Well we have rounded the corner from summer to autumn. Yes, it is still technically summer but you can see the writing on the wall. Some early leaves changing, a little darker in the am and pm, and the crisp morning air. It is an invigorating time of year but don’t FALL into the coming cold and flu season without being prepared. Look COVID numbers are rising again, and well what did you expect?! Saying zero COVID is like saying I like my politician…it just doesn’t happen.
Should you be worried about cold, COVID, and flu season? No, because worry does nothing good for your immune system. Worry implies that you are a passive bystander in the way of a disease that you can’t control. You can’t control the spread of a bug but you can control some of your exposures and your readiness to combat it.
Let’s look at how:
- Sleep- this is where the magic happens. Did you know that your immune system is up to 70% compromised from one night of poor/4-5 hours of sleep. You can see if you have a bad nights sleep then are exposed you are more likely to have a symptomatic infection. Read our Sleep protocol here.
- Whole food diet- your immune system need certain materials to work. Crappy building material=crappy home.
- Decrease SUGAR- sugar depletes many of the vitamins and minerals critical to the immune systems function.
- Exercise – but not too much. When I was doing an ironman each year I was always on the edge of a cold. Moderate exercise is health and immune promoting but you don’t have to do ultra long workouts or distances to be healthy. Fit and healthy are two different things.
- Lots of water- your body’s number one nutrient. It helps keep your skin linings and mucosal linings in tact so they can repeal and trap bugs.
- Don’t isolate unless you are really immune compromise from a disease, from a poor nights rest, or from a multitude of variables that make you vulnerable. We need to be exposed to bugs but not when we are in a weakened state. So when you are in that state, decrease your exposure but if you are healthy isolating yourself weakens your immune system. I am not saying go plant a big wet kiss on someone who is a hot mess with COVID but exposure to different bugs, especially to people who are infected and not symptomatic, gives you small exposures that are like working out for your immune system.
Below are the supplements we use to help in the various stages of infections whether it is the “I don’t want to be infected stage” or the “I am a hot mess stage”.
Now is the time to work on immunity, not once your a shit show. So get on it. We have samples of the Vegetarian and Regular Daily immune Convenience packs at our office . They are a great way to keep it simple!
Covid, Cold, and Flu Protocols/Immune system
Pre COVID supplement protocol/Immunity Building
1. Immuplex– 2-3/day or 3/4 if over 200 pounds and or you are immuno-compromised
2. Epimune– Incredible vegetarian mushroom based immune supplement 1-2 a day
3. Echinacea Premium-1/day. Keeps your immune system on high alert.
4. Cataplex D– 1/2 a day. More if in winter and you have light skin.
5. Mintran / Calcium Lactate– the calcium lactate alone or in Mintran helps support the immune cells ability to catch and destroy viruses.
Infected with COVID But not sick with symptoms
1. Congaplex – 4/day
2. Andrographis Complex– 2 a day- taste it – Contains angiographic, echinacea ,and holy basil
3. Echinacea Premium: 2/day
4. Zinc Chelate– 2/day after one bottle switch to Zinc Complex– better balance of copper and zinc
Infected and Sick with symptoms
1. Congaplex – 10/day. 2 an hourish
2. Andrographis Complex– 4/day
3. Echinacea Premium:2-3 a day
4. Zinc Chelate – 5 a day
5. Cataplex D– 2/day
Post COVID
1. Immuplex-2-3 /day.
2. Zinc Chelate – 4 day until smell and taste back then reduce to 1 a day.
3. Cataplex D-1/ day
4. B Vitality with CoQ10 (used to be Cellular Vitality)- 3/day it helps rebuild mitochondria
in cells to restore energy and battle fatigue after infection
*Epimune Complex is a vegetarian, vegan , non-dairy and non soy replacement for both Congaplex and Immuplex.
*Zinc in a bioavailable form (meaning chelated / bound to nutrients that help it absorb) is vital to smell and taste which is why that is a symptom in COVID. Zinc is vital in fighting the virus then becomes depleted causing the loss of smell and taste.
*Congaplex- whole food acute immune support.
Immuplex- whole food immune system builder
*Echinacea – Booster of the immune system
*Andrographis- strong builder of the immune system
*Vitamin D -involved in many aspects of the immune system. Studies finding those hit the hardest with COVID Symptoms have lower than optimal Vitamin D.