Dr. G’s 4 Key Immune Boosters (WOW!)
If you’re like most people, you’re doing everything you can to protect yourself from becoming the next victim of coronavirus.
For some, that means staying home. For others, it’s social distancing.
Maybe you’re disinfecting all items that come into your homes.
Those are all good precautions to take.
But your BEST defense against the coronavirus—or any virus, for that matter—is a strong immune system.
Here are 4 of my favorite ways to strengthen your defenses.
When there’s an invisible threat that could be floating in the air, sitting on surfaces, or easily passed from asymptomatic people, bolstering your own personal immune defenses is your best bet for staying healthy.
Here’s how you can do that.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a key player in a healthy immune system because it is essential for the function of your white blood cells.
Vitamin C is well known for its ability to reduce the severity and duration of the common cold. But a more recent study (pre-coronavirus) found that vitamin C can reduce the amount of time someone needs to be on a ventilator by up to 25 percent—with the most critical patients receiving the biggest benefit.
In addition, intravenous vitamin C has been shown to reduce inflammation in the lungs—a major concern for coronavirus patients. This was achieved with doses ranging from 4-16 grams for an adult.
Vitamin D
A deficiency in vitamin D is known to increase your risk of infections.
People deficient in vitamin D have longer and more severe upper respiratory tract infections—and supplementing with vitamin D can help protect against upper respiratory tract infections.
Probiotics
What does your gut have to do with defense against viruses?
Everything!
Not only is the majority of your immune system located in your gut, but influenza viruses often begin in the intestinal tract.
Taking probiotics has been found to reduce both the incidence and duration of upper respiratory tract infections.
One specific beneficial bacterium—LGG—led to one-third fewer respiratory viral infections in nursing home patients when taken for six months.
Another study showed that LGG and BB-12 reduced upper respiratory tract infections by two days, and reduced the severity by 34 percent.
Garlic
Garlic enhances the function of your immune cells. One study showed that taking a garlic supplement increased the proliferation of natural killer (NK) cells, which are your front line of defense against infection.
It’s no wonder then, that supplementation with garlic has been shown to reduce the frequency of colds and flu.
All of these supplements are readily available online or at your local health food or supplement store.
