How to rethink sickness - simply.

‘Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less' ~ Marie Currie

Something that's been on my mind is WHY one of our kids, nobody else, had gastro last week & in Covid-19 isolation?!

I was telling a friend, and they mentioned that family members in the UK had come down with chicken pox...  in isolation!

How can someone get sick if they're not exposed to a 'bug'?   Why do some people not get sick at all despite being exposed to the same 'bug'?  Why do some people recover in a day and others a week?   Is it luck?  No.

It's their immune system.  

And why is it the only people I hear talking about creating strong immunity are my health practitioner colleagues?  It isn't reported in the media. We don't learn about it at school.  We no longer learn it from our parents or our grandparents. Strong immunity doesn't make a lot of corporate 'cents' either, mostly because - it's free.    It's little wonder 'we' don't give a strong immunity the high regard it requires.

Strong immunity is fundamental to living a long healthy, active, vital life.  There is an innate knowledge that somehow we've disconnected from and when we know how, I promise, we know we do not need to fear dis-ease.  And if there's one thing we all want now ... it's security - but really, its immunity.

So in this post I explore what immunity really is?  Why the human virome is key, why germs aren't the cause of sickness & what is?  how to create a strong immunity including for Covid-19, nutrients and supplements to help & lots more.  

And it's not hard... but perhaps invites an open mind, especially if you fear illness, as many of us have been taught. 

1.  How the immune system works.

Very simply, our immune function determines our susceptibility to infection.

If the immune function is compromised e.g. existing infection, illness, acidity, toxicity, stress, sleep deprivation etc. then the body has the environment (susceptibility) for infection or dis-ease (I wrote about different stressors affecting the immune system here 13 guises of stress & why it affects our entire body).

Think of the immune system being like the bodies operating system, with food, emotion & environmental exposures as the code.

Correct code (healthy food & lifestyle), creates a healthy immune system, strong enough to ward off dis-ease.  Bad code, corrupts the operating system i.e. creating an unhealthy / weakened immune system.

The terrain (body, gut, blood, hormones, organs, brain, mind etc.) determines disease i.e. susceptibility.   Depending on the native immune system and health of the terrain that’s what determines if or when we get sick.  Remembering the terrain changes, depending what it's exposed to.

Which might explain why our child got sick last week. I don't know for sure but there were a number of stressors at play i.e. it was difficult transitioning to online schooling, they were missing school & friends, not eating as well, more sugar than usual plus I suspect there was a growth spurt & hormonal changes.  And it only lasted a day.  Their strong immune system enabling them to ward off the bug and get well.

It's a superficial understanding of how the immune system works but helps me to understand the WHY?  And then this...

Immunity & The Viral Link. 

With all the research done on the microbiome, we now know a healthy population of bacteria are essential for our health.  Amongst many things, bacteria help us digest and metabolise foods & nutrients necessary for our vitality, well-being & strong immunity.  Without them our immunity and wellbeing suffers.

Just like the microbes forming the microbiome, we have a population of viruses forming our virome!

This term is new to me, yet it's so important to know.  The virome is the total collection of viruses in and on the human body!  AND... we have up to 380 trillion viruses on and within us at any time.   And I also only recently learnt, viruses are not alive!

So... it makes sense then that we can, get sick, even if we're not exposed to a contagion.  THAT sickness relates more to the STATE of the immune system.  It doesn't relate to the virus or the 'bug' as these live within and around us ALL the time.

There are ALWAYS going to be viruses, some more virulent than others,  like Covid-19.  Is it feasible to lock down the world each year and as viruses evolve?   No, I don't think so.

It's time to turn our attention from fearing germs to strengthen the immune system.

I know... it can be a bit of a mind shift!  Yet, just like we've only recently understood the vital importance of the microbiome or the link with gut health and the mind - perhaps there's more to immunity than we really know.

One thing that's more and more clear is that germs are not the enemy.  They are a necessity.

This is shown even more with the link to our Mitochondria.  Mitochondria are microscopic organelles that are our primary energy source & found in all living cells!

It's interesting to learn these microscopic energy factories help turn food and oxygen into cellular energy which we use for everything e.g. walking, breathing, pumping our blood, even thinking and... have been found to be derived from bacteria!

Like the microbiome, does the human virome have an important evolutionary link to our well-bing that we are yet to discover too?

Germs aren't the cause of sickness.

Which also explains why 80 - 90% of those who pass, with covid-19 have one or more co-morbidities i.e. one or more acute or chronic illnesses and therefore compromised / corrupted immunity.  And perhaps it's WHY so many are infected is due to the low immunity many people have these days, refer to my posts '5 reasons we're de-evolving.' and 'Are we malnourished?'

"According to the (US) National Institute of Health, up to 23.5 million Americans (more than seven percent of the population) suffer from an autoimmune disease—and the prevalence is rising.'"

Can we change immunity?  Yes.  And quickly ...

