You may have seen in the past day or so in the news of an alleged new virus doing the rounds in China, causing a handful of deaths and causing a huge health scare in the media and health authorities around the world.
Is this "new" virus something to really be scared about? No!
Is this "new" virus" something you can do something about? YES!
More on this later...
But first, some other interesting facts about this new coronavirus:
1) "Coronavirus" is actually a family of viruses that cause infections in some animals, including causing the common cold in humans. The current coronavirus scare is a particular strain of coronavirus.
2) The source of the first infections were in the Wuhan fish market.
3) Just across the river from the Wuhan fish market is a large maximum-security biological laboratory, designed to study the world's most dangerous pathogens (viruses and bacteria)! Very interesting indeed. Details here - https://www.nature.com/news/inside-the-chinese-lab-poised-to-study-world-s-most-dangerous-pathogens-1.21487
4) If the above wasn't enough, Wuhan also has 8 out of the top 13 top biopharmaceutical companies located there. Details here - http://www.fdi.gov.cn/1800000121_37_42197_0_7.html?fbclid=IwAR0JLoHmxf1OeqjbRKnbWzN8pvlkb4Jvqjh9Dtdy88Cmei9aleTMY6M9Wv4
5) In October 2019, a summit of government officials, health officials and infection experts met to discuss a simulation of a global infection pandemic, coincidentally based on a coronavirus outbreak! How did they guess that would happen?! I'll leave that for you to ponder... Details here - https://web.archive.org/web/20200126110537/http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/event201/ and here - https://web.archive.org/web/20191106171718/https://hub.jhu.edu/2019/11/06/event-201-health-security/.
6) It is winter in China at the moment, and any infections or epidemics usually occur when people's immune system defences are low. This is why we see more colds and flu in winter. I have repeatedly written about before, that common cold and flu infections increase in winter, caused from low vitamin D levels in people due to low sunlight exposure when it's colder. So it is not surprising that this infection is spreading at the moment, among those whose immune defences are down or not as strong as they should be.
There is no vaccine for coronavirus, and won't be for at least 6 months unless one is "fast-tracked" (meaning it will have done very limited to no clinical trials for safety of efficacy), or could be years until such a vaccine is available. But that's not worth worrying about, as you and I are already protected from this virus, by our immune system!
We have always had our "innate" immune system which detects and destroys all known and unknown infective pathogens 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, for your entire life! Your immune system, quite literally, keeps you alive!
There are several main parts to your immune system:
1) Innate immune system - these cells protect you from all unknown infection-causing microbes, bacteria and viruses! They recognise what is "self" or safe and what isn't, and will attack and destroy any foreign invaders. This part of your immune system is how we have been able to survive for millenia without modern medicines or medical interventions! The innate immune system, when confronted by a new microbe or invader, learns from this and then trains the adaptive immune system for longer-term defence mechanisms.
2) Adaptive immune system - the adaptive immune system develops antibodies against each invader. Antibodies are then used by the immune system to more quickly respond to and stop infections in future!
3) Your microbiome - or the trillions of bacteria on your skin, in your mucus membranes, digestive tract, and other parts of your body. Your microbiome works to regulate and produce most of your immune system proteins to protect you from any pathogenic bacteria.
It's only when your immune system cannot defend itself quick enough or destroy the invading pathogens that you actually "get" symptoms of an infection.
Your immune system is affected by factors such as stress, a poor diet (ie, nutrient deficiencies or excesses), poor digestive system function, chemicals and toxins in foods and environment, poor sleep quality or quantity, and chronic (long-term) infections, medications (antibiotics, NSAIDs, anti-inflammatories, immunosuppressives, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, steroids, etc), and other factors. If any one of more of these are affecting your immune system, then it's not going to work as well as it should. Reduced immune system function can lead to longer and more severe infections.
Hence the importance of supporting your immune system, not just to prevent and survive the coronavirus, but any and all infections! If your immune system is weak, or you get frequent infections, or want to protect yourself against coronavirus, there are many things that I can help with, by investigating all possible causes of a low functioning immune system and treating those, as well as immune supporting treatments and direct anti-viral actions too.
