by Dr. Matthew Flory, Founder Functional Health Team

For the safety of my loved ones and clients, I had to simplify the very scary and confusing messages and get straight to the truth about how coronavirus can be treated, prevented, and killed if we were infected. After spending 10-15 hours a week doing this for us … I can now share this information with you.

It is frustrating to understand there is not going to be a solution from the world of pharmaceutical medicine. There is no cure for coronavirus.1 There will be no vaccine likely for at least a year and a half.2 But, by looking deeply into the world of God-given natural medicine, there are four encouraging approaches to fighting a virus.

4 Sensible Approaches to Fighting Infection

The first solution from the reliable natural world, we find evidence in peer-reviewed journals of nutrients that kill viruses. Certain viruses are more susceptible to various nutrients so there is not a one-size-fits-all formula. Our mission is to be a trustworthy source of guidance for you moving forward that does deep research for you and offers the most effective strategies.

One thing you don’t hear much chatter about during this time of urgency surrounding Coronavirus, specifically SARS-CoV-2 virus, is that there is a specific herbal preparation of Licorice Root that kills SARS Coronavirus family.4 As with many things, however, there are details surrounding the use of Licorice Root which dictate proceeding with caution. Certain health conditions most notably, High Blood Pressure, can be a contraindication so consulting with professionals that are highly knowledgeable in herbal remedies is a must for safe application. Your medical doctor may or may not be proficient in these areas.

Second, we find in the research that there are plenty of naturally occurring nutrients we can take during times of viral infection that block viral replication. This is obviously helpful and when combined with compounds that kill the virus now you can see how it is possible to build a very effective strategy to get better using natural methods even if you do get sick.

The third strategy that makes sense when dealing with viral disease is to provide our body with the nutrients that help infected cells recover. The shocking fact is every one of us harbors viral infection and carries it around with us. Examples of this would be Epstein-Barr or Cytomegalovirus which never are eradicated from our body. But our bodies are amazing and when supported with proper nutrition, vitamins and minerals, can recover and continue on with hardly a trace of lingering symptoms.

Let’s not forget the old adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” We have known for a long time there are ways to build up the strength of the immune system cells that are integral to fighting viruses, our Lymphocytes. In recent years as we have learned more about the microbiome. As a result, we have discovered a specific gut bacteria species that ameliorates viral illness.3 The powerful approach of supporting our innate immune system is, therefore, our fourth leg of a competent antiviral plan of attack.

More About Prevention

And speaking of prevention, there is a ton of misinformation circulating these days so let’s take a moment to clear some of that up, shall we?

Specific SARS-CoV-2 (aka Coronavirus) research shows that the virus can exist of surfaces in our homes for up to 9 days on surfaces such as metal, glass, or plastic. Some of the surfaces found most likely to be contaminated are sinks, door handles, toilet bowls, chairs, bed rails/nightstands, window glass, floor light switches, and air vents (although the virus itself doesn’t exist and spread simply through the air). For transmission of infection through the air, it must happen through vapor droplets coming from coughs or sneezes, which can travel 6-8 feet.

The Journal of the American Medical Association has published that cleaning these twice a day has been found effective in hospitals and homes eliminating the risk of infection for those who are not sick. Common disinfectants are proving to be useful for cleaning. But if you happen to run out of these you can use a dilution of bleach solution for these surfaces; adding 1 cup bleach to a gallon water will do the trick.

Please don’t be fooled by companies slick advertising and think that hand sanitizer will help in any way. Many brands of hand-sanitizer are only effective against bacteria and will do absolutely nothing to protect you from SARS-CoV-2. And the ones that do help are often more expensive than what you really need to stay safe. Solutions containing 62%-72% ethanol are all you need and there are simple, inexpensive alcohol solutions that are readily available for you to use.

And now we come to the remarkably controversial topic of masks. It’s not my place to tell you to buy masks or not to buy masks. But, I will tell you not to waste your money on the vast majority of masks out there. The only type of mask that will actually protect you from viral spread N95 surgical masks. And of course, these are quite expensive.

To Mask or Not To Mask … That Is A Question

Now is it helpful for a sick person to wear a mask so they don’t blast viral vapor 6-8 feet across a room when they cough or sneeze? The answer to this question is “only slightly.” Let’s put it this way, if you are forced to go to the doctor or into crowded areas and you are actively sick and coughing then a cheap mask may keep you from being mobbed, but in reality, it won’t do much to protect others. And it definitely won’t help much if you are the one trying not to get sick!

One reason that it won’t protect you from getting sick is that your nose and mouth are only a couple of the sites where you can pick up the infection. Your eyes are highly prone to being a vector of infection for you. So if you are going to go the route of attempting to protect your self with a mask … you need to also get some airtight goggles. In our 3-part class “Real Talk About Coronavirus: Protection Against Infection,” we share some examples of masks and goggles that will do the job right. You can find registration information for that class through the link provided at the end of this article.

The Importance of Clean Surfaces

As you’ve likely heard a very effective method of prevention is keeping your hands washed. We touch so many things throughout the day and given that the virus can survive for nearly a week and a half on surfaces we touch repeatedly, this really increases our risk once the virus has made it into our community. Hands should be washed for a 20-second count. Washing with soap and water works just fine.

I would also suggest taking a small spritzer bottle of that bleach or alcohol solution with you when you head out to places you must go but that also have many high-touch surfaces. Those environments can be made much safer for yourself and everyone by a small spray and wipe before you touch screens, keyboards and any number of other high-touch surfaces.

What To Do When You Can’t Avoid Living

The reality is that we can’t avoid life, right? So in the interest of finding that proper balance between precaution and normal life the answers lie in effective lifestyle strategies. And when it comes to lifestyle strategies, the really effective methods can be super simple. You just have to use an extra level of caution if you are 60 or over or you have certain high-risk conditions like Autoimmune Disease, High-Blood Pressure, Diabetes, or lung diseases.

Simply getting 7-9 hours of sleep each night maximizes your immune systems ability to recognize viruses and effectively fight them. Maintaining a healthy, antiinflammatory nutrition is also essential to maintaining a potent immune response. This means cutting out sugar, limiting grains and cow dairy for most everyone. For some people, it can be more complicated and confusing there are existing GI issues, Leaky Gut and/or food sensitivity reactions. If this is you and you need more information on this we can help … just follow the link provided at the end of this article for support and resources.

All in all, remember that we’ll make it through this pandemic. It is true that global health experts feel that 40%-70% of the world’s population will contract COVID-19 over the next 2 years. So things like vaccination and medication really aren’t useful options in the meantime. But obviously education, high-quality information and support from sources you can trust will provide more than enough help.

Functional Health Team will be providing deeper dives into individual topics around prevention, lifestyle strategies, and holistic treatment of COVID-19 regularly on our blog.

The Emergent Wellness family is going to provide weekly updates on information as well as aggregate useful resources for you to use as you need.

You can find them at this website:

https://coronasupport.org/updates