Antiviral Recommendations

 I will tell you a story. 20 years ago I was working in a small pharmacy in Summerland in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. It was a quiet evening and I had tome to catch up with my medical reading when I saw a little book written by a doctor about "Prevention of the common cold and flu".  The doctor wrote about his daughter who had a rare immune disease and was taking Zinc tablets. She got a sore throat and could not swallow so her father told her to suck the tablets. Within 24 hours her sore throat was gone. He father, the doctor, started to do research on the antiviral effects of Zinc and found that it stops viruses in their tracks. He found that Zinc gluconate was the best form to use. As a result I have been prescribing Zinc gluconate lozenges as a community pharmacist for decades.  When people would come into the store with a sore throat which is often the first sign of a viral respiratory infection I would sell them a box of Zinc lozenges.  The type I usually used was a blend with Echinacea, Vitamin C and D which supported the immune system gently. It was the Jamieson brand.  Now 20 years later I see there are many Zinc lozenges at health food stores. The word has gotten around. So when I heard about the Corona Virus last year I started looked for scientific evidence of the antiviral effects of Zinc. I found a reference in the Journal of Virology.  It seems that there has been quite a bit of work on the antiviral effects of Zinc as scientist are trying to figure out the mechanism of action.  From my own experience it works like a charm.

As a pharmacist/herbalist on the front line in a community pharmacy I was also able to recommend another antiviral, elderberry. We sold elderberry syrup called SAMBUCA. I helped several young mothers who's kids were bringing viral infections home from daycares and schools and then spreading them to the family.  They were infinitely grateful for Sambuca Syrup.

Another herb that has shown promise is Andrographis paniculata. A traditional herb used in Ayurveda for many ailments.

Now I continue to keep my eyes and ears open for antiviral herbs, nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals because now are whole world is in a panic because of the spread of viral infections.  There have been several recommendations from naturopaths and medical doctors. The most recent I heard via social media was from a front line doctor in Montreal treating many COVID patients. He said that inflammations was the worst symptom that had to be managed in COVID patients.  He looked for medications that were anti-inflammatory with few side effects and he tried using a drug that has been around for 50 years commonly used for GOUT - usually inflammation in the big toe but can be in any joint. He started prescribing the drug, COLCHICINE with amazing results. He found that if people started having symptoms of a viral infections he could turn things around in 3-4 days.  

Another drug that has shown promise is Ivermectin.  This drug won an award in 2017. Ivermectin kills roundworms. In tropical countries roundworm infections kill many people.  It seems it has benefits for viral infections as well.

However as I write of all these herbs and treatments fro viral infections I am reminded that the best remedy is freshly prepared food full of PRANA of live force.  I studied under the guidance of Vaidya Rama Kant Mishra who found that many diseases in our western culture were causes by our very poor eating habits.  One if his top students, Dr. M Teitelbaum, wrote a wonderful article on the prevention of viral infections.  Here is a small exert on diet and food:

By Dr. Marianne Teitelbaum.

CORONA VIRUS. WHAT TO DO? As of now, there is no treatment for this virus, according to the CDC. However, we have lots to offer our patients to both prevent and treat this potentially serious virus. Before we all panic, let’s keep in mind that it’s not so much the severity of the infective agent, but the degree of immunity of the person contracting the virus and how well they can fight it off. 

Therefore, we must always remember to keep up our ojas levels high. Ojas, the essence of the 7 dhatus or tissues, gives us strength, stamina and immunity to all diseases. The food you eat must first be metabolized and absorbed from the digestive tract and then become rasa dhatu, the first tissue. From there the food stays in each tissue 3-5 days as it progresses through all the 7 tissues, and at the end of the 7th tissue the food is then transformed into Ojas. Ojas is our immune shield. 

So, first and foremost, we must keep our digestive tracts running smoothly so the food can break down and be assimilated into rasa dhatu, and in addition, the food itself must be easily absorbed out of the digestive tract and into the cells.  

Therefore, we want to eat fresh warm cooked foods, cooked vegetables, lentils, chicken, turkey, fish (if not vegetarian), freshly made cheeses and yogurt, takra/buttermilk, yogurt/lassi, grains, fresh fruits, olive oil, good quality boiled milk and cultured ghee made from grass-fed cows.

Avoid eating heavier foods such as nut butters, red meats, hard aged cheeses, bananas, large beans, mushrooms, chia, hemp and pumpkin seeds, cold dairy (such as ice cream, frozen yogurt and cold milk), chocolate and cacao as these foods have a hard time absorbing into our cells and remain behind, stuck in the channels, clogging them, and can become a fertile breeding ground for infection to grow.

And as stated before, avoid the nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, white potatoes, bell peppers, and eggplant) as they contain nicotine and shrink the channels down.

We usually don’t recommend the use of onions and garlic as their long-term use can deplete the friendly bacteria, however, if you are coming down with a cold you can cook with them temporarily to stall the infection. Vaidya once told me he was coming down with a cold and knocked it out by introducing raw garlic into his diet. A really good way of doing this is by crushing a pod or 2 of garlic and adding it to 1 tablespoon of yoghurt, add 1/4 cup water, a drizzle of olive oil, ½ tsp crushed mint, some salt. Mix all together, and eat with your lunch. Eating the garlic with yoghurt helps create balance between the effect of the garlic on the gut, and helps restore the bacteria, even as the garlic will do its job of killing the unfriendly bacteria.

Here are some other tips and supplements to help protect you against the virus

If you feel you are getting sick, stop using cow’s milk and milk products (cheese, yoghurt, milk, but ghee is ok with spices). But do however, consume goat’s milk — simmer one cup with 3 cardamom pods, 1 cinnamon stick and 2-3 pinches of turmeric for 2-3 minutes. Add a small piece of crushed ginger - this is optional but will help. Strain and drink once a day on an empty stomach. The goat’s milk is less mucous-forming and can actually dry up congestion. The turmeric in the milk helps to kill infection. Drinking warm milk with spices goes into the cells and forms ojas immediately.

At the first sign of a sore throat, gargle with ½ tsp turmeric and ½ tsp soma salt mixed in 1/2 cup warm water. Stir and gargle every 2-3 hours to try to kill the infection (which starts in the throat) - this will strengthen your body so the virus doesn’t spread.

Every breath we take carries the risk of infecting us, and it is the friendly bacteria in the mouth and throat that helps us thwart these invaders so they don’t take hold in our bodies. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to keep up these friendly bacterial strains alive and thriving so they can kill the infection before it goes systemic throughout your body.  

Make your own home-made yogurt with Natren’s Yogurt Starter. You can have 1 tsp of yoghurt with your lunch - never do yoghurt in the wintertime past 2pm - or you can make “lassi” or yoghurt drink. Mix 2 tablespoons of yogurt with 3/4 cup water and stir or blend well. Separately warm some Mom’s Ghee and add 1 pinch ground or seed cumin,1 pinch Mom’s Masala (optional but delicious), 2 curry leave (optional but delicious and helps with metabolism) and 1 green thai chilli (optional but will aid in undercutting the mucus forming properties of yoghurt and aid in digestion too). Sip on your yoghurt drink it in-between bites of food at lunch only (when the digestive fire is strong enough to digest cold dairy).  

Or you could make real buttermilk (aka takra_............

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ELIZABETH