Ebola seems to be continuing to spread so I thought I would do a little reading on the topic. It is the largest Ebola outbreak in history, the first one killing several hundred people in 1976 (90% fatality rate, now it is 50%, currently 8000 infected and about 4000 deaths, viruses do tend to become less virulent over time). What are the symptoms? Ebola is a hemorrhagic virus, that means it infects and kills our epithelial cells, which are the cells that line and cover our mouth, digestive tract, respiratory tract, blood vessels, and skin. Symptoms occur first (approx. 3-21 days after exposure but usually closer to 3-5 days) in the eyes, mouth, nose and throat as that is the first area of contact, causing redness and soreness. Then fever, aching, and fatigue occur. As it spreads in the body, it affects the digestive tract and respiratory tract causing bleeding as the epithelial cells are lost. Coughing and vomiting blood occurs about 7 days after first symptoms, skin becomes weak and easily bruises and tears. Within 10-12 days, other organs can be affected, such as the liver and kidneys and internal hemorrhaging can be fatal. Rather than focusing on the deaths, I want to emphasize that 50% of those infected survive. Healthier people with a stronger immune system are more likely to fight it off. Also, people that have had access to early medical care to prevent dehydration and control symptoms are more likely to survive. Since Ebola is a virus, it can’t be treated with antibiotics. So it seems to me that the most important thing to do is to work on building up a strong immune system so that if it does continue to spread, we have an increased chance of being in that 50% survival group. It is important to have a strong immune system anyway to fight off all the normal infections that will be coming up as winter comes, and it is also key for cancer prevention. How do we build up our immune system? 1. Probiotics! It is the absolute most important factor for immune health! You can’t possibly overdose on probiotic foods (except start slowly if you have never eaten them before and gradually increase every couple of days). Some ideas, add a scoop of yogurt to salad dressing or pasta salad, drink Kombucha every day, eat sauerkraut or other fermented veggies twice per day. I will post more ways of fermenting veggies, such as beets, turnip, salsa, etc. and ways to incorporate them into your meals. 2. Vitamin D – People with autoimmune diseases can take to up 10,000 IU of vitamin D per day to help regulate their immune system. We all need vitamin D in the winter when we are not getting enough sunlight to make it in our skin, so taking 5000IU per day is very reasonable. It is a fat-soluble vitamin so you will absorb it better if taken with food that contains healthy fat. (If you have liver problems then ask a doctor about vit D supplements). Also, you don’t have to spread these out, you can take them all at once, as pills or liquid drops. 3. Vitamin C – this is the most important vitamin to help build and maintain connective tissues because it is required to build collagen that is the protein that is in between our cells that holds our tissues together. Vitamin C is also a great antioxidant that cleans up free radicals produced by your immune system when fighting infections. A common daily dose of vitamin C for immune health and fighting infections is 2-5g (2000 – 5000mg). You can’t overdose on vitamin C, it is water soluble and easily excreted, doses of 50-70g have been given to cancer patients with no problems, so 3-5g is completely within a normal range. This is one vitamin that you will want to take in 1g doses throughout the day because you will excrete it. 4. Omega 3 – this essential fatty acid is important to building and maintaining cell membranes, functioning of the immune system and nervous system. Add walnuts, flax seeds (freshly ground), and cold water fish to your diet, you can also take fish oil or krill oil supplements. 5. Other things you can do to build your immune system – eat healthy food with a lot of vegetables, exercise, get enough sleep, cook with herbs like turmeric, cumin, oregano, garlic, basil, ginger root, cayenne pepper, curry etc etc. they all contain antioxidants and immune boosting molecules. Manage stress, nothing inhibits your immune system more than cortisol, one of the stress hormones.
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 14:11:29 +0000
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