’s instrumental for immunity.
“Omega-3 fatty acids, via in vitro stimulation or via dietary supplementation, effectively incorporate into the cellular membrane of all the immune cells investigated to date. DHA and EPA have been found to decrease gene expression of cytokines in macrophages in vitro…
Ten volunteers were given fish oil supplementation containing 26% EPA and 54% DHA daily for two months. Thereafter, the phagocytic capacity of the neutrophils in the blood was increased with 62%.” (18)
Fish oil strengthens your cellular membranes and, like magnesium, has multiple benefits beyond immunity, including fortification of the brain and gut barriers. (19) I would suggest 1 teaspoon per day for maintenance and two if your inflammation is flared or you are actively sick.
Daily essentials Kit
You can get your Omega-3 and magnesium above along with a high-quality, two-a-day multivitamin in our Daily Essentials Kit. It packs a punch for immunity and inflammation!
Vitamin D3 with K2
Vitamin D3 is a fat-soluble vitamin that is critical to many processes in the body and often low in conditions of autoimmunity, inflammation and just plain not enough sun. (20)
Most clients we test are deficient in vitamin D and are underdosing their supplementation. I recommend 5,000 IU a day as maintenance for healthy levels unless you are outside a lot in the sun. I actually put people on 20,000 IU a day for at least a month when they are tested as deficient. We offer vitamin D testing within our Thyroid Plus testing package.
“Vitamin D plays a critical role in regulating the immune system. VDRs (vitamin D receptors) are expressed on B cells, T cells, and antigen-presenting cells, which are immunologic cells that control innate and adaptive immune responses.” (21)
Colloidal Silver
Silver has been utilized as a medicine since ancient times to treat scores of ailments, including the bubonic plague. Colloidal silver is a suspension of pure metallic silver in water It works by interfering with the enzymes that allow a virus to utilize oxygen thus, in essence, suffocating it so it cannot do damage in the body. (22)
We sell it in a very bioavailable nasal spray. These can be great for kids (use a lower dose) who won’t swallow pills and they are great for traveling.
Silver is one of the supplements with claims under attack by the FDA currently, so we’ll see how this goes.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a pretty well-known immune support, but I recently found out that dosage matters with vitamin C.
“...damages through the replication of influenza viruses can be effectively prevented when vitamin C concentration is sufficiently high at the initial stage of viral infection. If it is insufficient, however, the pathogenesis of influenza virus could not be prevented.” (23)
Studies show that 1,000 mg a day of vitamin C is insufficient for preventing viruses. However, once infected, a dosage of 1,000 mg hourly for 6 hours, followed by 1,000 mg three times a day resulted in reported: “flu and cold symptoms in the test group decreased by 85% compared with the control group after the administration of megadose Vitamin C.”
“AA (ascorbic acid aka vitamin C) has been shown to stimulate the immune system by enhancing T-cell proliferation in response to infection. These cells are capable of lysing infected targets by producing large quantities of cytokines and by helping B cells to synthesize immunoglobulins to control inflammatory reactions. Further, it has been shown that AA blocks pathways that lead to apoptosis of T-cells and thus stimulate or maintain T-cell proliferation to attack the infection.” (24, 25, 26)
Note that high dose vitamin C can potentially cause loose stool, so take only after discussing with your care provider.
“In a mouse model of influenza virus infection, isoquercetin (the chemical compound of quercetin) administered intraperitoneally to mice inoculated with human influenza A virus (also an RNA virus) significantly decreased the virus titers and pathological changes in the lung.” (27)
“The inhibitory effect of quercetin on the influenza A/Puerto Rico/8/34 (H1N1) HA mRNA expression in MDCK cells and A549 cells were detected by quantitative real-time PCR at 24 h post-infection. ** p < 0.05.” (28)
Olive Leaf
A natural product of the Olea europea tree, Olive Leaf Extract is known for its antiviral and antibacterial properties. Health practitioners have been using it for many years to help fight infections (including bacterial and viral infections), improve the immune response, combat inflammation, and to help with gastrointestinal issues like diarrhea. (32)
“Studies have also shown that oleuropein exhibits a significant antiviral activity against respiratory syncytial virus and para-influenza type 3 virus.” (33)
Because olive leaf is both an antiviral and an antibacterial, refrain from using it unless flared up with Epstein-Barr or an acute virus. It can potentially cause a little digestive upset due to die-off. Take two capsules one to two times daily. (And always initiate with a smaller dose.)
Biocidin
Similar to Olive leaf, Biocidin is both an antiviral and antibacterial. It is also an antifungal and disrupts biofilm. Because of this, use only in acute illness or under the advice of a practitioner. We use it with GI infections amongst our private clients after GI-MAP testing. Do not use it while pregnant.
This is a handy remedy for international travel when you don’t know what you’re struck with! Again, it can cause some GI upset, so start with a drop and work up to 2-5 drops 2-3 times a day. Pair it with GI Detox to clean up waste products and lessen side effects.
Summary
For a longer discussion of Coronavirus, please see my recent YouTube video. In the event of probable quarantine in most cities, get your natural pharmacy ready. The above supplements are beneficial to have on hand, ever after the coronavirus passes.
For me, this event is a reminder to take good care of myself and to make my health a priority. And it’s always good to be reminded of that.
To see our collection of immune support supplements, please follow this link. Be well!
Ready for More? Science-Backed Supplements for Safe Immune Support
Are you wondering how to best support your immunity? Theories abound, but not all of them are based on facts. In this book, I only present the information I can back up. I’ll do some myth-busting and share some information on dealing with pre-existing conditions and keeping your immunity strong!
Grab my guide to arm yourself with the healthy facts!
Bridgit Danner, LAc, FDNP, is trained in functional health coaching and has worked with thousands of women over her career since 2004. She is the founder of Women’s Wellness Collaborative llc andfunctionaldetoxproducts.com.