As we step into the first few months of 2020, it seems like everywhere you turn, someone is talking about the dreaded coronavirus. Talk of coronavirus has incited a rising panic – with people across the globe preparing for the worst.
What Is Coronavirus?
Coronavirus is a virus that primarily affects the respiratory system. While there are around a dozen different types of coronaviruses, only three are able to infect humans. Our current health threat is a strain of coronavirus officially known as SARS-COV-2 and causes a disease which has been dubbed Covid-19.1
It’s thought to be an airborne virus – meaning it’s spread from person to person through respiratory droplets produced when someone coughs or sneezes. These droplets can end up on a surface (like your hands or a doorknob) and then be spread if you come into contact with the contaminated surface.
Once the coronavirus is contracted, symptoms can range from mild to life-threatening.
What Are the Symptoms of Coronavirus?
The coronavirus can remain latent for anywhere from two to 14 days – meaning people can be infected without showing any symptoms. The main symptoms of coronavirus are:2
- Fever
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
But those infected may experience additional symptoms including:
- Headache
- Muscular stiffness and pain
- Loss of appetite
- Malaise, extreme generalised fatigue
- Chills
- Confusion
- Dizziness
- Rash
- Night sweats
- Stomach upset, such as nausea or diarrhea
The symptoms of coronavirus are quite similar to the flu – adding to the hysteria as flu season has been in full swing.
Is the Coronavirus Deadly?
Currently, the coronavirus is estimated to have at most a two to three percent fatality rate.1 And while that might sound scary at first glance, it’s important to put those numbers into perspective.
At the time of this article, a little over 2,500 people have died from coronavirus. Compare that to an estimated 291,00 to 646,000 people that die from the seasonal flu every year across the globe.3 Even if the deaths from coronavirus increased by a hundredfold, the number of deaths would only be approaching the lower limits of the estimated death toll caused by existing strains of the flu virus.
So in short, yes, the coronavirus can be deadly. But the vast majority of individuals who contract coronavirus have mild symptoms that resolve without complication. Some have no symptoms at all, which is why people are often walking around or traveling and spreading the virus without even knowing they are infected. And those most at risk of death have other pre-existing conditions that leave their immune or respiratory system compromised. Those at risk are patients with uncontrolled diabetes, heart disease, COPD or emphysema, the elderly or immune-compromised.
Let’s take a deeper look at exactly how the coronavirus affects the body so you can have a better understanding of how to protect yourself.
How Exactly Does the Coronavirus Affect the Body?
The “SARS” in the coronaviruses’ official name “SARS-COV-2” stands for “Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome” because it can cause a sudden onset of respiratory failure. Coronavirus can lead to respiratory failure by causing:4
- Damage to the membrane where gas is exchanged in your lungs (the alveolar-capillary barrier)
- Oxidative injury
- An uncontrolled inflammation from excessive production of cytokines
If your body becomes infected, the virus attaches to the surface of epithelial cells in the lungs, spleen, and lymphatic system. Once your body is alerted to the invaders, your immune system goes to work and deploys immune cells and sets off a cascade of chemical messengers, causing what is known as a “cytokine storm.” Cytokines are a type of chemical messenger the immune system uses to communicate with the rest of the body.
This flooding of cytokines and immune cells into the tissues of the respiratory tract is what causes damage to the alveolar-capillary barrier, oxidative injury, and uncontrolled inflammation.
This combination essentially halts the lung cell’s ability to move mucus out of the lungs and triggers the immune system to begin attacking your own lung cells. In susceptible individuals whose immune or respiratory systems are compromised, this can result in a severe lack of oxygen in the body, which eventually leads to death.
Fortunately, your chances of dying from coronavirus are pretty slim. But there are some simple steps you can and should take to protect yourself from coronavirus.
How Can You Protect Yourself From Coronavirus?
When it comes to defending yourself against coronavirus, it’s best to take a two-pronged approach: avoiding potential contact with the virus and bolstering your natural ability to fight infection. Here’s what I recommend:
Take Precautions
The most effective way to prevent the spread of germs is pretty straightforward. Simply taking some basic precautions to keep viruses and bacteria from entering your body can go a long way in keeping you safe.
- Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water – scrubbing all surfaces of your hands for at least 20 seconds. And don’t forget under the fingernails!
- Use an alcohol-based hand non-toxic sanitizer to clean your hands if soap and water aren’t available. And only if your hands aren’t visibly soiled. Always choose soap and water if available over hand sanitizer.
- Always wash your hands before eating or touching your face.
- Regularly clean and disinfect any frequently touched objects or surfaces with cleaning sprays or wipes.
- Stay home if you’re sick or feeling under the weather.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
These tips may sound simple, but they’re powerful, and just doing these things will go a long way. I suggest incorporating these healthy habits into your daily routines – coronavirus or not.
Keep Your Immune System in Top Shape
Coming into contact with some germs is unavoidable. But keeping your immune system in tip-top shape is your best defense against any microorganisms that might make their way to your body.
To keep your immune system running at full force, here’s what I recommend:
- Get plenty of restful sleep. Your immune system requires large amounts of energy, so it depends on adequate sleep to function at full capacity. Aim for a minimum of 7-8 hours of quality restful sleep each night, preferably at least 90 minutes of both deep sleep and REM. Use a sleep tracking app like Sleep Score or Sleep Tracker or Oura ring to keep motivated, like I do.
- Reduce stress. Emotional stress not only increases inflammation, but it also puts a damper on your immune system – meaning double trouble when it comes to your body's ability to fight off invaders. Taking steps to minimize stress and finding healthy ways to process the unavoidable stress (like practicing meditation) can go a long way in keeping your immune system healthy.
- Give your gut some love. Your gut health and your immune system are intricately linked, so keeping your digestive tract happy will, in turn, keep your immune system up and running. Make sure you’re eating a healthy well-rounded diet based on real foods, going to the bathroom regularly to eliminate toxins, and healing any issues you may have like leaky gut syndrome.
A holistic approach to health, wellness, and disease prevention is the most effective. So be sure to address all these aspects of your health.
So, How Concerned Should You Really Be?
Just like nearly all contagious illnesses, coronavirus should be taken seriously.
With some simple preventative measures, you can drastically reduce your chances of contracting coronavirus or any other infectious illness. The best thing you can do is stay at home and abide by the rules set up by your local government officials.
Being proactive through educating yourself and taking measures to keep your immune system running on all cylinders is your best bet when it comes to protecting yourself and your loved ones against this emerging virus.
Now it’s time to hear from you. Are you surprised by anything you learned about the coronavirus? What steps are you taking to keep you and your family safe? Leave your questions and thoughts in the comments below!
References
- https://jameslyonsweiler.com/2020/02/26/things-you-dont-yet-know-but-need-to-know-about-the-novel-coronavirus-including-treatment-information-and-how-to-prepare-your-home/
- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/symptoms.html
- https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p1213-flu-death-estimate.html
- http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v16n11.shtml
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11115795
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3166406/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033062020300372?fbclid=IwAR0UMWXFiQvxpIBxCOvg8zpFQLBgq8zTUmI5LOc-HDd0G32SzeBbcv9cFz0#bb0070
The information in this article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease state or medical condition and has not been evaluated by the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">FDA</a>. This is not intended to replace any recommendations by or relationship with your physician. The references included in each article allude to the level of scientific rigor I have applied to my writing. When changes become apparent we will update the information if appropriate.