Is this "new" virus something to really be scared about? No!
Is this "new" virus" something you can do something about? YES!
More on this later...
But first, some other interesting facts about this new coronavirus:
1) "Coronavirus" is actually a family of viruses that cause infections in some animals, including causing the common cold in humans. The current coronavirus scare is a particular strain of coronavirus.
2) The source of the first infections were in the Wuhan fish market.
3) Just across the river from the Wuhan fish market is a large maximum-security biological laboratory, designed to study the world's most dangerous pathogens (viruses and bacteria)! Very interesting indeed. Details here - https://www.nature.com/news/inside-the-chinese-lab-poised-to-study-world-s-most-dangerous-pathogens-1.21487
4) If the above wasn't enough, Wuhan also has 8 out of the top 13 top biopharmaceutical companies located there. Details here - http://www.fdi.gov.cn/1800000121_37_42197_0_7.html?fbclid=IwAR0JLoHmxf1OeqjbRKnbWzN8pvlkb4Jvqjh9Dtdy88Cmei9aleTMY6M9Wv4
5) In October 2019, a summit of government officials, health officials and infection experts met to discuss a simulation of a global infection pandemic, coincidentally based on a coronavirus outbreak! How did they guess that would happen?! I'll leave that for you to ponder... Details here - https://web.archive.org/web/20200126110537/http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/event201/ and here - https://web.archive.org/web/20191106171718/https://hub.jhu.edu/2019/11/06/event-201-health-security/.
6) It is winter in China at the moment, and any infections or epidemics usually occur when people's immune system defences are low. This is why we see more colds and flu in winter. I have repeatedly written about before, that common cold and flu infections increase in winter, caused from low vitamin D levels in people due to low sunlight exposure when it's colder. So it is not surprising that this infection is spreading at the moment, among those whose immune defences are down or not as strong as they should be.
There is no vaccine for coronavirus, and won't be for at least 6 months unless one is "fast-tracked" (meaning it will have done very limited to no clinical trials for safety of efficacy), or could be years until such a vaccine is available. But that's not worth worrying about, as you and I are already protected from this virus, by our immune system!
We have always had our "innate" immune system which detects and destroys all known and unknown infective pathogens 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, for your entire life! Your immune system, quite literally, keeps you alive!
There are several main parts to your immune system:
1) Innate immune system - these cells protect you from all unknown infection-causing microbes, bacteria and viruses! They recognise what is "self" or safe and what isn't, and will attack and destroy any foreign invaders. This part of your immune system is how we have been able to survive for millenia without modern medicines or medical interventions! The innate immune system, when confronted by a new microbe or invader, learns from this and then trains the adaptive immune system for longer-term defence mechanisms.
2) Adaptive immune system - the adaptive immune system develops antibodies against each invader. Antibodies are then used by the immune system to more quickly respond to and stop infections in future!
3) Your microbiome - or the trillions of bacteria on your skin, in your mucus membranes, digestive tract, and other parts of your body. Your microbiome works to regulate and produce most of your immune system proteins to protect you from any pathogenic bacteria.
It's only when your immune system cannot defend itself quick enough or destroy the invading pathogens that you actually "get" symptoms of an infection.
Your immune system is affected by factors such as stress, a poor diet (ie, nutrient deficiencies or excesses), poor digestive system function, chemicals and toxins in foods and environment, poor sleep quality or quantity, and chronic (long-term) infections, medications (antibiotics, NSAIDs, anti-inflammatories, immunosuppressives, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, steroids, etc), and other factors. If any one of more of these are affecting your immune system, then it's not going to work as well as it should. Reduced immune system function can lead to longer and more severe infections.
Hence the importance of supporting your immune system, not just to prevent and survive the coronavirus, but any and all infections! If your immune system is weak, or you get frequent infections, or want to protect yourself against coronavirus, there are many things that I can help with, by investigating all possible causes of a low functioning immune system and treating those, as well as immune supporting treatments and direct anti-viral actions too.
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