'The intestinal lining regenerates every 5 - 7 days.  70 - 80% of immune tissue lies in the gut. With the right food & exposures, immune health can improve within days.'

The incredible, mutually beneficial (vital) relationship the human body has with 'germs' has to honoured and respected - not feared.

This is an oversimplified explanation to an incredibly intelligent and complex system, yet having this basic level of understanding has helped alleviate some of the fear I've had around germs and shift my energy to strengthening our immune systems i.e. a healthy lifestyle.   I hope it helps you & your family too.

2.  How to create a healthy immune system & in regard to Covid 19.

If you're not doing this already, then this is the chance.  It WILL create a robust immune system which is the essence of life.  I go into this in detail in my online program, 'Our Happy Children - Strong Immunity & Healthy Tummies for Families', (now open for registrations).

​​​​​​​Here's a very simplified overview.  Perhaps choose something to start improving and notice how it affects other areas of your life too...

First, the fun (& free) stuff;

• Good, clean food in it's most natural, whole form.
• Sunshine.
• Good sleep.  More Hours Before Midnight. Wake with the sun.
• Regular movement throughout the day.
• Good thoughts / vibes.
• Reduce or eliminate EMF / Radiation exposure.
• Laugh more.
• Fear less. Stress less.
• Avoid processed foods.
• Detox chemical exposures.
• Grow a few herbs and veggies to add in your meals.
• Be more active outdoors.
• Be with nature.  Learn from her, understand her.
• Drink more filtered, clean water.
• Fasting.

The simplicity, yet potency of healthy food and lifestyle choices has been far too quickly dismissed for too long.  My personal experience is that in adopting this lifestyle;

• We don't have a family Doctor.  My hubby visit a Dr for checkups, yet the children just haven't needed to see anyone.
• None of us take any form of medication.
• We rarely have down time for sickness.  If we do it's not for long.
• Our children are 15 and 13 & I've taken them to hospital once & that was for a broken finger.
• They've had antibiotics twice between them.  Not that there's anything wrong with antibiotics but it indicates a level of wellness/immunity.

It's not luck.  A healthy lifestyle creates a healthy immune system.  If you'd like to you can read more of our story here.

Specific Nutrients.

Generally, we just don't get enough of the nutrients we need in our food and water anymore.  In addition we're exposed to a vast array of toxins and stressors that quickly leave us depleted of vital nutrients.  Good quality supplements can be an important part of a healthy lifestyle.

Covid-19

And there are key nutrients that are commonly being shown to help protect the body against covid-19 including;

• Zinc.  Refer to post The Zinc Link. Cover-19.
• Vitamin D / Sunshine.  Anti viral.
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin A:  Liver, fatty fish
• Cod Liver Oil (includes vitamin A, D & healthy fats)
• Healthy fats - especially saturated fats (dismissed for many years & are naturally low if at all included in a vegetarian or vegan diet).

Choose good quality brands in the most absorbable forms eg liquids or powders.

Other - A well oxygenated body.  

Something to consider are the reports coming out of NYC showing that Covid-19 is more similar to a blood disease, where the blood is unable to uptake oxygen.

For example, when Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister was in ICU, he was treated with oxygen, not a ventilator. Thankfully he is now out of ICU and on the mend.

Breathe work, good quality exercise / movement, good quality water, sprouted foods are all foods to help with the uptake of oxygen.  Peppermint essential oil and the 'Cell food' supplement can also help.

Summary

Good food and lifestyle choices cost very little and most of them are free e.g. sunshine, movement & quality sleep.

Perhaps this is also why they are not promoted on TV, advertised or widely discussed in the general arena as they are uneconomical in a corporate business model.  Yet having this innate knowledge & education missing, brings poverty / poor health to individuals, families and consequently our communities and the global population.

What is financial is mass produced, cheap foods & medicines with large margins.  Products we've been lead to believe CAN help us.  But can they really for the long term?

And perhaps THIS is the reason simple, potent, food and lifestyle choices are NOT more widely regarded.

As Maya Angelou famously said, 'Do the best you can until you know better.  Then when you know better, do better'.

Our best chance of survival is a strong body and a strong mind always.   Our health really is in our own hands.  No-one knows what's good for us better than we do.

The only person or thing that can protect you is you.

To be truly healthy, to feel less fear about illness & dis-ease, we simply must protect and nurture a strong immune system.

And remember, as a generalisation, the majority of the population are NOT living health promoting lifestyles i.e. are NOT supporting a healthy immune system.

Please ask your own questions and when you need, work with your health practitioner together, to discover what's best for you.

Additional resources fyi

​​​​​​​My website has a lot of ebooks, programs, information, recipes and remedies to help create a healthy lifestyle / immune system.

Including blog posts;

And for a short time longer all my programs, courses and ebooks with up to 50% off, including Our Happy Children - beginning 28/4/20.

Health freedom begins within.