![204: Resiliency Radio with Dr. Jill: Can our Minds Spontaneously Transform our Health? Bruce Lipton Dr. Jill 00:00 Hey guys, I am so excited to announce that the movie that you've been waiting for, the documentary Doctor/Patient, is now available for rent or purchase at DoctorPatientMovie.com. Check out the trailer here. 00:13 Dr. Jill: When I really knew something was wrong, was when I started having trouble walking up the stairs. I was supposed to be grateful and happy and healing and well and thriving, but I did not feel that way. I was so sick. Like always, I wanted to find an answer, and I had to figure it out. And I had to figure it out to save my own life. So I dove in. 00:38 James Maskell: Jill is the leading voice in biotoxin illness and chronic conditions that are driven by toxicity. 00:43 Bree Argetsinger: Oh my gosh, you're dealing with mold? You have to work with Dr. Jill Carnahan. 00:47 Patient 1: Dr. Jill is the first person that actually began to shed some light on the problem. 00:53 Dr. Jill: What I do is listen to the patient, and we together talk about what else is possible. 00:59 Patient 2: I don't know why I'm crying. 01:02 Patient 3: She saved my life. 01:06 Dr. Jill: The deepest lessons and most profound insights come in the suffering, come in the dark moments. Self-compassion is the healing transition that shifts something inside of us. It's actually the thing that we need most in order to heal. 01:26 Narrator: Doctor/Patient—available now at DoctorPatientMovie.com. Dr. Jill 01:36 Hey, welcome to Resiliency Radio, your go-to podcast for cutting-edge insights in functional and integrative medicine. I'm your host, Dr. Jill. In each episode, we dive into the heart of healing and personal transformation. Join us as we connect with renowned experts, thought leaders, and innovators who are at the forefront of medical research, empowering you with knowledge and wisdom to overcome illness in your journey to optimal health. Dr. Jill 02:02 Hey guys, if you don't already know, if you've been around me at all, you know my movie, Doctor/Patient is now out. You can view it, share it, gift it, or rent it at DoctorPatientMovie.com. Be sure to check it out and then I would love to hear your feedback after you've had a chance to watch it. Dr. Jill 02:19 Today, I am deeply honored to have guest Bruce Lipton here with me. He's a PhD, a cell biologist, a lecturer, and an internationally recognized leader in bridging science and spirit. We were just talking before we came on about how he has been a leader [for] decades before a lot of us in functional/integrative medicine came along. And I am so excited! If you're a doctor listening—and I know I have a lot of audience there—you are in for a treat. If you're a patient, you're also in for a treat. Stay tuned. Dr. Jill 02:47 Bruce was on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and later performed groundbreaking stem cell research at Stanford University. He's a best-selling author of The Biology of Belief—if you haven't read that book, it's a classic now—The Honeymoon Effect, and the co-author with Steve Bhaerman of Spontaneous Evolution. Bruce received his prestigious 2009 Goi Peace Award from Japan in honor of his scientific contribution to world harmony. Bruce, it is a true honor and delight to have you here! Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 03:17 Jill, I am a happy person to be here because this audience that I get a chance to talk to, to me, is a very important audience. These are the cultural creatives that are paving the way for the future that we need to get into very soon because we're facing an evolutionary upheaval at this very moment. Whether you watch the news, surf the web, or even look out your window, the whole planet has experienced chaos at every level of it. People are focusing on the little chaos, like focusing on the trees, without pulling back to see the biggest thing that's happening and nobody's saying the words. NASA—Let me just say NASA's words. NASA has recognized that within the next 20 years, civilization is facing—and this is my emphasis here—an irreversible collapse. The reason is so mathematically simple. Let me give the math. Dr. Jill 04:16 Sure. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 04:17 Science has recognized that to continue living just the way we're living—just say, let's every day live the way we're living today on this planet—it takes 1.6 planet Earths to provide the resources for today's civilization. The simple math is this: There's one Earth subtracted from 1.6, and we're recognizing: "Where the hell are we getting the extra points?" Dr. Jill 04:39 We're in a deficit. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 04:40 And that deficit is leading to the destruction of the web of life. We have to also recognize this: Even though the Bible is giving us some fanciful story that nature was created and then humans were added on top of nature—no, we evolved from nature. We are nature. If nature goes down, humans go down, because we are part of this web of life. Our separation in our consciousness [that causes us to believe] that we can dominate nature, I say, "How's that working?" I say, "We're facing an extinction." That's a biological reality at this moment. It's called a mass extinction. It happened five times in the history of this planet: Life was thriving, [then] mass extinction. It knocked it all out and then it started again. We are there because of our behavior. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 05:33 And I say, "Our behavior is based on our consciousness." I go: "Okay, wait a second. Is that New Age?" I go: "No, let's stop. No New Age here at this moment." [In] 1927—day one, quantum physics—Max Planck, the founding father of quantum physics, states: "The mind is the creator of our life experiences." Quantum physics—the most valid of all the sciences today in the sense of its predictions and accuracy. Quantum physics. And it's still the belief in quantum physics: Consciousness is controlling this. And I go: "So if consciousness is controlling this, then why are we in such a mess?" The answer is: We have been programmed, and the programming has disempowered us all. It has disempowered us as patients. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 06:28 I go: "I'll give you a program that disempowers you right now." I say, "What is it?" "It's called genetic determinism." That was what I was teaching in medical school: Genes control the character of life. I go: "Did we pick the genes as far as we know? No. But if we don't like the characters we have, can we change the genes? No, can't do that." And then let's just add a little tidbit: Genes turn on and off by themselves. And I say: "You put those together and what have you done? You have told the patients that their lives are not in their control, they're controlled by their heredity, and that they're victims of heredity. Which is victims of what? Genetics. And what does a person know about genetics? Nothing. Who does know something? The doctor. Aha! The program is: When it comes to health, people do not trust themselves." They say: "I need an expert opinion. I'm not knowledgeable." They accept the truth from somebody else. Dr. Jill 07:28 I so love the direction that you're going here because, as a physician, one of the most important things I can do is empower the patient and make sure that they don't think that I am the end-all-be-all. [I want them to know] that we are collaborating and that I listen to them, and I say: "How do you feel about this treatment plan? Where do you want to go?" Granted, if I have wisdom, I can give them that information, but they still get to make that decision. But so many patients are outsourcing that wisdom to someone. Or, at least paternalistically and historically, that has been the way. And what we need to do is take control of our own health. Dr. Jill 08:00 How many patients have gone through a loved one with breast cancer—I'm a breast cancer survivor, so I can speak on this—and they're told, "You have the BRCA gene and you need to have a bilateral mastectomy"? I'm going to be strong about this because I disagree. That's an action out of fear. To each his own, so if you've been out there and have done something based on your genetics, there's no judgment here. But what we're saying is that you actually have control over the expression of those genes. So why don't you go into epigenetics for those who don't know what that means and tell us a little primer on epigenetics and why we have more control than we think? Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 08:34 Okay. The most important thing—and this is all scientific, so this is not any new age BS here, folks, this is science—I say: "What is it?" The belief that genes turn on and off is a completely false statement because a gene is a blueprint to make a protein. The proteins are the building blocks. Proteins wear out; you have to replace them. So you have to have a blueprint. It's called a gene. I go, "It's a blueprint!" I go, "Why is that relevant?" I say: "Go to an architect's office. She's working on a blueprint. You ask her, 'Hey, is your blueprint on or off?' She would look at you like, 'What are you talking about? There's no on and off to a blueprint.'" I go: "Aha! Aha! A gene is a blueprint. What you want to find out is: Who's the architect who reads the blueprint? The blueprint does not read itself. There's an architect." Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 09:24 I saw this in my research in 1967. None of you were probably old enough to know what I'm talking about—1967! But I was cloning stem cells. Let's give the real name of a stem cell: An embryonic cell. It's an embryo's cell. It replaces things that are broken and gets a new one. I go: "So what? I clone the stem cell." I say, "What's that?" I say: "You put one stem cell in the culture dish. And then what? It divides every 10 or 12 hours." So first there's one, then there's 2, then there's 4, 8, and 16. A week later, [there are] 30,000 cells in the petri dish. What's the most important fact? They all came from one parent. I have 30,000 genetically identical cells. I split them into three petri dishes—one, two, three. Each dish has 10,000, 10,000, 10,000, all genetically the same. We grow cells in a culture medium. Ah, this is going to be the tricky part, for when you get this, the world changes. I'm going to come back to it. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 10:27 I say: "A culture medium is what the cells grow in in the lab. And I make it up by putting the chemistry or culture medium. Since I'm creating it, I can change some of the constituents. So I make three different versions of culture medium, A, B, and C." So I say, "So what?" Each one represents a different environment because the cells live in a culture medium. So I say: "Okay, dish one, environment A—the cells form muscle. Dish two, environment B—the cells form bone. Dish three, environment C—the cells form fat cells." I'm doing this experiment. I'm teaching genetic determinism, and I'm watching the cells and going— Dr. Jill 11:10 Wait a second. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 11:11 —"Wait a second, who controlled the activity?" They were all genetically the same. What was different? The environment. The chemistry of the environment selected the genes. The genes did not select themselves. Then, all of a sudden, I said, "Why is this important?" It's a revolution! I'll tell you why. Genetic determinism: Victim. The new science, epigenetics, which I'll explain: Master. Why? Because you control the environment. It's the environment that controls the cells. It's called epigenetics. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 11:48 [There's a] simple reason why the name [is what it is]. What do we call skin? Epidermis. Why? What's under the skin? A layer called dermis. What's the skin above the dermis? Epidermis. Epi: Above. Epigenetics: Control above the genes. I go, "Whoa, the control is not in the genes." I said: "No, it's to control the environment that the genes live in." I go, "Well, wait, I control the environment." Aha! If you control the environment, then you control the genetics. And that's all of a sudden where the new science comes in. The genetic determinism: Victim. Epigenetics: Master. You control your genes. So basically, what I saw back in 1967 was, "The genes didn't make this decision." Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 12:48 Now let's just jump ahead a second here because that's a basic science. And then I'm going to give you this, which you're totally aware of: You are a skin-covered petri dish. You have 50 trillion cells under your skin and you have the original culture medium. What is a culture medium? I didn't say it before, but I'll tell you where it is: A laboratory version of blood. When I grow human cells, I concoct a culture medium based on the constituents of human blood or mouse blood, depending on which cells I'm growing. What's the point? You are a skin-covered culture dish with what? The original culture medium. You have the blood. The blood carries the chemistry, which activates the genes. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 13:34 So the first point: Scientifically, it doesn't make a difference if the cell is in a plastic dish or a skin dish? I said, "No, it's the environment." And I say the environment in your body is the blood for the cells. Then come two questions that blow the game into a new evolution. Question number one: What controls the chemistry of the blood? The answer is the brain. It's the chemist. The big one—here it is, hold on: What chemistry should the brain put into the blood? You know what it is? Whatever picture you hold in your mind, the brain translates the picture into complimentary chemistry that matches the picture. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 14:25 I say, "So why is this important?" The picture in your head becomes material in your body. You manifest what you're thinking. I go: "Wait a minute. Would I manifest this life? Would I manifest my cancer?" I go, "Yes." I go, "You say that so affirmatively." I go: "Quantum physics—the most valid science principle number one [is that] the mind is the creator of our experience." I go: "Well, epigenetics is the biological component of that physics mechanism." Epigenetics is how the mind adjusts the genetics of the body. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 15:05 And I go, "We're facing a healthcare crisis on this planet." I go, "Yes, we are facing a healthcare crisis." And I go, "What's responsible?" We put all the money into science. You know what we're looking for? We're looking for the gene—the gene that controls that problem. Guess what? Less than 1% of all diseases on this planet have any connection with genes. Wait, then that means only less than 1% of what we diagnose as disease is connected with genes. I go, "Yes, that's a fact." Then what is really contributing to the worldwide crisis in healthcare? The answer is: Stress is 90% the cause of disease, minimum. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 15:54 I go: "Okay, come on! How could that do that?" Let's give the biology because it's not New Age again. You're ready? When you're in stress, you're in threat. When you're in threat, you engage a protection response. I say, "What is a protection response?" The protection response is: When you perceive stress, you will release stress hormones, adrenal hormones. I go, "Yes, so what?" Well, what do you think the adrenal hormones do? They prepare the body for fight or flight. I go, "So what?" I say: "First of all, there are three stages to take a body from health, happiness, joy—I'm in the garden, I love my life—to 'Ah! A sabertooth tiger's chasing me!'" I say, "So I have to switch from growth, boom, into protection." Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 16:41 How does that happen? Three steps. Number one, stress hormones cause the blood vessels in the gut to constrict. Why? Because most of the blood is in the gut. I say, "Who cares?" I say: "Ah, but the blood is a source of energy. So if you need energy, you need blood." So I say, "So what's the point?" I say: "Most of the blood is in the gut, taking care of the body, cleaning, fixing, repairing, nourishing, and doing all those things. But the moment stress hormones come in, the blood vessels squeeze shut. People feel it in the body." "It's queasy. I feel very queasy when I'm in fear like this." Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 17:16 I say: "But some people say butterflies in the stomach. Why?" The fluttering of the blood vessels shutting down—you can feel it. And it's a fluttering. And what's happening? The blood is being pushed to the arms and legs, and that's where I need to run away from that damn tiger. So number one, redistribute the blood. Where do I take it from? [From] growth and maintenance to protection. So I'm not funding growth and maintenance when I'm running from the tiger. I go, "No, you're not." Number two, the immune system is to protect me on the inside. If I'm being chased by a saber-toothed tiger, then what's the value of the immune system? Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 17:55 I'll give you a scenario. Come on, doctors, listen to this. The patient's got a bacterial infection. They're going to have a real bad case of diarrhea coming up here and they're being chased by a saber-toothed tiger. How would you split the energy of the body? How much to support the immune system and how much of that energy to run away from the saber-toothed tiger? I'll give you a second. Okay, thank you. The answer is, of course, who cares about the immune system? If the tiger chased you, the bacteria are not your problem anymore, that's for sure. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 18:26 Listen, stress hormones shut down the immune system to conserve energy. And you know damn well that when people are sick, sometimes they don't even have the energy to get out of bed because the immune system uses a hell of a lot of energy. If you're being chased by a tiger: I can't support the immune system because if the tiger gets me, who cares about what's happening in the interior?—it's not mine anymore. It's so important—in fact, therapeutic—that when they transplant an organ from person A into person B and they don't want immunological rejection, they give the recipient stress hormones before the operation. That restricts the function of the immune system so it doesn't immediately reject the foreign graft. Ah, so stress hormones are used therapeutically to shut off the immune system. So I say, "Yes, what do you think stress does automatically?" That's number two. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 19:21 Number three, conscious processing is slow compared to reflex behavior. Conscious [processing] is like, "Oh, let me think." Reflex is boom! Boom! Like that. The point is, if you're running from a saber-toothed tiger, conscious processing is going to delay your nervous system because you'll be thinking. When that tiger is coming, guess what? Remember the role of the stress hormone—to squeeze the blood vessels here? They squeeze the blood vessels in the forebrain. I say, "Why?" Because it stops the blood flow from going to the conscious mind. Where's it going? The hindbrain—reflex behavior. Result: We become less intelligent in the fear process. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 20:11 So I say: "Let's put these all together. I shut down growth, I shut down the immune system, and I shut off conscious awareness." I go: "When was that system formed?" "Oh, a couple hundred thousand years ago." I say: "What was it responding to?" "The saber-toothed tiger?" I go: "So what was important?" "If you escape that tiger for five minutes or ten minutes, there's no more saber-toothed tiger, no more stress." So it was used for five to ten minutes. Shut it down [for] five to ten minutes; we'll come back later. In today's world—you know the whole thing—every day, every minute, we're in stress. The system was never designed for chronic stress. It shuts down the vitality, health, and maintenance of the body. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 21:01 The stresses of this world are responsible for over 90% of healthcare crises. This is recognized by the American Psychological Society: 95% of visits to doctors' offices [are] stress-related. I was a programmer. And I'm not proud now because, when I programmed, people used to believe in genetic determinism. I go: "No, no. I was wrong. Epigenetics, okay?" But we've been programmed to be victims. Dr. Jill 21:32 Yes. First of all, I think doctors are starting, at least in my realm of functional/integrative—we're talking epigenetics; we're using this. And I just want to share a personal example to bring home what you just shared. It's so important. Many of my listeners know that at 25, I had breast cancer, then Crohn's disease, and then autoimmunity. I'm the poster child. What I remember very clearly is that in my 30s, I got mold-related toxicity. My immune system was terribly trashed and overactive and I was under high stress. I remember one day walking along and realizing: "This stress that is in my body is actually killing me." I had the mentality [of] "beating cancer," "fighting cancer," "fighting this," "fighting that"—fighting, fighting, fighting—which is your saber-toothed tiger [description]. I was in fight or flight. Dr. Jill 22:16 The day I realized that was the day I realized I could also reprogram my immune system through my thoughts. That day I started thinking [up] a new paradigm, thinking about these little yellow minions being my immune system. They were helping escort mold toxicity out of my body without this fight because, [in] fight or flight, there's no healing. And now, today, I'm healed from that and from mold-related illness and all of this. But it's really that moment when I realized I could change my thought process, change the function of my immune system, recover from Crohn's, cancer, and toxic mold, and no longer fight. Dr. Jill 22:53 And the most important message, as you brought home, is that when I'm sitting with a patient, if they're in fear, if they are in fight or flight, and if they are feeling unsafe in their body, there is no amount of pills, supplements, IVs, nutrition, or even good advice that I can give them… Unless they go to that place of unsafeness, that place of fear, that place where they're still somatically running from the tiger. We have to change that, and it starts with this. Dr. Jill 23:22 So I love, love, love that you framed this. And I just want to give you credit because you've been doing this work for decades before anyone else was talking about it. And now we're seeing it. And finally, doctors in my field are starting to acknowledge and talk about it. But even in my field, functional medicine is a lot about supplements, diet, and lifestyle. That's all great. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 23:40 Well, that's environment! Dr. Jill 23:41 Right? Right. Actually, that's the thing I was going to mention too. My specialty is environmental toxicity, so I know the petri dish of how it affects our bodies. But I do believe, as you're saying, that this reprogramming of our mind… Do you have any stories or examples, maybe from your book, of a patient, client, or somebody who has read your book who really took this and changed from there? Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 24:03 I've got hundreds and hundreds of letters from people who've written. There were two things about this. Let me express it even in my personal life. I understood this from a scientific point of view. Man, it was in my laboratory, my research. It was repeatable; I could do this all the time. It took 23 years before science caught up with that observation. I [inaudible] a lot of other things in between to conform. And the reality is that our own understanding about our frailty—it's an understanding. And then I give an understanding of, "No, we're very powerful." Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 24:42 I was so happy to go and find an audience of doctors and people: "Let me explain how to create the most wonderful life. Here's the science!" And then they'd come to my lecture and they'd look at me and go: "Lipton, your life doesn't look that good for a guy who says you know this." Oh my God, I was caught. You know what it was? Talking the talk, not walking the talk. I knew the science. It was in my head. Did I make it part of my life? No! I say: "So what was the point? I don't care how smart you are; if you don't make a part of your life, it's irrelevant." Totally! Then all of a sudden, when I caught myself going, "Oh, do as I say, not as I do," it's like, "I can't do that!" So I had to say: "Stop lecturing. Start living your life with the principles you are telling other people. Live this now." How long did it take me to change my life? Oh, within a month, my life was completely on a whole different spectrum. And it was like, "Now, of course, I start talking about it again," because it was real. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 25:47 Let me just give a simple understanding, a scientific understanding, and that is this: The mind is not one thing. "Oh, the mind." I go: "No, not the mind. There are two minds. And they're interdependent, but they have different functions." The conscious mind, the latest evolution: The prefrontal cortex, right behind your forehead, [is] the seat of the conscious mind. What's that? The conscious mind is your source, your personal identity, your spiritual place. What else is it? It's creative! That's what makes humans different than all the other animals. We can take ideas, boom, build them, and create in the conscious mind. What about the subconscious mind? Oh, the original one? Hard drive, programs, habits, stored behavior. Thinking? Uh-uh. Just behavior—program. Dr. Jill 26:38 The subconscious has no way to differentiate truth, right? It does whatever you tell it to do. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 26:44 No, well, the subconscious doesn't do what you tell it to do; it does what it tells it to do. The subconscious is the autopilot. I say, yes, the mind works, but you have to understand that when I'm in the conscious mind, that is the creative side. That's the side with wishes, desires, and aspirations. What do you want? Conscious mind. Subconscious mind: Program. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 27:09 I say, "So what's the issue with our life when it comes down to it?" The monkey wrench that blows the whole thing out is that when the conscious mind is thinking, it's not paying attention to the outer world. A thought is inside. When you're present, your conscious mind is looking at the world and engaging the world. Right now, in front of it, I'm engaging it. But if I'm thinking, my conscious mind is no longer looking out; it's looking in because a thought is on the inside. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 27:38 So I say, "Wait, what if I'm driving the car and I have a thought?" And I've got to tell you, in fact: Then you're not driving the car. "What do you mean? No accident or nothing." I say: "Driving is a program. You don't have to think about driving." In fact, most of the time, if you've been driving for a long time, you never think about the details of driving. It's an automatic behavioral program. It plays when you're not paying attention. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 28:02 I go: "Aha! When the conscious mind is thinking, it's not paying attention to the outer world. Why? It's inside." So I say: Walking, driving, talking, doing your job—hey, those are habits. You've been doing it all—whatever [it is]—for a long period of time. You don't have to re-learn it. It's automatic. Do you even have to think about walking? No, you didn't even have to say: "Oh, I'm going to walk from here to there. I'm going to get that." I say: "Walking is automatic. You don't think about it—program." Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 28:37 So then comes the number and this is scientific: Ninety-five percent of the day is the average person's amount of thinking. Then what does that represent? Biologically, only five percent of the day are you creating your life with the conscious mind's wishes and desires. Ninety-five percent of the day your life is coming from programs that you downloaded mainly before age seven. And I go, "Where did I get the programs?" I go: "Before age seven, your brain is not primarily functioning at the level of consciousness, which in EEG terms is alpha, beta, and gamma. When you're under seven, you're operating primarily at theta, which is just below consciousness." Theta—imagination. Hey, the tea party: Pour nothing into the cup. Drink the nothing. "The best tea I ever had in my life!" That's imagination. That's theta. That's what kids do all the time. They can have imaginary friends. They play with them all the time. It's imagination. Theta is hypnosis. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 29:41 I go, "Why is that important?" How many rules does it take to be a member of a family? How many rules does it take to be a member of a community? Now we're talking thousands. I go, "Why is that important?" I said, "Well, teach an infant a thousand rules." I go: "They can't read a book. They can't sit in a classroom. They can't understand a video." I said: "How are they going to learn?" Nature took care of that. Nature gave the first seven years theta, which is hypnosis. You want to know the behavior? Watch your mother, watch your father, watch your community. Watch their behavior; download it. Now it's your behavior! Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 30:19 So the behavior that's in your subconscious mind didn't even come from you, did it? Nope, it came from other people. And did they answer your wishes and desires—what you'd like? Not necessarily. So then, are there programs in there that give you what your wishes and desires are? Not necessarily, no. In fact, I say, "So what about these programs?" Sixty percent of the things you downloaded as a kid—sixty percent of the subconscious programs [are] disempowering, self-sabotaging, and limiting beliefs. And you operate ninety-five percent of the day from them. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 30:53 Ah, but here's the monkey wrench you didn't catch! Why am I using my subconscious programs? Because my conscious mind's not paying attention; it's thinking. Well, then, do you see the programs when they come out? I go: "Nope! You're the only one who doesn't even see the program!" Why? Everybody else around you is responding to your program. You're not even paying attention [to] what the hell is coming out. Sixty percent of it [is] disempowering yourself. So the issue is this: We are not controlling our lives. Our program controls our lives. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 31:28 I say, "Oh, this is a new science." I go: "Scientifically, this is valid. This is understanding theta activity, downloading programs, conscious, subconscious, blah, blah, blah, blah." But the Jesuits knew about programming for 400 years. They would tell their followers, "Give me a child until it is seven, and I will show you the man." Oh my God, that's 100% right! The programming is before age seven, and 95% of the life is the program. They knew it. They created Catholic schools to help the programming go along. And that idea is never lost because if you can watch an infant today, which I've seen carrying an iPad, interacting with a program on a computer, that's far better programming than Jesuits could ever have thought of. Dr. Jill 32:17 Yes, it's clear, isn't it? That's a really good transition because one of the things I see as the biggest crisis in healthcare is environment, but it's environment that is no longer socially interactive or present. We're numbing ourselves out with machines, with iPads, and with phones. They are designed to create an addictive behavior, so they're tapping into some of those subconscious programs, right? Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 32:40 And let me just add this to that: It's not just that behavior, but it's also creating disempowering behaviors. So these programs—as you were just going to say, and I'll let you have it back again—were not designed to help us; they were designed to control us. Dr. Jill 33:05 Yes. And sell and control. Yes, so we are pawns in this new world of technology that is neurodynamically designed to be addictive. If you haven't seen The Social Dilemma, that's a great place to start in your education on social media and the impact. I do want to talk about this. One of the things you just got done saying is that before seven, we're programmed. I totally understand and believe that. But the truth is, we have the power to change that programming. Tell us about that. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 33:36 Most everybody out there has changed that programming. I say, "You've already done it." I say: "What, the movie The Matrix, being a documentary, everybody's programmed?" Yes, of course, that's the foundational belief of the movie and the reality. And in the movie, they offered the red pill. And I say: "What was the red pill? You get out of the program!" Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 33:54 I go, "Almost everybody out here right now listening has done that." I say: "What was the consequence? How did it happen?" I'm going to tell you. Falling in love is a red pill. I go, "What do you mean?" Because when you first fall in love, you stop thinking. Biologically, you stay present; you stay in the conscious, creative mind. You've waited for this person your whole life. They're there. What, you want to start thinking and then ignore them? Are you kidding me? You stay up conscious. You stay mindful. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 34:23 I say, "So what happened?" I say: "Your life up to meeting that person: Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You meet them [and] 24 hours later: 'Oh, man, life is beautiful. Life is so wonderful. Hey, the food's really good. That music is even better than I ever thought it was.'" And even the crappy job is not so crappy. I said: "What'd you do?" You made honeymoon. What's honeymoon? Heaven on earth. I said, "What was your heaven on earth?" Whatever you wished and desired. You and a partner coming together when you're both wishing and desiring, you're sharing the same wishes and desires, you manifest a honeymoon. Oops, I dropped something, but okay. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 35:01 Is the honeymoon already there? I go, "The honeymoon's always there." I said, "Then how come you don't have it?" Because when you start thinking, you then go back to subconscious control, the default. And the problem is, why do 50% of marriages end up in divorce? The answer is this: Marriage has started with the relationship of two conscious creative minds sharing together a belief in creating a honeymoon, and it ends when thinking enters into the people and they start playing their regular programs, which are 60% negative. The partner hears these programs. The one saying the thing doesn't hear it; the other one hears it. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 35:43 I love the response. When somebody comes out in a relationship and the loving partner hears some kind of BS come out of their other partner, they look at them and go: "Who are you? Where did you come from?" What? It was never part of the behavior. And then, all of a sudden, it shows up. And the more thinking, the more that negativity shows up. There's a point where a partner will say: "That's enough. That's not why I signed up here. I signed up because we had a great honeymoon." After you started thinking, this thing went right down the tube. The point is, that's what reality is about. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 36:18 So the idea then becomes simple, which is the obvious thing: "What if I created all programs that represented my wishes and desires—if I had those programs?" I said: "Oh, you know what? Whether you're consciously creating those wishes and desires or your conscious mind is off in left field, your subconscious will be manifesting the wishes and desires. And guess what? A honeymoon is not a short period. A honeymoon is every day of your life for as long as you live." Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 36:46 Does it work? Personally, I had some very bad programming when I was young because my mother and father had a dysfunctional relationship. I downloaded my father's dysfunctional behavior. I played it when I couldn't see it. The result is that I couldn't get relationships off the ground. Then I understood the nature of the programming. Then I understand the nature of reprogramming. Around 50, I met my partner, Margaret. We just celebrated 28 years! And I'm not selling just a relationship; I'm talking honeymoon for 28 years. To wake up every day in my life and go: "Oh my God, I'm still here. Oh my God, I have another day to smell the roses, to have a piece of cake, to enjoy the love, watch the environment, and love my life." I celebrate life. Jill celebrates life. What's the result? Where's the illness? What illness? Dr. Jill 37:45 Yes! I love that. There are some points that I think are so crucial that you just made, number one, being present with our partners, watching them in real time and observing them. So often we create a program of them, a template, and then we don't expect them to change. Or, we expect them to behave the same. And when we're in real time, present with another person—whether it's a friend, family member, business associate, or lover—we can respond in real time. And that's part of that co-creation that you're talking about. It's crucial. Dr. Jill 38:15 The other thing is that with illness, I find one thing that was—I'm sure this is related to the program, [and] I'd love your comments—I never identified with the cancer. I never became the cancer. I never made that part of who I was. Even now, I'm like, "Oh yes, 20 years ago, I had cancer." And of course, it's real, but it's almost foreign because it was never part of me. And I really believe that's a huge part of why I overcame a very, very aggressive cancer at the age of 25—because it never was my identity. Do you want to talk about that a little bit? Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 38:44 Yes, let's just talk about this. The first thing is that I'm going to give a fact of science [to] which [a person might say], "He really said that?" And I'm going to say, yes, I'm going to say this. There's not one gene that causes cancer. There's not a gene [where], "You have this gene, you get cancer." The one scary one for women, of course, [is] the breast cancer gene. I go, "So what?" I go: "Women who carry the breast cancer gene don't necessarily have to have cancer. As a matter of fact, nearly half of them don't get cancer. But they have the gene." So then I say, "Then where did the cancer come from?"—because those who have the cancer with the gene and those who are healthy with the gene have the same gene. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 39:20 What's the difference? The answer is this: Cancer is correlated with a gene, not caused by a gene. Cancer is caused by disharmony in the system. Disharmony is the source of disease. Harmony is the source of health. Disharmony means your programming wasn't really good, and you're responding to things in a negative way that is going to cause a breakdown of the system. That's where the stress comes into it. So the concept is this: The image—even if once you tell a woman, "Yes, you have the breast cancer gene," what the hell image do you think is going to be in her head? The answer is: Cancer. I go: "Yes, but isn't the function of the mind to take the image of the head and turn it into reality?" I go, "Absolutely! What's the consequence?" Ninety percent of cancer has no genetic linkage at all. Dr. Jill 40:14 Yes. That was the biggest question I got as a 25-year-old. Every single person, to a T: "Oh, did you have genes?" No, I didn't have genes. I had a dysfunctional system when I was in my 20s. That goes into a whole other lecture that I could give, but I was not living consciously. And there were some things, stress-wise, that were contributing. And it was the environmental toxic load. So all of these things are the petri dish. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 40:38 And more than that, there must have been the two programs. Eighty to ninety percent of all people will not test positive for two beliefs. Number one, and I think the most important, is the belief, "I love myself." Eighty percent of people will not test positive for that belief. Number two, and this is the one where the healthcare crisis comes from: "I am safe." When you have a picture of fear, then the chemistry of fear is to manifest the fear. When they say "This is it" and [show you] a picture of the tumor and everything, then you make the chemistry of the tumor. Then the idea is that we have to own quantum physics. Consciousness is the source of our life experiences. We have to understand the nature of epigenetics. Consciousness is the source of what controls our genes. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 41:07 The third thing that I think is part of the Renaissance that we really must emphasize at some point is Newtonian physics, which separates physical from non-physical, matter versus energy. It's an illusion. It's not real. But it programs us in a very bad way because the program says: "Whatever is made out of matter can only be affected by matter. Whatever is made out of energy can only be affected by energy." And I say, "So what's the consequence?" I say: "The body is matter. And what do you think the whole foundation of the pharmaceutical company is? The body is matter and we make the matter to fix the matter." Dr. Jill 42:16 Yes. What's the matter with that? [laughs] Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 42:18 Three hundred thousand people die in the US every year from prescription drugs, that's what's the matter with it, when less than 50,000—I think 30,000—people die from illegal drugs. We have a war on illegal drugs, and 300,000 people dying from pharmaceutical drugs is called the cost of doing medicine. I go: "That's damn expensive! We don't need that." Simple law of science: If a drug works, it only works because you already had a receptor for that drug on you. Do you think nature put receptors on cells, waiting for the pharmaceutical company to make a drug? No, come on, man! If you have a receptor for a drug, it's because you have a receptor for a drug that you make. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 43:01 I go, "I can make any drug." Of course, because any drug works because you have a receptor to connect it. If you have a receptor, then you obviously have a signal that will bind to that receptor. Then you say, "Well, it's not working." And that's where everything gets screwed up because that system isn't working and then you go right away: "Oh, the body is defective. The genes aren't working right. There's an interference with the physical." I go, "Yes, there was an interference because it didn't start down here; it started up here." And once you start to understand this, yes, treat the body if there's an immediate need to treat the body, but the process of treating the patient is treating this part. Knowledge is power. They do not have the knowledge of who they are. They're programmed [to think]: "I'm a victim of my genes and I have no power." I go, "Well, there's your problem." Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 43:54 And the issue about it is that you guys are in the front of the evolution that says: Okay, I can treat the patient, but I've really got to treat the consciousness of the patient. Why? Because, as quantum physics says, consciousness is the source of this creativity, and as epigenetics says, consciousness is the source of this expression. You cannot leave that out. Dr. Jill 44:18 You just talked about two beliefs that I think are critical and it's a great place to kind of wrap up. The first one is: Do we love ourselves? Do we really, really, truly love and accept ourselves? I have written a book and done a movie on that message. The heart of healing is: How do we show self-compassion and love? Because that is the only way that our cells will respond in health. Dr. Jill 44:41 The second thing was so crucial too, and that is the fear and the unsafety. This is where a physician in the office can make all the difference, because if they add to that fear message, guess what? That's just adding to that patient's unhealth. So one thing we are obligated to do as physicians is create a safe environment and teach that patient how to start to feel safe in their body. With those two beliefs, maybe in the last couple of minutes here, could you maybe give us some practical advice for somebody who's like: "How do I start doing that, Bruce? How do I feel safe in my body? And how do I love myself?" Because that, I couldn't agree more with you, is really the core message here. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 45:19 I'll tell you, let's get right to the root of why people do not love themselves. The answer is: Because parents act like coaches on a sports team. I go, "What does that mean?" A player isn't doing well. What does the coach say? "Oh, do better." No! The coach says: "That's not good enough. Who do you think you are? You don't deserve to be on this team." Well, a player is older than seven. They're in consciousness. They understand that the coach is saying, "You better do better!" Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 45:47 Now let's say the parent is the coach and the kid is under seven. There's no consciousness operating. What's operating? Hypnosis, programming. So when the father says, "That's not good enough, you don't deserve this, you're not lovable, you don't belong," blah, blah, blah—acting like the coach who says, "This is going to make them do better"—if the kid is under seven, you just programmed them to self-sabotage because the subconscious is going to create 95% of their life. And if I get a program "I do not deserve," when I'm thinking 95% of the day, what the hell program is running? "I do not deserve." So I could say something so stupid in my corporate structure or something, and somebody says, "That guy doesn't deserve to be here." And then, all of a sudden, I'm kicked out of the structure. Why? Because I myself made behavior to conform to "not good enough" and to not love myself. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 46:41 This is why that one's so important—because if you can't love yourself, I'm going to be honest, you can't accept love from somebody else. I go, "Why?" Because they say they love you, but in your mind, you're going: "Well, they don't know me, man. I know I'm not lovable." And you'll push them away. And then you'll find yourself with nobody around. And guess what you'll say? "You see?! I'm not lovable!" [inaudible] You just did that. And when it comes to "Do I have any power?" the answer is: No, it has been systematically deprived of them. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 46:59 I've got a minute; I've got to say this because this is really cool. There's a power struggle in the world. It's always been this way. There are three levels of power. Number one, caveman. Who's the biggest badass with the biggest club? Whatever they say, do it. They've got the power. Evolution came along. There are people then who control the resources that you need. And all of a sudden they say, "If you want those resources, you've got to give me something for this." And you know what? The ones who had the resources paid the caveman to hit you over the head if you didn't pay for the resources. Dr. Jill 47:53 A personal hitman. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 47:55 That's the king who owns the resources with an army of cavemen. Then I say, "But the last of the power struggles came down to 'knowledge is power.'" And it was recognized that, yes, that is the supreme power of everything. Knowledge is power. The first thing the church of Rome did was acknowledge: "We are the source of infallible knowledge. We are the source of truth. We say it; it's true." Well, you say, "I don't care." The point about it was that people gave up their power to the belief. And I say it here very quickly: There's a code behind the power brokers. I call it the powermongers' credo. I say, "What is it?" Are you ready? Give them the fear for free and then sell them the antidote. Dr. Jill (pre-recording) 48:46 Hey, everybody. I just stopped by to let you know that my new book, Unexpected: Finding Resilience through Functional Medicine, Science, and Faith, is now available for order wherever you purchase books. In this book, I share my own journey of overcoming a life-threatening illness and the tools, tips, tricks, hope, and resilience I found along the way. This book includes practical advice for things like cancer and Crohn's disease and other autoimmune conditions, infections like Lyme or Epstein-Barr, and mold- and biotoxin-related illnesses. What I really hope is that as you read this book, you find transformational wisdom for health and healing. If you want to get your own copy, stop by ReadUnexpected.com. There, you can also collect your free bonuses. So grab your copy today and begin your own transformational journey through functional medicine and finding resilience. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 50:59 "What do you want me to do? Put a mask on? Sure. I'll mask on. I can't visit my mom, who's dying in a nursing home?" "No, you have to give that up because you can't do that." "Really?" Dr. Jill 51:09 Yes. If you're controlled, then fear created the biology of illness. It really, really is a great analogy. Bruce, this has been so fun to dive deep. I love talking to you. I love your enthusiasm. I love your wisdom. And I love most of all that you were so far ahead of the curve because people are kind of coming along to this belief. But the truth is, you were one of the very first ones writing and talking about this. And I'm just grateful that way back in the day, in the lab, you saw this and started writing about it. Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. 51:44 I can't be any happier than I am for myself! I have a different life! I have a different life than before that discovery. Dr. Jill 51:53 Yes. And it transforms us all, too. I have many stories, the same thing, of me continuing to transform because of this knowledge. Thank you for the work that you do. Thank you for spending your time with us today!](https://www.jillcarnahan.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Bruce-Lipton-Biology-of-Belief-Can-Your-Mind-Spontaneously-Transform-Your-Health_-WEB-1.jpg)
67 Comments
Hello Dr Jill, Thank you so much for this article ! One question: do you think that vitamin c in the form of acerola is OK or is buffered vitamin C a must ? THANKS A LOT
Just a few words of thanks for an objective, concise and comprehensive tutorial. You are 110% correct in assessment of media influence as catalysts of fear, if not wide-spread panic. Please accept an addendum to your tips on “protecting oneself” from emotional stress…something we all can and should control! From a semi-retired public and media relations consultant, well-versed in damage control.
Reduce your daily exposure to both social and mass media and be discerning in your choice of trusted sources.
Respectfully,
Lindy Segall
Fredericksburg, Texas
oh Lindy, LOVE your comment… one of the best things I did nearly a decade ago was turn off the television and stop watching the news. I have been happier and less stressed ever since. I think its been over a year since I have turned on my television 😆
Hi Dr Jill, I’m in Italy right now (I traveled here 3 weeks ago, just before the virus started spreading here). In Naples, they have successfully treated several hospitalized patients with tocilizumab, a medication used for rheumatoid arthritis. Apparently it starts relieving symptoms within 24 hours. I’d be curious to know if you know how or why it works! And generally wanted to pass that along in case it’s useful for anyone who might get sick.
Thank you so much for this information!!! Better to be prepared than panic and it is difficult when being flooded with so much information from the media. What about Liposomal C. What is the difference between buffered and Liposomal?
Liposomal is more bioavailable but buffered C will be more gentle on the stomach
I always appreciate your expertise and valuable information, Dr. Jill. What I am confused about with the Coronaravirus is the quarantine response. If it is similar to the flu, why the drastic measures?
Thank you so much!
Hi Sharon,
This virus is highly contagious and few yet have immunity like influenza
warmly
Dr Jill
The scariest aspect of the coronavirus isn’t the risk to any individual. It’s the collective risk to our healthcare system as a whole. We are simply unprepared for the influx of ICU patients that is very nearly certain to come as coronavirus hits the US. See, for example, this Twitter thread: https://twitter.com/mims/status/1237084608635830277. Or this one, from Marc Lipsitch, a top epidemiologist studying the coronavirus now: https://twitter.com/mlipsitch/status/1237347774951305216. I see no principled argument at this point that we’re going to get through this without overwhelming our hospitals. And that means that we all have a responsibility to do everything we can to flatten the curve (see here: https://video.twimg.com/tweet_video/ESpr_iXXkAAdFpl.mp4).
That means that the impacts of this will go way beyond people who come down with this virus. It will impact anyone who needs healthcare of any kind.
Obviously, it’s not helpful or healthy to live in panic. But it’s also the case that this genuinely is extremely serious, and a certain amount of fear is a rational response to it. Rather than pushing away that fear and living in denial, we each need to grapple with it for ourselves and come up with strategies that work for us. Those strategies are both practical ones to protect ourselves and our fellow humans, and emotional ones to reckon with the reality that’s upon us.
Thanks for your comments, Julie!
Wow, this is an excellent, thoughtful comment. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Julie Rehmeyer.
Julie, this is the most realistic response/reaction I’ve seen. I think every single one of your points hits the proverbial nail on the head. Thank you.
While I’m used to being at odds with the mainstream media, what I know of public health and epidemics (I have a masters in public health) tells me we very much *should* be worried.
While this is not that deadly (1-3%, we’ll see), almost everyone stands to catch it. This would overwhelm our hospital capacity as it has in Italy and in Wuhan. China is presently sending 1000 ventilators to Italy so they don’t have to let their older people die (all their ventilators are in use and they are expecting 3000 more to need ventilators in the next couple of weeks). So yes, you can survive this, but many of us will need hospital beds, and ventilators that simply don’t exist.
Here are some sources I found compelling:
https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1237430528346816512?s=20
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/coronavirus-cancel-everything/607675/
So appreciate your perspective, Dr. Ashe!
Yes. The overall impact on the health industry seems to me to be a game of dominoes. One falls, all fall. I’m not in the medical industry but my gut agrees that we “should” be concerned.
I’m more concerned about forced quarantines and vaccinations than any disease they are spewing propaganda about.
Daniel, I have been in Italy the past 3 weeks. When I got here there were only two cases of the virus and I have watched the whole thing unfold (far away from US media propaganda). Now there are 15,000 cases, the number will go up another 2500 or 3000 tomorrow, hospitals can’t treat everyone that needs treatment because they don’t have enough equipment or beds, and over 1000 people have died (just in Italy. Here the mortality rate is about 6%). I have never been more glad for a quarantine—I feel much safer that way! As an airborne virus that sheds before symptoms start happening, I’m not sure there is any other way to slow it down. That is just my opinion from being here.
I have chronic Lyme, am over 60, and have been battling pneumonia post flu a month ago. IV vitamin C raised me out of bed, and I’m continuing other things I know to do. Can you name natural things that might start a cytokine storm? I found inflammation increased on some of my usually helpful antivirals and herbs.
I wash my hands and face when I get home from shopping etc, and I spritz my nose. If you don’t wash your face and you have been touching it, washing only your hands wouldn’t be enough. Just a thought.
What do you use to spritz your nose? Would a salt water solution do it?
Is there a chance that taking more immune system boosters would increase the cytokine response in the lungs? We all typically do this to ward off the flu, but just wondering about this specific action in the lungs which seems more extreme in the case of this virus…..
Yes, I think that pushing a T1 immune response could be a problem creating a more dramatic cytokine storm in susceptible patients.
Which of the herbs push the T1 response? Would general anti-inflammatories be helpful along with vit. C? like boswelia, quercetin, or others?
jill,
can you answer what types of supplements will push the th1 to cause more harm?
several people have asked this.
also, what if you are already Th2 dominant due to MCAS?
would it be a bad idea to support the th1 then?
Thank you for the article.
While I agree that it’s important not to panic, as someone in the high risk group – 68 y.o. with chronic asthma and FM/ME/CFS, and living alone – I have been frustrated by the way information about Covid-19 lumps everyone into one category with undifferentiated statistics. It’s high time for clear, useful guidelines targeting high-risk groups that acknowledge their vulnerability while addressing their more nuisances needs. For example, do we practice more stringent so-calles social distancing? What are some ways for us to alert medical personnel early on to our health conditions? Ways for isolated individuals in this group to create/find support? Etc etc.
I’m sure I am not alone in this group who would apppreciate your focused suggestions. Thanks!
Yes, I think the same applies, but more caution in traveling and spending time in public places where exposure to large groups of people is inevitable. Clean diet, sleep, reducing stress and immune support is critical for patients who are already at risk.
Nope. Not worried and never have been.
You mentioned that this is airborne transmission. I thought that it is droplet, with a question that it could be airborne (and of course, the hope that it is not). Of course, if it is airborne transmission, it is a completely different issue to deal with than if it is droplet transmission. Could you please clarify? Thank you so much.
From the CDC
The [Corona] virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person.
Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet) [airborne]
Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.
Hi Dr. Jill and thank you for all the helpful information about the coronavirus.
My question is how much Vitamin C should one take daily in order for it to be helpful to one’s immune system and help stave off something like the coronavirus?
Hi Christine,
Vitamin C dosing varies widely depending on your underlying conditions – best to discuss with your physician
Warmly
Dr Jill
can you comment on why you took 10000 mg of Vit C when you had mold exposure?
why?
Vitamin C also increases glutathione and unless you have hemochromatosis or oxalate issues, would be safe to take if you’ve had mold exposure
Here is what one of the world’s leading experts says about the virus:
Marco Ruggierio MD, PhD Molecular Biologist, on the corona viral infection (3/4/20) (link below)
Most corona viruses only infect animals, but the new corona virus (19) has spike glycoproteins that have an affinity for human receptors. The spike glycoproteins are identical to those of HIV. For this reason, scientists suspect bioengineering. Studies prove that it could not have come from an animal. It could not have evolved so quickly to arrive in an identical structure as HIV.
Because HIV and Corona 19 have identical qualities, HIV drugs may be effective against the new corona virus (should be, in theory, but no studies have been done).
The HIV aspect of the corona virus, which is the “attacking tip” of the virus, has a high positive charge. It can be neutralized with a negative charge.
Chondroitin sulfate has such a negative charge. Other polysaccharides can have a similar effect if they have a high negative charge.
A new form of chondroitin sulfate derived from microbial fermentation is 3x as powerful for this use.
Chondroitin sulfate also has an anti-inflammatory effect that contributes to the immunity.
Also:
Stem cells have been shown to inhibit the virus.
colostrum is useful, as is folate and ozone.
Tea, (Camilia sinensis) is one of 14 Chinese herbs that are a furin inhibitor. Furin is an enzyme that allows the formation of the spike glycoproteins. Other Furin inhibitors include L-Argenine, Folate and Glutathione,
Ruggierio’s presentation online
__________________________
From Andrew W. Saul
Vitamin C (high dose)
See Saul and Dr Richard Cheng here
The government of Shanghai, China has announced its official recommendation that COVID-19 should be treated with high amounts of intravenous vitamin C. Dosage recommendations vary with severity of illness, from 50 to 200 milligrams per kilogram body weight per day. These dosages are 4,000 to 16,000 mg for for me at 80 Kg, administered by IV.
Atsuo Yanagisawa, MD, PhD, president of the Tokyo-based Japanese College of Intravenous Therapy says that IV Vitamin C is about 10x more effective than the vitamin taken orally. He Says, “Intravenous vitamin C is a safe, effective, and broad-spectrum antiviral.”
Variants in the genes (enzymes) of sulfation, glutathione, glucoronidation detox pathways likely play a big role, as they do in removing mycotoxins. It’s looking like people with IL6, ACE, BRCA, TP53 variants are also more susceptible to harm from exposure to spike proteins. I’m hunting for a paper illustrating how spike proteins are broken down, biochemically, and which pathways handle their clearance.
Doc, I think you omitted one very important aspect of the equation: fatality rate. While the seasonal influenza has more deaths, it has more infection, an estimated 1 billion gets the flu each year. So if you compare them, the seasonal influenza gets LESS than 0.1% deaths of the total infection. Now, let’s assume 1 billion gets the COVID virus, and taking the lower value of the rate at 2%, Then theoretically, deaths would be around 20,000,000.
Reason for the panic? Seasonal influenza has a vaccine, that’s why there are fewer deaths. There is no vaccine yet for the coronavirus and that is causing the panic to most people. If a vaccine is in place now, no one will talk about it like it is right now.
Dr. Jill,
As a media guy, it was difficult to detach. Once thrived on the kool-aid. Like you, I “cut the cord, dumped the dish” over a decade ago. Urge your readers to be discerning in their news consumption–just as they would a healthy diet! Another tip, tried and validated…try a complete “digital disconnect” one day a week. Get the entire family on board.
Thank you, again.
Lindy
Hello,
Concur with Rhonda. There is a difference between airborne and droplet and protection needed. Covid19 is spread by droplet and there is a difference.
Airborne particles stay in the air longer and can be inhaled as the particles are small and light. They therefore can travel further etc. this is when n95 masks are needed to keep the small particles From being inhaled.
Droplets are heavier and therefore do not stay in the air but land on surfaces. Hence the hand washing push, cleaning surfaces, not touching hot face, Covering your cough and sneezing and social distancing the most important.
The droplets can enter a person from those who cough and sneeze and the “spray” from the droplets enter the mouth nose or eyes of others.
Thank you Dr. Jill for this helpful information.
I have a couple amalgam fillings. Is it safe to take NAC with them?
Thank you dr. Jill for sharing your expertise and giving us support during these interesting times.
There is one thing I don’t see anyone mentioning – ozone. Ozone has been used in other countries (especially in Cuba) for a long time. It is a very potent disinfectant. IV ozone therapy is not only safe, but very effective in killing pathogens and giving the immune system a boost. I am guessing, because ozone is inexpensive the big farma is not interested in exploring it. But we are dealing with a global pandemic after all!
Dr. Jill Carnahan,
I am glad that you have addressed the global threat and the worst scare to mankind in the clera, in a manifestly professional, comprehensive and intelligible manner. I hope that the media created scare that was mostly aggravated by lack of proper knowledge of the dreaded coronavirus will be reduced in the minds of those who are still healthy and may thus prompt them to make a spirited effort to bolster their immune system. Unfortunately the spread of the virus driven disease presents the spectre of some sort of biological warfare triggered either by an accidental or deliberate implantation of the coronavirus. Happily you have made the virus intelligible in simple terms
God Bless you.
Hi Dr. Jill,
I didn’t see a reply to this comment from daughter Shelley. I feel curious to know the answer, also!
“Hi Dr Jill, I’m in Italy right now (I traveled here 3 weeks ago, just before the virus started spreading here). In Naples, they have successfully treated several hospitalized patients with tocilizumab, a medication used for rheumatoid arthritis. Apparently it starts relieving symptoms within 24 hours. I’d be curious to know if you know how or why it works! And generally wanted to pass that along in case it’s useful for anyone who might get sick.”
Thank youfor all of your wonderful work. I am a Nurse Practitioner practicing Functional Medicine. I’ve been scouring sites to try to determine how to keep my patients from becoming that 5%. Like everything else, cytokine storm is extremely complex. Have you found anything that might identify people predisposed? Do you have suggestions that might help patients prevent it.
Thank you!
I think IV vitamin C has some potential based on early evidence
Dr. Carnahan,
I’m curious if you or others who advocate use of infrared saunas see any efficacy in using a personal (at home) as a preventative measure for Coronavirus? I’ve read that this particular virus doesn’t survive/replicate in hotter climates/conditions, and wonder if sauna use might mimic those conditions. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
A number of studies have investigated the antiviral effects of sauna bathing. For example, a clinical study involving 50 volunteers showed regular sauna bathers had half the rate of common cold compared to nonusers. Those who use a sauna at least two or three times per week also have a lower risk of influenza and pneumonia
Sauna use kills bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses and boosts your immune function by increasing white blood cell, lymphocyte, neutrophil and basophil counts. By elevating your core temperature your body also releases heat shock proteins that help block the replication of influenza viruses
Coronaviruses (as a general group) incubate in your sinuses for about three days before moving down into your lungs, and appears to be destroyed by temperatures around 133 degrees F (56 degrees Celsius), which can easily be reached in a sauna
except now in Louisiana –
it’s hot but their cases are rising.
Great Article as always. I have read also in other articles regarding the helpfulness of Melatonin. It would be very helpful to understand what brands are recommended as there is always a lot of garbage being sold . Kind Regards.
Hello Dr. Carnahan,
I read a post from a Pharmacist and it said:
“While we don’t know a lot about Covid-19, some cases develop into acute respiratory distress syndrome or even multiple organ failure The most important mechanism underlying the deterioration of disease is cytokine storm
Some therapies that have been tried are IL-6 antibody blockers. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
If you review the studies that assess the mechanism of action of Elderberry against influenza, a 200 fold rise in IL-6 antibody production has been documented.
So how does this relate….. If your body already has an increase in IL-6 due to elderberry and then infected with Covid-19, the fear is you can exacerbate the cytokine response and potentiate the lethal effects of this virus Covid-19 is NOT another influenza virus…. While elderberry has proven studies for it’s use in prevention against influenza…. This virus is novel and the response is very different. Now that I have personally researched this, I will NOT be taking elderberry, and neither should you.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/11399518
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1756464619300313
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/32114747/
What do you think about this? Do you think this is legitimate?
Any info would be helpful! Thank you!
I think we need to be cautious about all herbal therapies without research or clear mechanism of action. What we can know is that likely zinc, vitamin C, and Vitamin D are safe and possibly effective.
How helpful is having an air purifier like Austin Air running to lower the indoor air quality issues with viruses floating around from clothing, shoes etc. Thanks
This blog explains how Hepa air filters may assist with very small particle filtration based on research out of University of Minnesota
Thank you Dr Carnahan for taking the time to give this information. I was just diagnosed with mild pulmonary hypertension right before this virus reached is in the US. I’ve been researching the benefits of nebulizing glutathione and have purchased pure glutathione powder. There is a lot of information on how wonderful this supplement is but none say what dosage to use. Do you have any advice on how much powder I can dissolve to effectively nebulize?
Sara,
Glutathione for nebulization should be done in sterile solution by a compounding pharmacist. I would ask your physician for more information but a typical dose is 100-200mg
warmly
Dr. Jill
Hi Sara
I can concur with Jill re: Glutathione. I have a prescription for glutathione to be nebulized and it is through a compounding pharmacy and the dose is exactly as Jill stated.
Tina I can also concur that I received the same information re: elderberry so I am choosing not to use it at this time.
Best to everyone.
Best
To be clear I received the information from my Naturopathic Doctor with whom I’ve been in contact for several years and now in phone consults during this pandemic.
Best of luck.
Hello Dr. I was wondering if you heard about any patients being treated with nebulized glutathione to help treat the inflammation that causing ards in some Coronavirus patients? Do you think it would be beneficial for high risk patients to use this treatment at home before possibly becoming ill or mildly sick.
Yes, Keisha
I will be publishing an article about this today
Stay tuned.
warmly
Dr. Jill
I’m glad to see no mention of chloroquine! This is very clear on cytokine storm. And an excellent list of boosters with glutathione and NAC front and center, which should help non-cases, mild cases, and worst cases. Might I make three suggestions?
1. From WHO contacts (I’m ex UN) I know there’s a hunch this is a glutathione insufficiency epidemic possibly caused in part by wildly different amounts of selenium around the world. Might you talk about selenium?
2. There’s some dispute about Elderberry. Might you offer a POV on that?
3. Might you emphasize the point of LIPOSOMAL Glutathione? Its the one that makes it into the system.
I use the NAC and selenium route to glutathione boosting (with vits ABCDE) but have some Liposomal Glutathione on standby. That nebulizing: could it be worth watching?
Hi Peter
thanks for your comments! These are spot on… stay tuned for my next article.
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