We as a collective are still feeling the overwhelm from the pandemic. We might be sensitive to the current situation at hand and may have worries about our future situation as well, given it is an unknown. Do whatever makes you feel calm right now. I am going for walks, doing yoga, meditating and listening to music. Reach out to others via phone or social media. Connect with people that you love while being safe and following the government’s guidelines right now. Focus on what you love versus what you fear. 

Breathing exercises can help calm your nervous system. Breathing in for a count of four, holding for a count of four and breaking out for a count of six can be helpful. Then repeat. Focusing on breathing from your abdomen with one hand on your belly and one hand on your chest, brings you into your body more fully and connects you with your breath. Breathing in ‘soft’ on the inhale, breathing out ‘belly’ on the exhale are all strategies to prevent holding your breath when you are anxious.

Be mindful of your thoughts at this time. Try to remain neutral and not create a mental dialogue about what is happening right now and what it means. Focus on what you want (set strong intentions). Focus on happy memories that you have had in your life if you are feeling challenged to stay positive. Involve as many senses as you can (sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste) in the memory retrieval so that memory will bring you joy in this moment. 

To turn off your mind if it running with everything virus related, try taking 200 mg Magnesium glycinate before bed. Magnesium is very relaxing to the central nervous system. Another supplement to manage anxiety at this time is L-theanine. I typically recommend 100-200 mg, one to three times daily to boost serotonin and dopamine and calm the mind down.

Exercise is imperative at this time to help you sleep at night and strengthen the immune system. At least 30 minutes daily of what you enjoy is what I recommend. Movement helps the white blood cells circulate in the body so they can be in their most active state. 

Nutrition is important to keep immunity strong. Focus on foods rich in Vitamin C (oranges, broccoli, red pepper, kiwi, parsley), Zinc (pumpkin seeds, ginger root, wild seafood, free range poultry), Vitamin D (fatty wild fish). Eat five servings of vegetables daily and four servings of fruit daily. Vitamin A and carotene’s found in orange and yellow vegetables, Swiss chard, dark leafy greens, squash, pumpkin are especially recommended. Vitamins B2 and B6 are helpful to support immune function. These are found in chard, banana, avocado, spinach, fish and poultry. 

Include protein sources (free range eggs, free range poultry, grass fed beef, wild seafood, raw nuts, seeds, beans) if tolerated. Complex carbohydrates in the form of whole grains (quinoa, brown, wild or black rice, buckwheat, gluten free oats, millet) are supportive if tolerated. Healthy fats include extra virgin olive oil, raw nuts and seeds, avocado, olives, and virgin coconut oil. 

Lastly fermented foods will help keep your immune system strong. Yogurt (unsweetened) with live and active cultures, raw sauerkraut, kefir, kim chee, tempeh and miso are good choices to include in your diet. 

Avoid sugar which suppresses immune function along with processed food, fast food, trans fats and hydrogenated fats.

We will be back to work soon. To personalize your wellness plan, book a full visit with me, contact Parallel Wellness, 4032321283

My dear mother is in the hospital right now and because of Covid-19, I am not allowed to visit her. She has had 3 surgeries in 4 months and is tired. She is 86 years old and does not have the ability to recover from surgery like someone even half her age. She is extremely weak right now. Because I love her so much and am worried about her, I wrote her 2 cards yesterday (they were both small cards so I filled every space I could with my words.)

When I think about my Mom and the life she has lived, and her dear sweet character and the thought of losing her and the impact it would have on my life, I think of what I can write that might lift her up at this time. My Mom was the most positive, encouraging person before these 3 surgeries. She had fire and strength and was filled with vitality for her age. She always told me to look for the silver lining, to reach for the light. She would send me bible verses when I was feeling discouraged by life.  She had a life force that was vital and palpable. She celebrated life. These surgeries have had a tremendous impact and have weakened her life force. That is a fact. 

So reflecting on her life, and the amount of energy she had brought to every moment, what I thought of is she is my superhero! She needs to draw on superhuman strength at this time to bring her remaining life force back into her body. I wanted to draw her attention to my memories of her superhero strength so she might draw on those superhero qualities right now when she needs them to recover! So the first quality is her strength of character and I will bear witness to that strength a little in the following paragraph.

My Mom had six children and birthed five children. She adopted a native child when he was 3.  She raised us all (I am the youngest!) without a nanny. She took care of our physical needs with as much love and personal attention as if we all had her monocular view. My Mom would make cinnamon rolls from scratch when I came home from elementary school. My Mom cooked for all us kids and her husband, meal after meal for many, many years without a complaint. She made all our lunches every day (to the envy of all my friends). I did not cart a peanut butter and jam sandwich- rather a European Hot Dog. This was an unfortunate advantage when I had anorexia because it was easy to give away my lunch. (All tasteless jokes aside.)    Who does that? A Superhero! Superhero strength number one: She has a Strong constitution to draw on! (My Dad was a specialist and worked night and day. I will blog about him in a future blog!) My Mom worked equally hard raising six kids (my native brother was a handful -understatement of the year!)

My Mom fed us with homegrown food. She made homemade sauerkraut before it was in vogue.  She had an amazing garden with a plethora of vegetables, including beautiful corn on the cob, that we would get to eat in our backyard in beautiful Okanagan summers. I have memories of my Mom working in that garden in the heat of the summer. That strength of character fueled many amazing dinners that I have fond memories of (despite my ignorance brought on with being in my twenties). So many beautiful moments at that backyard wooden picnic table immersed in the love that only a family can bring. I am so grateful to be raised in this family and my Mother played such an important role for me in anchoring that love.

