What does Coronavirus prevention and collagen have in common?   Vitamin C! 

Say What? Yep.  I have been doing A LOT of research and speaking with colleagues about things we can do naturally to boost our immune system.  And many of the remedies have other great perks!

Eating an orange is going to supply you with 100 mg of Vitamin C.  And if you are anything like me, if I eat too much citrus, I get canker sores!  Ouch!  I need another option!

So, taking high doses of vitamin C via vitamins will boost your immune system and help you fight viruses.  It does this by stimulating the production of interferon.  This signaling protein turns your immune system defenses up.  Microbiology nerd here!

Added Bonus: From an anti-aging standpoint, adding more C in your vitamin regimen will increase your collagen synthesis and reverse oxidative damage. Sweet! We will all look younger while fighting the virus!

So, yea, I have been upping my C intake for the last few weeks.  But beware, too much can irritate the stomach.  One trick I heard was to take Buffered Vitamin C.  If you can’t find that, take a pinch of baking soda with the C.  That may help you tolerate it more. 

The one article I read from the Journal of OrthoMoclular Medicine discussing High Doses of Intravenous Vitamin C and Influenza infused Vitamin C three times over 3 days in a patient with influneza.  The patient was also advised to take 2000 mg three times a day after the infusions.  We are looking at offering IV infusions to healthy patients so we can all stay healthy.  Let me know if you would be interested in this.

In addition to the above, I am continuing to take a probiotic twice a day.  I have also incorporated flax seed into my smoothies as they have natural protease inhibitor capabilities.  (this could inhibit virus replication-my nerdiness is coming out again. Sorry!)

In addition to the above, an article was recently released called Nutraceuticals Have Potential for Boosting the Type 1 Interferon Response to RNA Viruses Including Influenza and coronavirus in Science Direct. It mentions several nutraceuticals and recommended daily dosages. Go check it out! As i mentioned above, a lot of these have extra benefits as well.

XOXO Loralee