At these times there is a fine line we are quite aware of between letting our community know what we can offer and capitalizing on tragedy. I’ve seen various companies since the earliest reports of this running ads on immune boosters. I will address what herbs seem beneficial. Some we have, some we don’t. Golden temple, Crestwood Pharmacy, Bama Health foods, and Wellness Pharmacy all have great supplements locally. As a company, we tend to subscribe to the “terrain” theory of disease. The first and foremost things we recommend to avoid illness are lifestyle. Wash your hands, eat a nutrient dense diet with plenty of healthy fats. We love cod liver oil for vitamins A & D. Carlson’s even makes a lemon flavor our kids will take. Get plenty of rest. Don’t fall into fear and panic. Most people are going to be ok. Let’s take care of our neighbors and look out for those most at risk of complications. Meditate. Breathe. Pray. Do what feeds your soul. Sunlight and fresh air are highly underrated in our society,
From studies, it appears this virus turns more serious when it moves from the nose to the lungs. Stay hydrated. Run a humidifier, healthy fats again. You can do steam inhalations of thyme by bringing some to the simmer on the stove, placing a towel over your head and breathing in. Garlic honey seems like a great way to keep the throat coated.
Cordyceps mushroom is protective of the cilia in the lungs. Host Defense is a great brand. It is also in our Mushroom Cacao, in a tasty to take form. Olive leaf also seems to have lung protective qualities.
Since we have got so many messages asking, the first thing our family is doing is letting food be our medicine. Eat nutrient dense food, let go of sugar. Avoid taxing the liver with artificial dyes, flavors, or pesticides. We have a fire cider on our website that is yummy food medicine. A, C, and D3 seem highly beneficial. I recommend LivOn Labs for liposomal C and Cod Liver Oil for A & D.
As far as antivirals, our Virus Be Gone contains elderberry along with honeysuckle and astragalus (which are both being used for prevention in TCM). Our Immune Plus syrup also contains elderberry, astragalus, licorice, and wild cherry. Elderberry syrup and tincture are on our website, too. Mushrooms are some of our favorite immune boosters. We have a “Mushroom Immunity” we take daily.
From TCM practitioners, one thing vital in treatment if you do get sick is keeping the pores open so the body doesn’t hold in moisture. Boneset tea or elderflower sound great here. Hot tea is best. Tincture in hot water second best. We do have elderflower tincture available for purchase.
According to respected herbalists Matthew Wood and Stephen Buhner, if you do get sick keeping things moving and the liver and spleen supported are key. Matthew recommends yellow dock, that is in our basic bitters or could be ordered through our custom tinctures. Stephen recommends Angelica sinensis to protect from a cytokine storm. Starting some liver support now may not be a bad idea. The thistles do well with this.
If a cough develops – wild cherry, elecampane, thyme, usnea, mullein, raw garlic, marshmallow, and licorice all seem like they’d work well at this point . We have a new balancing cough syrup with horehound, elecampane, marshmallow, cinnamon, and orange peel. We have bronchial bitters with elecampane, thyme, violet, and licorice. We also have mullein tincture.
With herbs and this kind of virus, take them early and often. Feel free to add tips below or anything I may have missed. As small business owners with markets getting cancelled and all the questions coming in we are a bit overwhelmed, but will do our best to answer any questions in a timely manner. We desire to be a resource for our community. May you be happy, may you be well, may you be blessed.