​COVID-19 Therapy: Supporting Oxygenation
 
I wanted to share my thoughts with my colleagues about the oxygen deprivation aspect of Covid-19.
You can listen to this ER doc discuss his experience on Youtube.  I myself have been thinking along these lines and what he is describing should be noted. Click on the space below for the youtube link that is not showing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9GYTc53r2o&feature=youtu.be
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9GYTc53r2o&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9GYTc53r2o&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9GYTc532o&feature=youtube.be
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For myself, not too long ago I had several cases of possible Covid-19 cases who were experiencing mild to moderate symptoms and were unable to get tested.  Along with mild fever, headache, congestion, and body aches the dominant concern was “air hunger” on very mild exertion and even at rest.  There was some nausea and stomach upset. Although the lungs were clear in all cases the degree of air hunger was notable.  Treatments that focused on the shortness of breath/air hunger aspect were most effective.
 
This included antioxidant therapies of supplements or foods containing vitamin C, Vitamin E, Alpha Lipoic Acid, organic berries and berry extract, chlorophyll and high chlorophyll containing foods (particularly Kale and Spirulina).
 
Getting enough Vitamin D from mild to moderate exercise in the sunlight every day remains a strong recommendation.

 
From a preventative medicine focus I am recommending deep breathing exercises, stopping alcohol, doing mild exercise to improve lung function and circulation, improving the blood health and circulatory health.
 
Preventative Medicine means to individually treat and correct:

• Anemia
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Poor Circulation
• Poor Lung Function

 
4-6 servings of green leafy vegetables per day, combined with chlorophyll and/or Spirulina for many people is appropriate. 
 
I am recommending organic berries (blueberries commonly) 1 cup per day for many, along with organic raw walnuts 3-6 times per week.
 
Steamed or sautéed purple sweet potatoes with kale and spinach, seasoned with fresh ginger and garlic is an example of a dish I recommend.  Wild caught sockeye salmon or high quality fish oils can be served with these vegetables for added benefit.  An avocado and high quality extra-virgin olive oil can be added right before serving (meaning raw and uncooked).  I sprinkle organic cayenne powder over it myself.
 
Changing the diet to effectively address underlying weaknesses in the system is key.
 
Avoid and correct dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. This is important.
 
All of these challenges are faced by the elderly and may be contributing to their higher risk of developing serious complications from Covid-19.
 
Preventative Medicine Supplements (not treatment):
 
Zinc: 7-20 mg depending on the patient
Vitamin C: 400-500mg once or twice per day with meals (may increase dosage as needed).  For those of you who can do IV Vitamin C this should be considered for many patients.
Vitamin E: Mixed Natural Tocopherols 400 I.U. (or high vitamin E foods such as avocados every day)
Magnesium Taurate or other Magnesium as appropriate for each case for vascular and nervous system health.
Alpha Lipoic Acid: 100mg once or twice daily, occasionally more, or dosed every few days if needed less frequently.
 
Some cases do well with cayenne tinctures or capsules for poor circulation.  This is dosed based on the case and tolerance.
 
Oxygen Supportive Therapies for High Altitude Sickness:
 
A double-blind trial of 18 mountaineers climbing Mt. Everest found that the use of an antioxidant vitamin supplement (providing 1,000 mg of Vitamin C, 400 IU of Vitamin E and 600 mg of Alpha Lipoic Acid daily) significantly improved symptoms of altitude sickness as compared to placebo. Treatment was begun 3 weeks prior to ascent and continued during the 10 days of climbing. This was a small study, and its results cannot be definitive. Another small study using similar antioxidants in a similar manner found that use of antioxidants might offer benefits in the first couple of days of high altitude ascent. *

Subudhi AW, Jacobs KA, Hagobian TA et al. Changes in ventilatory threshold at high altitude: effect of antioxidants. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006;38:1425-1431.
 
Adaptogens are likely to be of benefit, but I would focus on those that will not increase blood pressure or respiratory rate.  Rhodiola can make High Altitude Sickness worse -- as an example, and what I would avoid.  Instead I might choose cordyceps or schisandra.
 
These are all generalizations and not the more specific aspects and prescriptions of individualized treatments that would not be suitable in all cases, of course.

 I continue to use the approaches and remedies as listed in Part 1 of my previous blog, with a emphasis on berberine containing herbs like Goldenseal and Oregon Grape Root. 

Glutathione support is also indicated via supplements, broccoli sprouts, or nutritional precursors and protocols.

