- By Jackie Newson
- BSc (Hons) in Nutritional Therapy
Jackie has been writing for a range of health publications since graduating as a nutritional therapist from Westminster University in 2008. In addition to producing health and nutrition workshops, Jackie is also an experienced assessor and enjoys the opportunity to help other students of nutrition to achieve their goals. In her role as an experienced nutritional therapist, Jackie offers individualised advice on a variety of health conditions. She believes wholeheartedly in the power of healthy nutritious food, supported with high quality supplementation to achieve optimal health. Jackie is a great believer in the power of positive thinking and attributes much of her enthusiasm and sense of well-being to the wonderful people in her life, a healthy diet and yoga which she practices regularly.
CORONAVIRUS - Don’t worry!
As the Coronavirus takes Europe by storm with Italy being hit the hardest so far, panic is spreading rapidly. But how concerned should you be?
The one fundamental factor that should offer reassurance is that if you have a robust immune system you have significant protection against any kind of flu virus, so this latest strain should be no more worrying than any other.
To put things further into perspective, it may also help to compare the latest health effects of the coronavirus with standard seasonal influenza, which is guaranteed to hit every country around the world during the flu season.
So far, the new coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to more than 75,000 infections and 2,000 deaths, mostly in China which has a population of approximately 1.4 billion and is equivalent to 18.47% of the total world population.7
By comparison in the US, which has a population of approximately 330 million, standard seasonal influenza has caused around 26 million infections, 250,000 hospitalisations and 14,000 deaths.2
The overall consensus from the Head of International Health Regulations Secretariat for the World Health Organisation is that the risk of infection is very low.6
What are COVID-19 symptoms and who is most at risk?
As with a lot of viral infections, the symptoms begin gradually and are quite mild. Initially, you might experience tiredness, a dry cough and a fever, other symptoms include aches and pains, a blocked or runny nose, a sore throat and diarrhoea.
Some people may be infected but don’t show any of these symptoms and don’t feel unwell. About 80% of those infected will recover satisfactorily without needing specialist treatment, but around 1 in 6 people that contract COVID-19 become seriously ill and develop difficulty with breathing.
Currently, around 2% of people that have contracted the disease have died. 6 Anyone that is experiencing a fever with a cough and difficulty breathing should seek medical attention. Those that are at a higher risk of becoming seriously ill include the elderly and people with underlying chronic health problems such as:
- Diabetes
- Asthma
- Heart problems
- High blood pressure
- Autoimmune disorder
How does COVID-19 spread?
As with many other contagious viruses, the disease can spread from one infected person to another via respiratory microdroplets, expelled by sneezing coughing and exhaling.
The virus is transferred through small droplets from the mouth or nose, which land on other people, objects or surfaces. Breathing in the droplets or touching these surfaces and then touching the eyes, mouth or nose transfers the virus.
What can you do to protect yourself from Coronavirus?
A few common-sense procedures can help to keep you safe:
- Avoid highly populated areas where people are in close contact or in contained spaces for several hours such as aeroplanes, cinemas and airports.
- Keep your distance as it's safest to keep at least 1 meter (3 feet) away from someone who is sick.
- Wash your hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, particularly after using the toilet, before eating and after sneezing or coughing. Use an alcohol-based anti-bacterial hand-sanitizer (at least 60% alcohol) when you can’t use soap and try to avoid touching your face, nose and mouth.1 For added protection, you can apply a thin layer of ACS200 Silver Gel to your hands, one to three times daily. Research shows that colloidal silver has valuable anti-microbial properties.5
- Disinfect doorknobs and surfaces as keeping commonly used surfaces clean with an anti-microbial product reduces the risk of germ transfer (although germs are only thought to survive for around 30 minutes on objects and surfaces). ACS 200 Silver comes in a handy spray that you can use on doorknobs and surfaces at home and in the workplace.
- Bolster your immune system, about one-third of people who die from flu-related causes do so because the virus overwhelms the immune system. Eating a healthy balanced diet, which contains 5-10 portions of vitamin C rich fruit and vegetables is highly recommended as studies have proven that vitamin C contributes to the normal function of the immune system.
- Supplement your diet with vitamin C, the therapeutic value of vitamin C cannot be underestimated. The health authorities in China have now initiated a large trial of intravenous Vitamin C, 24,000mg daily for hospitalized coronavirus patients at the epicentre of the epidemic in Wuhan.3
Dr Thomas Levy, a board-certified cardiologist and expert on health-related issues emphasises the importance of vitamin C supplementation. He says:
“Vitamin C is absolutely essential for supporting, strengthening, and optimizing immune system strength. A great deal of immune strength comes from the vitamin C content in the immune cells. When the levels of vitamin C in the body are low the immune system can never function at full capacity. Vitamin C has been clearly documented to kill/inactivate viruses. In fact, there has been no virus treated in the test tube (and there have been very many) that has not been stopped cold by vitamin C.” 4
To protect yourself against the coronavirus Dr Levy maintains that adequate circulating levels of vitamin C and maximum accumulation within the cells is essential to restoring and maintaining normal immune function. In order to achieve this, a multi C protocol is recommended, which includes:
- Neutrient TOTAL C – A blend of ascorbate powder, fat-soluble ascorbyl palmitate and magnesium ascorbate, taken several times daily, up to or reaching bowel tolerance around 2000mg/day or more.
- Altrient C– the addition of a liposomal encapsulated vitamin C ensures rapid and enhanced absorption in high doses that avoids any stomach upset.
Jacqueline Newson BSc (Hons) Nutritional Therapy
REFERENCES
Centers for Disease Control and prevention. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention-treatment.html
Livescience. How does the new coronavirus compare with the flu? https://www.livescience.com/new-coronavirus-compare-with-flu.html [Accessed 27.2.20]
NIH. ClinicalTrials.gov. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04264533 [Accessed 28.2.20]
PeakEnergy.com. The never-ending war against vitamin C. https://www.peakenergy.com/articles/nh20160314/The-never-ending-war-against-vitamin-C/. [Accessed 11.11.19]
Silver. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3304363/
World Health Organisation. Coronavirus. https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses [Accessed 27.2.20]
World Population Review. China Population 2020.
http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/china-population/[Accessed 27.2.20]
Worldometer. United States Population. https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/us-population/ [Accessed 27.2.20]
Original Source