Super hero strength number 2: a great attitude and sense of humor. I have a memory of being a teenager and cooking myself a hamburger in my kitchen. Well wouldn’t you know, my hamburger caught fire in the oven. We lived in a house with a lot of wood. I freeze in situations that are dangerous. This is why I did not go into conventional medicine. I would not have made a good doctor in a crisis. I have largely a counseling based practice-read ‘no risk’! Anyways, my Dad had to use a fire extinguisher to put the fire out while I hid sheepishly in the corner. My Mom was the perfect mate to my Dad. He was so serious and she was the sanguine temperament to balance his intensity. My Dad was stressed about my hamburger mishap. Later they went out for dinner and my Mom’s first comment to my Dad was “You look extinguished tonight!” My Mom was the first person to laugh at the irony of life. She has kept us laughing when we might think our lives were seriously ‘de-railing’ and has always encouraged us to believe in ourselves despite our perceived failures or our character flaws. What a gift to a child with low self esteem! 

Superhero strength number 3:Commitment to being a wonderful Mother! She told me when I was fairly young that all she cared about was being a mother. This was so obvious to me because of the joy she had while being a mother. She believed in us all so strongly. I am so grateful to grow up in a family where my Mom accepted and loved me. I did not have the courage to be a mother in this life but I so respect anyone who takes on the task with complete love and commitment. My Mom wears vulnerability on her sleeve because she is so authentically heart centered. That has resulted in a family that is heart centered. At this time in our daily world, love and heart centered living are so important to combat the fear that is often a central thread in the media right now. I am so grateful for being brought up in such a tight knit, heart centered family.

Superhero strength number 4 that Mom carries is unconditional love. I have always felt completely loved and accepted by my Mom. I had my challenges with an eating disorder when I was growing up that I have healed from. I had issues with low self esteem growing up. My Mom loved and accepted all of me when I struggled with anything. She never gave up on me. I hope that I can make her feel as loved now in her frailty; that she knows that she can always count on me. That we as a family will lift her up when life is challenging and her strength falters… Thank you Mom! You are such an inspiration for me! I love you SO much and send you my healing vibes to get you through this time!! God bless!!

So we have been bombarded with news about Covid-19 for quite some time now and we are all doing our part with the basic recommendations (constant and proper hand washing; self isolating, keeping a distance of  6 feet between you and the next person, being conscious of not touching our eyes, nose, or mouth or our face in general, avoiding crowds, using hand sanitizers, being mindful of the symptoms  of COVID-19 so we are tested if at high risk of contracting (fever, dry cough, trouble breathing being the initial typically). For more info regarding COVID-19, go to Canada.ca or the WHO web sites. 

In the meantime, we must strengthen our host (our bodies). This virus has an infectivity rate of 83% which is high. The recommendations to support one’s body immunity include Vitamin C in the ascorbate form 3000 mg in divided doses. As Vitamin C is a water soluble antioxidant, decrease that dose if you get loose stools (back the dose off until you don’t get loose stools). Zinc is an antiviral mineral. I use Gammadyn Zinc but over the counter brands of zinc like zinc acetate are well absorbed as well.  You can also get zinc through food sources like pumpkin seeds, oysters, oats,poultry, or herring. A basic multivitamin/mineral which contains zinc would also be adequate to support your needs. 

Spices that are antiviral include fresh peeled ginger root, sliced thin and simmered on medium heat for ten minutes in water or you could even juice ginger too (combine a small amount with fresh lemon,  hot water, raw honey). Raw garlic should be used liberally as it is an antiviral herb too (1-2 cloves daily). Other herbs that have antiviral activity include licorice. Traditional Medicinals makes a great Organic Licorice Root tea that you can drink during the day if you get sick of drinking ginger tea.

Echinacea is also an antiviral herb and could be drank as a tea. The Medical Medium has a recipe for Thyme tea that you can look up online that is also antiviral. 

Other foods that could help your body be stronger include mushrooms with their polysaccharides which are immune boosting (especially Shitake and Oyster). Gregg Braden has videos on YouTube that I have posted on Facebook about using mushrooms to strengthen the host or go to GreggBraden. com for references and more information on staying strong and healthy at this time. 

Stay away from sugar in any form which suppresses white blood cell function. Choose good fats like avocado, olive oil, flax seed oil over hydrogenated or trans fats in any form. 

Exercise at least 30 minutes daily to move white blood cells through your body. Make sure you get a good sleep every night. Practice stress reduction using yoga or use whatever works for you- I love music to help me feel better.

Do things to reduce anxiety over this global crisis like Emotional Freedom Technique to calm your nervous system. Set up a phone consultation with our clinic with me at this time if you are interested in reducing anxiety utilizing E.F.T. Practice good self care in general right now. Love is very good for the immune system so keep your family close or your pets right now. If they are safe and free of the virus, cuddle them. Until next time, stay well! To book a phone consult at this time, please call Parallel Wellness  Robin Vinge, Naturopathic Doctor 4032321283

Disclaimer: Our treatments do not prevent or treat Covid-19 just to be clear.