Some Acupuncture Notes:
 
Acupuncture points to release the exterior first (Large Intestine 4, Liver 3 or GB 41 and TW 5 and similar) then followed by tonificaltion for recovery such as the points of PC6, Kd 3, and ST36 combined with small optical quartz spheres on Kidney 1 and Lung 2. 
 
You do not want to tonify at the first sign of acute illness -- you want to disperse.
ST36 is safe to use at most stages of infection generally or for weaker patients. I also will use LI 20, ST 3, and Lu 7 during infection.
 
I use quartz spheres or lavender spheres instead of needles for weak or debilitated patients to avoid excessive treatment. Natural unheated Pink Tourmaline chips or spheres on Lu 7 has been successful for me. Preventatively I would focus on the tonification points. 
 
Unheated White Beryl roundels or spheres on ST 12 can be useful for clearing toxic pathogenic qi from the channels.

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Anti-Viral Preparedness and Pandemic Crisis Response
Part 1
 
During these times of Pandemic, I wanted to make a quick bullet point list for what each of us can do to prepare and respond to the Corvid-19 virus now moving through our community.  I will follow this bullet point list with several articles covering detailed recommendations for the public and natural medicine practitioners. Remember to prepare rationally and calmly for immune system support, quarantine risks, and financial hardship in the upcoming weeks. I am answering emails and phone calls on these subjects daily so this is a QUICK down and dirty list of the basics. I will post more regularly and with greater detail.  For the public, always check with your doctors first before changing diets or taking supplements. For the practitioners, these are just a few ideas to consider.
 
Here is a quick list:

• Avoid Shaking Hands
• Use nitrile or latex gloves when shopping, filling gas tanks, or doing other public activities requiring you to touch high traffic surfaces. You can carry them in your car or in a purse or backpack and dispose of them after use.
• Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after being in public settings. Dry your hands completely after washing.
• After washing your hands, use paper towels to open public bathroom doors
• Cover your nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or paper or cloth when you cough or sneeze –then wash your hands.
• Consider wearing facemasks with an N95 rating when traveling in public places. But remember that any facemask will remind you to not touch your mouth, nose, and face with your hands when in public and will limit your hand to face contact.
• Use disinfecting wipes when provided at grocery stores or other public venues.
• Get enough sleep and rest to support your general health and immune system
• Avoid added sugar in your foods and snacks, processed sugar is known to negatively effect the immune system.
• Make sure all your prescription medications are up to date and you have a 30 day supply or more… I am recommending 90 days to all my friends, family, students, and patients.
• Have food, water, and needed supplies to support you and your family at home for at least 30 days.  I have planned for 90 days for my family.

 
 
Immune System Support for Preventative Medicine Only
These are very general recommendations
Specific people may need more exact recommendations to better meet their unique needs

• Get Enough High Quality Sleep
• Stay Hydrated
• Manage stress and find ways to rest and take care of yourself
• Avoid all added sugar, processed sugar, corn syrup
• Increase Vitamin A containing foods (not if you are pregnant without checking with your doctor)
• Increase Vitamin C containing foods
• Increase Vitamin D containing foods
• Vitamin A appropriate supplementation at first sign of viral illness: a reasonable adult dosage is 800 -1200 mcg per day for 4-7 days. Pregnant women should check with their doctor first as this may be too high for their unborn child. Certain liver conditions and medications may not be compatible with this dosage, so check with your physicians.
• Vitamin C supplementation of 200-500mg per day with meals as an immune system support if under general stress, increase to 400-500mg 2-4x per day at first sign of illness. This gives general immune support. Higher doses may be useful, but this is unknown at this time.
• Vitamin D3 supplementation at 400 I.U. to 800 I.U. if you know your Vitamin D3 levels are already in a healthy range.  If you suspect deficiency or have a confirmed deficiency then increase to 1000 to 2000 I.U. per day for 4-8 weeks before reducing. Do not use high doses of Vitamin D if you have Liver or Kidney disease without consulting with your doctor.
• Zinc lozenges prophylactically when in public, 1-2 per day or at first sign of viral symptoms may have some benefit, so might elderberry and zinc combination lozenges.
• Increase Green Leafy Vegetables in the diet where and if appropriate. 
• Eat a healthy, non-inflammatory diet, avoiding food allergens and food intolerances
• Eat fermented foods and take probiotics for immune support.
• Have mucolytic and aromatic compounds available to treat the very thick mucus and "toxic damp condition" being reported by Chinese doctors treating the Corvid-19 virus in Wuhan China:

Consider the following home remedies to have on hand:

• Fresh Ginger Tea
• Raw Honey
• Cinnamon (Simply Organic brand)
• Licorice Tea (avoid if you have hypertension)
• Mullein Tea
• Clove (Simply Organic brand)
• Cardamom (Simply Organic Brand)
• Garlic (freshly crushed)
• Quercetin as supplement or in raw onions and other foods

 
Consider Immune Supportive Medicinal Mushrooms such as:

• Reishi
• Turkey Tail
• Lion’s Mane
• Shiitake
• Chaga

I am stocking up on tinctures of Mullein, Licorice, Goldenseal, Oregon Grape Root, Ginger, Osha, and Elderberry based on reports of symptoms and pathogenesis. Umka supplementations might be considered.

Essential Oils I am stocking up on to use in rooms, showers, steam inhalations and massage oils are:

• Eucalyptus
• Cinnamon
• Clove
• Spearmint
• Grapefruit
• Thyme
• Ginger
• Frankincense

I am also preparing for hot compresses over the chest and back with epsom salts and vapor rubs. Soak the towel in hot epsom salt water, apply vapor rub to the chest, then apply the hot towel and cover with wool blankets for 5-10 minutes. Repeat with a second round of hot compress if the patient is cool.  You can do this on the front and back to relieve chest congestion. Never let the patient get chilled. You may then follow the hot compress phase with a heating compress (This is applied by using a very thin and small cotton towel or cut up sheet that just covers the chest and abdomen. Soak the material in cool water and wring it out very well so it is not dripping. It is then applied cool to the chest and covered with wool to allow the body to heat it up in 10-15 minutes).

                           Guiding Principles and What I am Really Thinking and Doing
 
Principles in Practice for Using Natural and Biofield Medicine:
 

• Personal Power starts now (always). Show up. Be Present.
• Personal Power cultivation is a lifetime journey, it makes a huge difference for the doctor and the patient to own their power to heal and be healed
• Discover what makes you strong and lean in
• Don’t care if what makes you strong is not what other people think SHOULD make you strong.  Do you. They don’t know. It's not their life.
• No one can take your spiritual power if you do not allow it, empowerment means to own your Self and your Truth
• Lots of people, systems, institutions, media, memes, and random beings want your power and want you to think you don’t have any for various reasons of their own.  Stop giving it to people or things that are misusing it.
• What are you giving your power to?  (I ask myself and I will ask you)
• What are you giving your energy to? (I ask myself and I will ask you)
• What are you giving your thoughts, time, and emotions to? (Take a deep look, journal it maybe, it can tell us a lot)
• What lies have you been taught to believe that are not serving you?

 
Applied Principles I try and always remember:
 

• Qi Gong, the flow and mastery of flow of the subtle forces that shape and control the physical world. (The Force is Real)
• Biofield energies and electromagnetic forces inside and outside of us are effecting our health and wellbeing -- they are profound and mostly unseen. Work with them.
• The Spirit is more powerful then the mind, emotions, or body, invoke the Soul in myself and my patients. When in doubt pray harder.
• The Mind is more powerful then the emotions or body, transform the thinking, clear the mind, reveal the hidden thoughts, be gentle or be fierce but find out the real thoughts.
• The Emotions are more powerful then the body, the emotional body is the giant pink elephant in the room…get it on your side, feed it peanuts maybe. Maybe chocolate.
• The Body is more powerful then the chemical; our general Biofield, DNA, and vitality can determine the biochemistry, it can change the effect of a drug or food or substance.
• The Body has it’s own story and opinions…listen to it, it speaks the truths we need to honor and the truths that you need to discover. 

Obstacles to Cure: Blockages, Deficiencies, and Excesses

All imbalances can be reduced to some form of blockage in what otherwise should be a perfect flow and balance throughout the many processes that create and maintain health. In an abundant universe the question is: where is the blockage and what is that blockage made of? This blockage is then generating the apparent experience of deficiency or excess in our bodies or lives.  Sometimes we create deficiencies or excesses inside us, sometimes the blockage, deficiency, or excess is outside us.  In either case, whether we are deficient in nutrients, water, light, happiness, or freedom we must correct the obstacle to flow.  If we are excessively filled with toxins, inflammation, congested lymph, congested blood, anger, sadness or fear we need to correct the flow so that these things drain and we find our balance again. Too little blood circulation in an area creates problems, so does too much.  Creating ideal balance in all areas requires different steps to remove the blockage, feed the deficiency, and drain or remove the excess.

Nature Cure wants to:
 

• Find obstacles to cure in the Spirit
• Find obstacles to cure in the Mind
• Find obstacles to cure in the Emotions
• Find obstacles to cure in the Body (in each organ or tissue or cellular structure, anatomy or physiology, check them all if necessary)
• Find obstacles to cure in the Environment: in the any of the following:
  

1. Buildings
2. Climate
3. Geographical location
4. Air
5. Sunlight (and light in general)
6. Electromagnetic fields and waves in addition to light
7. Energetic environment
8. Emotional and mental environmental
9. Clothes and shoes
   

Examples of things that might be uncovered:

• Toxic belief patterns
• Toxic emotional patterns
• Toxic chemicals at home, school, work, or traveling
• Toxic relationship patterns
• Environmental toxin/xenobiotics in the tissues now accumulated
• Inflammatory foods or substances in the diet
• Toxins in the the makeup, the clothes, the toiletries
• Bacteria or virus or parasite or growths in an organ or tissue
• Physical blockage to flow or function anywhere in the body
• Energetic blockage in the meridians and fields surrounding the body

 
Nature Cure questions to determine the health plan:

 1) What do we need to remove from the diet, the tissue, the environment, the lifestyle, the thinking or the emotions?
2) What is missing in the diet, body, emotions, lifestyle, environment, or thinking?
3) What do we need to soothe, repair, and make strong again (generally in that order)? 
4) How urgent and within what timeframe do we have to work?
5) How can we support the body to do its own work to remove, soothe, repair, and make strong if we have the time?
6) How do we optimize the whole person to heal?
7) How do we optimize the organ to heal?
8) What is the least invasive and side effect generating thing we can do?
9) What is needed specifically to motivate the change?
10) What is needed specifically to increase vitality in an organ or a body?
11) What hidden blockages or resistances have hindered progress?
 
 The difference in Nature Cure thinking is in the questions we ask and the places we look for answers, therapies, and support.  It is a difference of priority and perception.  It may happily include drugs, surgery, and other conventional evaluations and treatment, but only with a profoundly different context and worldview.  It is sensitive to both the side effects of ignoring underlying disease generating conditions as well as being sensitive to the side effects of unneeded medications and surgery.
 
PRIME DIRECTIVES:
 

• Support the body to heal itself.
• Preventative Medicine is queen
• Self-healing and prevention is ideal but the body and the individual may need outside intervention to many different degrees and for many different reasons. Intervene how and when you must. Suppression has its uses. Drugs can buy you time to change the case.
• Treat the person first, the condition second. This means to find out what was really happening when the problem started and why it has not yet been resolved.

​What does Nature Cure do differently?
 

• Optimize the gastrointestinal tract in almost all instances
• Optimize and support the eliminative organs
• Optimize circulation of blood
• Optimize lymph circulation
• Optimize Qi circulation
• Optimize the nervous system
• Fasting and Detoxification/Cleansing
• Nutrition Protocols
• Hydrotherapy and Thermal Therapy
• Massage, maybe with botanical oils, essential oils, gemstones:

                 1. Muscle Release
                 2. Fascia Unbinding
                 3. Lymph Movement
                 4. Nervous System Relaxation
                 5. Emotional Release
                 6. Qi Movement
                 7. Pain Reduction
                 8. Energy Restoration
                 9. Blood Circulation
                10: Healing experience of touch and vital energy
                (a.k.a. why doesn’t excellent medical massage happen more often?)

• Posture Realignment
• Range of Motion Exercises
• Therapeutic Strength and Balancing Exercises
• Sleep Optimization
• Rest Optimization
• Light Therapy
• Lifestyle Counseling (life patterns at home, at work, traveling along with environmental assessments)
• Emotional and Mental Pattern Discovery
• Subtle Body Energy Medicine, Biofield Medicine, Gemstone Acupoint therapy

 
LASTLY:
Add supplements, botanicals, drugs, or other side-effect producing therapies as needed with due consideration for their level of risk to benefit
 
BROAD ACTION STEPS RECAP:

• I will summarize the changes needed and wanted and how I understand those needs through the eyes of Nature Cure, Biofield, Chinese or Ayurvedic medical paradigms (or through all four paradigms if needed)
• I will explain the reasons and resources needed for the plan that will be created to create those changes
• I will inspire, educate, and support the quest for self-empowered healing
• Nutritional guidelines, meals and protocols created for the unique needs and goals of each person.  Nutritional needs change.  No dietary theory solves all problems. Each person is unique in their needs and those needs will change.
  • Too many salads have hurt some people. Too much meat has hurt others. Etc. etc. etc. Pay attention to the details.
• Fasting or detoxification protocols as needed according to need and strength and capacity.  Both can save lives or end them. Pay attention.
• Home and self-care therapies and exercises to empower people to heal and optimize themselves.  Give as much power to the people as you can.
• Supplements, teas, spices and botanicals when useful. Food is medicine. Plants are medicine. Use them.
• Recommendations for testing or referrals as necessary
• Directions and “how to” instructions on lifestyle changes, biohacking tools and strategies.  Make it easier.  Change is hard. Help.
• Develop a plan for follow up and support

 

 
1. Be a doctor first. Be a naturopathic doctor second. Don’t bother trying to explain what a naturopath is out of the gate in a hospital or an ambulance or an emergency room, just be knowledgeable; know medicine and be able to demonstrate your knowledge. Let your knowledge and skills speak for you, for your patient’s sake. Explain the power, mechanism of actions and rationale of natural medicine after you have shown your competency, skills, and intelligence. (It will probably help you to know how to read a ECG enough to recognize a STEMI, the dosage and actions of drugs, and conventional differential diagnosis – but do what you want, I am not your boss) 

2. If you think you made a mistake, own it and fix it. Now. No seriously, stop reading and go fix it. 

3. If you are afraid you are going to make mistakes, you will. It is inevitable-- see the previous point. 

4.  If you are afraid you do not know enough, you don’t.  Learn More. 

5. When it involves energy medicine try and explain quantum mechanics, bioelectric magnetic fields and the most advanced neurological sciences with a focus on psychoneuroimmunology -- but only if you ACTUALLY understand the science… otherwise skip it and go to the next option described below. 

6.  When explaining anything in a hospital they cannot understand give up and call it Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture Theory. If that fails, study more quantum field theory. I think it could be all about the E8 crystal (Google that). 

7.  When you use very specialized types and shapes of gemstones on and around the human form to show the possibilities inherent in the human being you will mess with people’s minds. This awareness is a primary step to profound paradigm shifts. I use gemstones, I put them on wands of wood and glass and I am sorry that it makes me look like a wizard in a Harry Potter novel, but I rock the woman-wizard thing anyway so we are just going to move on. 

8.  Use personal power for transformational states of healing. But be gentle, this stuff gets REAL. 

9.  Counsel people through the freaking out phase when they are trying to decide if it IS real or magic or a mistake and whether or not they can embrace all the consequences of accepting their potential and their responsibility for their lives, their choices, and the consequences. 

10. For-Gods-Sake there is a ton of research on how the manipulation of temperature has profound physiological effects and potential for healing. The application of water is an excellent medium for said temperature manipulation.  This is called hydrotherapy. Hydrotherapy is both an ancient method of healing and at the cutting edge of longevity and medical science. Anyone who says different is misguided, misinformed, and sadly lacking in basic research skills.  Come talk to me. I will correct your deficiencies in this area. Seriously, I will put the rest of my life down for a moment and help enlighten you. Or you could go look it up yourself so I can focus on other things. Thanks. Water and temperature is everywhere.  Learn it, Master it, Use it… it is there for you. 

11.  Rearrange their muscles, their fascia, their bones, their qi flow, their lymph flow, their blood flow, their reality, their head space, your head space, their emotional space, their spiritual space, their conceptual framework, their cellular framework, their metabolism, their diet, their lifestyles, their medications, their exercise, their relationships and no I am not nor have I ever been a psychologist but seriously, “ how DO you feel about that?”...Now take this tincture of scutellaria and gentian and call me in a week. 

12. The perfect diet is always based on the individual. Go for results, not theory. 

13.  Remove  parasites, whatever form they take. They are sneaky bastards.

14. Ask yourself, do they REALLY need to take 20 supplements a day? I mean, maybe, but really? Are you sure? Or do you just need them to improve their digestion, elimination, emotional and mental well-being...or something…I’m just asking. 
​
15. The Power remains in two places: Nature and Soul. 

Bonus Point: They are probably lying about their diet, their exercise, the amount of alcohol they are drinking, or what they are Really Really Really feeling underneath the pattern of their lives.  But be careful, they very likely don’t know how much they are lying to you.  They are probably lying to themselves and you have to be very careful with the truth, it is one of the most powerful forces in the universe.  Luckily for us all, love is more powerful. Love the people. They need it.