| Reader, A virus remains dormant inside your body long after you were first infected…right up until the day it gets reactivated because of a weak immune system.
No, I'm not talking about Covid.
I'm talking about shingles.
Anyone who's ever had chickenpox as a child is at risk of getting this nervous system viral infection. They're both caused by the varicella-zoster virus.
It's not something you ever want to experience.
Shingles cause an outbreak of prolonged and painful blisters on your skin that can last for months. But there's more to shingles than a severe rash…
A recent study came out in the American College of Cardiology Journal. It found that getting shingles increases your risk of heart attack and stroke by a whopping 41%.1
Shingles can also lead to pneumonia, hearing and vision loss, facial paralysis, and autoimmune diseases.
One out of five people who get shingles will go on to develop what's known as postherpetic neuralgia. Patients have described the agony of this complication as "worse than childbirth" and "more painful than passing a kidney stone." The slightest breeze or even your bed sheet is enough to trigger unbearable pain.
Traditional doctors will tell you that a vaccine is the only way to prevent shingles.
But this kind of vaccine is linked with skyrocketing rates of autoimmune diseases… In fact, a large Medicare study found that the shot increases your risk for an autoimmune disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
I take a different approach with my patients… I encourage them to avoid shingles — and the potential dangers of the vaccine — by getting their body's immune system in tip-top shape.
A healthy immune system is key to preventing any infectious disease. Boost Your Immune System With The Right Kind Of Vitamin C One of the most powerful immune boosters is vitamin C.
Studies show that vitamin C raises the number of infection-fighting white blood cells and antibodies and also increases their activity.
Deficiencies in vitamin C have long been known to increase susceptibility to viruses. Research also shows that low levels of vitamin C are related to the severity of viral infections.
Sadly, a new study found that over 40% of Americans are vitamin C deficient.2 But I believe that the numbers are actually a lot higher. Studies like these base their figures on the USDA's Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA).
Their recommendation of 75 to 90 mg falls woefully short of the 5,000 mg I tell my patients to get.
You can boost your vitamin C levels with many fruits and vegetables like acerola cherries, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, parsley, bell peppers, black currants, guava, and papaya. One of my go-to sources is the goji berry. This little fruit provides up to 500 times more vitamin C than an orange.
But it's not easy to get the vitamin C we need to stay healthy from food. I suggest supplementing. But skip the tablets you find in the drugstore. Your body can only absorb about 500 mg of this conventional form.
I recommend you take liposomal-encapsulated supplements. Liposomes wrap the vitamin C molecule in a thin layer of fat called phospholipids. Liposomal vitamin C allows you to get around 98% absorption. Next, Increase Your Vitamin D Three Ways I call vitamin D the rocket fuel your immune system depends on. You can't have a functional immune system without it.
One of vitamin D's main functions is to activate T cells. These "killer cells" detect and destroy foreign pathogens like viruses.
This nutrient also strengthens the macrophages in your white blood cells — thus supporting your body's innate immunity.
These days, everyone has a vitamin D deficiency. But you can raise levels three ways: - I first recommend increasing levels by eating foods rich in vitamin D. These include small fish like herring, sardines, and anchovies. Milk from grass-fed cows is also an excellent source, as are egg yolks, salmon, and grass-fed liver.
- I also suggest sitting outside in the sun – unprotected – for up to 20 minutes. This will generate 10,000 to 20,000 IUs of vitamin D. Be sure to expose as much skin as possible.
- And always supplement. I recommend getting up to 5,000 IUs. Be sure to get the right form…known as cholecalciferol. Take it with high-fat foods and vitamin K2 to increase absorption.
Finally, Use The Virus-Fighter From The Amazon Jungle A third powerful immune booster I use with my patients comes from deep in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. It's a woody vine called cat's claw.
I was introduced to cat's claw by the Ashaninka. These are the oldest native people in South America. I visited them to learn their healing traditions. I'm glad I went when I did because today, most of their land has been taken by the government.
The Ashaninka used cat's claw for thousands of years to prevent sickness. Today, clinical studies validate its immune-boosting powers.
In one study, volunteers were given 350 mg of cat's claw twice daily or a placebo. After eight weeks, the number of white blood cells in the cat's claw group increased substantially.3
A second study of healthy adults given cat's claw for six weeks noted the same results.4
Look for a supplement made from the plant's inner bark and take 500 mg daily. To Your Good Health, 
Al Sears, MD, CNS
References: - Min-Chul K, et al. "Herpes zoster increases the risk of stroke and myocardial infarction." J Am Coll Caridol. 2017;70(2):295
- Crook J, et al. "Insufficient vitamin c levels among adults in the United States: Results from the NHANES Surveys." Nutrients. 2021 Oct 30;13(11):3910.
- Lamm S, et al. "Persistent response to pneumococcal vaccine in individuals supplemented with a novel water-soluble extract of Uncaria tomentosa, C-Med-100." Phytomedicine. 2001 Jul;8(4):267-74.
- Sheng Y, et al. "Enhanced DNA repair, immune function and reduced toxicity of C-MED-100, a novel aqueous extract from Uncaria tomentosa." J Ethnopharmacol. 2000 Feb;69(2):115-26.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment