Protect Yourself: 7 Most Proven Nutrients
Dr. Linda Berry is a chiropractor practicing in San Rafael, CA. Dr. Berry empowers her patients, students, readers, and listeners to transform stress into fuel to power their lives and dreams. She knows how because at 24 years old she was paralyzed from an automobile accident. Released from the hospital in a wheelchair... more
Sunday Morning Bloom, I listened to a webinar by Dr. Alex Vasquez on supporting immunity. According to Google books, Dr. Vasquez has earned three doctorate degrees in three separate healthcare professions from fully accredited American universities and has published at least 15 books and more than 100 scientific articles and letters in peer-reviewed medical journals and professional magazines. After extensive literature research, Dr. Vasquez recommends 7 key nutrients to protect yourself against viral infection. I knew about the others but licorice and NAC were a surprise to me.
The quality of nutrients varies dramatically in the marketplace. I personally take and recommend nutrients from suppliers that do independent laboratory testing to validate the quality and quantity of the nutrients stated on their labels. Feel free to reach out to me for my suggestions. To help you avoid hours of your own research, I’ve included recommendations for these 7 nutrients below.
1. Vitamin C – Part of the damage from a viral infection is inflammation. Vitamin C is anti-inflammatory. It’s best to take vitamin C daily. If you stop you’re more vulnerable to getting sick. Recommend dosing is 2000 to 4000 mg per day. Since vitamin C is water-soluble it’s best to take that amount in a divided dose morning and evening. I recommend Vital Nutrients Vitamin C with Bioflavonoids.
2. Vitamin A – Fish livers are the best source of Vitamin A. Who eats those? No one… But you can get it from Cod Liver Oil. Nordic Naturals are considered the purest source of fish oil supplements. But for concentrated dose, I recommend Carlson Labs Vitamin A&D to decrease the number of pills to swallow.
3. Vitamin D – Also known as the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D is produced in your skin when exposed to the sun. But that ability decreases with age. In the northern hemisphere, you would have to expose most of your body to the sun in the months from May to September in order to produce enough from your skin. That’s probably a bad idea if there’s skin cancer in your genetics. Get tested for your levels if you want to make sure but taking 1000 to 5000 IU’s daily can be very helpful to protect against getting sick. It’s anti-inflammatory, increases testosterone, aids weight loss, decreases back pain, and increases mitochondria to give you more energy. Vitamin D is also good for your mood which is challenged during a time of crisis. This is the combo I recommend for Vitamin A & D from Carlson Labs. Vitamin A and D work together. In addition to all the rest, they enhance the strength of epithelial cells that line the inside of your nose and throat creating a barrier against the absorption of a virus.
4. Licorice root – Not licorice sticks…Glycyrrhiza is the active ingredient to look for. In a test tube, glycyrrhizin limits the growth of a virus, inhibits binding of the virus, and stimulates immune defense. If you have high blood pressure this might not be a good supplement for you. This was the most economical one I could find for you, it is in liquid form, BioMatrix Licorice Root.
5. Zinc – One of the ways to prevent getting sick is to suppress the growth of the bad bug. Zinc does that for RNA viruses like COVID-19. It also increases barrier strength preventing penetration into your cells. About 31% of our global population is deficient in zinc. If you’re vegetarian likely you’re one of them since meat and shellfish are the richest food sources of this important mineral. About 30 to 50 mg per day is the recommended dose. Include 2 to 4 mg of copper to make sure zinc is effective. This liquid zinc has cooper in it too, Dr’s Advantage.
6. Selenium – Flu viruses from China come from regions where the population is deficient in selenium. Selenium creates a barrier preventing viruses from entering your cells and suppresses the growth of the virus. Selenium also decreases anxiety and depression. Protect your health by taking 200 µg, or 600 if you’re sick, of selenium daily. This is the selenium I take, Pure Encapsulations.7.NAC – N-acetyl-cysteine also known as acetylcysteine is anti-inflammatory and anti-viral. NAC protects your liver. It also has the ability to disrupt biofilms. Those are barrier walls that bad bugs build around themselves to avoid getting wiped out by medical and nutrient interventions. This one is half the price of the other one that we found, Biotics Research.
I know this is a lot to absorb. You also know I’m writing this because I care about your health and that of your loved ones. I wouldn’t ask you to do what I don’t do myself. Every day taking supplements gives me what I need to thrive in a complex and threatening world.
