Preparing a Strong Body
- 2020-03-20
- By afsha malik
- Posted in Blog
I’ve been collating some useful information coming through about preparing the body to be able to fight the SARS-COV-2 virus as best we can. But lets be clear, these recommendations are actually just a clear message to boost our immune system from within…virus or not. This is something we should be doing all the time. We should always be striving to nurture a strong body and immune system.
There are no long detailed scientific studies of this particular circumstance but there are definately trends coming through that need to be shared. We can do many things. And to be honest these are the messages that have been trying to come through for a good few years .
Also there is a huge message coming through that our metabolic health is hugely influential in this disease. So this will be important for our future too. Those lifetime diseases like obesity, heart disease, cancer, and so many others actually may have a chance to be reversed.
These guidelines apply to all ages. But children have a higher Insulin sensitivity naturally so focus on changing yourself, and helping other adults around you to understand the significance of this, especially if they have underlying health conditions (any age!)
And the good news is that our body responds very quickly to the changes we make, within weeks. So, its never too late. Start now because it seems we might be in this for the long haul.
Its not the way we hoped it would happen!!! But perhaps this is the only way.
So, here , in a simple format that each and every one of us can acheive:
Lower your insulin
We know how to fix IR. Its with a low inflammation diet, an anti-inflammatory diet, a low carb diet, keto diet. Look these up…find more info!
Instead of using this time stuck at home watching movies, munching on crisps and boiling up pasta, research as many sources as you can on HOW TO LOWER YOUR INSULIN
Some ways
- Avoid totally all sugary drinks, sugar, sweets, highly processed junk food, highly processed “healthy foods”
- If you already have some metabolic dysfunction, like pre-diabetes,diabetes, overweight etc then lower your refined carbohydrate consumption
- Avoid large quantities of starchy vegetables
- Track your carb levels until you understand what you need to eat to be reasonable. Even bringing it down to 100/150g a day which is a moderate to liberal carb diet is good
- You dont have to go extreme…keto, paleo etc…just be concsious. Take it step by step. A great resource for trusted information on low carb diets is : https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb and https://phcuk.org/nice/
- Fast. Use time restricted eating (TRE) or intermittant fasting or 5:2 or whatever suits you.
- Spread your meals out at least 5 hours apart and avoid snacking .
- Have only 2 meals a day …even just one. Our lives are going to change drastically over the next few weeks. We many be stuck at home and our daily activity levels will dip. WE DO NOT NEED TO EAT ALL DAY. Our bodies may only need one full meal a day.
- FOCUS ON NUTRIENT DENSE, REAL FOOD. You dont have to follow a structured diet plan and you can definately eat the food you love, your cultural heritage, some things that give you comfort. BUT become aware of the quanities of carbohydrate you are consuming. Enjoy lower carbohydrate vegetables, locally sourced meats, eggs, cheese, salads and some fruit.
A great resource of information is The Real Food Solution by Izabella Natrins . Check out her website too.
https://www.izabellanatrins.com/
And get her book here : https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1999342615/
At only £20 it is a treasured source, written by a good friend of mine who I can attest is a real fountain of knowledge.
Boost Your Immunity Naturally
- Eat real food….I guess I cannot state this enough! By keeping yout GUT MICROBIOME happy, will keep you as healthy as you can be.
- Animal based products that have been villified for so long contain all the vitamins and minerals needed to strengthen the cells and organs in our bodies. Eggs, butter, cheese, cream, meat, liver, fish ,cheese, yoghurt (especially raw or authentic greek) are like GOLD for us at the moment. They provide us with Vitamin A which is crucial for fighting disease. They will provide the fats and protiens needed to build our bodies. The best sources will be local and organic, if possible. Use your local butcher and shops.
- Coconut oil….some evidence of anti-viral properties and immune boosting properites of coconut oil. Try and consume a tablespoon a day…either cooking in it, mixing it in a smoothie, coffee etc.
- Cod Liver Oil and Liver! Eat fish or supplement. Make sure the supplement is COD LIVER OIL and NOT fish oil. Eat offal. These items have been drastically reduced in our lifetimes in favour of more and more refined and processed products. This has been detrimental to our health. Try and get them back into the diet/
- Bone Broth.
- Vitamin C. Fermented vegetables are a source of high levels of vitamin C, like saukercraut and kimchi. Also Fresh vegetables and some fruit (remember to keep insulin low but not over-indulging in fruit). For this time period it may be prudent to supplement with much higher doses as it is an established immune booster and has been used in the treatmnet of Covid in Wuham. Try 3000mg a day or more in daily divided doses
- Vitamin A and D. Vitamin A works synergistically with Vitamin D. Most of us are supplementing on Vit D but are reducing our animal products ( due to propaganda). This is causing an unhealthy imbalance. Aminal foods are high in Vitamin A
- Avoid Seed/ Industrial Oils. These are NOT AT ALL natural. They are toxic. All SEED OILS: vegetable, rapeseed, sunflower, soybean etc. They are highly inflammatory. Cook everything in ghee, butter, coconut oils, lard and other meat fats, cream, cheese . Saturated fats support our lung health so now would be a good time! The corona virus is spread by coughing and breathing and it affects the lungs. The lung surfactants are saturated fat molecules. We need them!
As you can see the “essentials” we see people hoarding in panic are really not the essentials!
Other Natural Immunity Boosters
- Sleep well.
- Move well
- Be in nature as much as is possible
- Worry and stress deplete Vitamin A and many crucial minerals like Magnesium so find ways to ACTIVELY relax (yoga, a run, self-massage, reading, drawing, playing an instrument, listening to music, laughing, connecting with family and friends)
- Digitol Detox. Avoid over-exposure to ElectroMagnetic Frequencies. Try to avoid phones and laptops etc in bedroom at night
- Breath work. Everyday focussing on your deep breathing, learing how it calms you down, exploring how it makes you feel, helping you come into the present moment and also strengthening your diaphragm!
- Quit smoking
Other supplements
Taking supplements is fine and may help. But doing the above first is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing you can do for yourself. If you are eating a highly processed diet then its not really going to do too much. First detoxify then supplement is the order of priority.
Some things being encouraged ( I dont have evidence for these but they keep coming up and have always known to be immune boosting). You will have to do your own research on these. Taking supplements is an allopathic method…fixing symptoms with a pill. We are being asked, with this pandemic to address a more holistic approach.
- Black Elderberry/ Elderberry syrup
- Vitamin D/K2 and A
- Cod liver oil
- Mushrooms (esp Reishi mushrooms)
- Vitamin C ( 2000-3000mg a day or more in divided doses the ascorbate form if possible )
- Quecertin
- Co-enzyme Q10
- Zinc
- Selenium
- Olive leaf extract
- Theres probably a tonne more things…do your research! And please share what you have found too.
I sincerely hope this helps. To me it seems so utterly logical. Over the last few years of researching everything has been pointing to this. Our way of life, our syle of life MUST change.
Maybe we are being forced to change because as a global society we have failed to make the chnages needed for our bodies to thrive and the planet to thrive too. These dietary suggestions are both for us and Mother Earth!
Thank you for an excellent article Afsha. Xx
Thank you so much. This is an absolute Gold mine. Will be sure to share .May God bless you always x