 Welcome to a Healer in Every Home Pandemic Edition. I'm your host, Vagavati Glenehan. I'm a homeopath and holistic health care professional here in Arlington, Mass. I'm the author of several books. You can find out more about my practice and my books on my website, GreenHealing.Life. I'd like to share with you some of the information I've been sending to my clients. And the most important thing is that you are not helpless. We hear that a certain percentage of people over 60 are likely to die and even higher percentage of people over 80 or with diabetes. And we end up feeling like we're in a big lottery that we have no control over. Actually, we have a lot of control. In my practice as a homeopath, I often find myself explaining the difference between contagion and susceptibility. Homeopaths definitely recognize the existence of microbes. We're not in science denial, but here's what's interesting to us. Say one person in an office leaves work early with flu symptoms. Even if the other 10 people in the office are equally exposed, maybe only a couple of them actually get the flu. They don't all get it. So to a homeopath, what's different about those other eight people? And what can we do to shift ourselves into the resistant category instead of the vulnerable category? Here's another thing. The advice for getting from public health officials is good. Definitely follow it about isolating, washing your hands, wearing a mask. And by the way, for the most fun musical accompaniment for handwashing, check out the Beatles on YouTube singing, I got to wash my hands. But all those public health directors have a negative focus. They're telling us to avoid doing things that might spread this mysterious invisible virus over which we have no control except avoidance. As a result, we feel helpless and powerless. They're not suggesting anything we can actively do to make our immune system stronger, but there's so much we can do. I'm going to make recommendations in four parts. My own field of homeopathy, vitamins, herbs, and other supplements, super foods and stress reduction. We'll even end with a 10 minute meditation. Everything I recommend is documented, whether with research on its effectiveness for previous viruses, even coronaviruses. And yes, we've had coronaviruses before. We're with historical evidence. This is my favorite resource. If you would feel more comfortable checking out the research first, you can research any health condition or supplement at green med info.com. First, in my own field of homeopathy, this is a form of natural medicine, safe, effective, inexpensive, with virtually no side effects. I'm recommending two remedies, which are great for anxiety and supporting your immune system. Plus, reducing anxiety helps you focus and act more effectively to protect yourself. Our Seneca and Gelsenium are two of the best anti-anxiety medicines that homeopathy has to offer. They both happen to be great antiviral medicines as well. For similar symptoms, like extreme fatigue, that feeling like a truck ran over you, that sends you back to bed for the rest of the day. Gelsenium is great for people who are nervous about disease, going to the doctor or dentist, going for a medical test, finding out about the results of the test. It was also the most commonly used homeopathic medicine in the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, by far the worst epidemic in history. With an estimated 32, possibly as many as 100 million deaths, far outpacing the current 77,000 deaths. People treated with homeopathy had only a 1% mortality rate. I feel that our Seneca is an even better match than Gelsenium for our current national trauma. It's for fear of illness, fear of death, of lack of income, lack of money to pay the mortgage, lack of food, even lack of toilet paper, and I'm only half kidding about this last one. Our Seneca is actually being used in India. Check this out. The Indian government has directed its public health institutions to distribute it as a preventive. They're also recommending use of aerobatic herbs, and both are part of their traditional healing system in India. That may be why the rate of infection is currently so low. Take a look at worldometers.info. We're not looking at mortality rates. This number is meaningless because it represents deaths per number of confirmed cases, but that ratio is artificially high because there are so many people with symptoms who've never been tested. So instead, let's look at deaths per thousand. And I apologize for using this term in such a heartless way because every death is a tragedy. If you go to worldometers.info and then click on coronavirus, which is right at the top, and then on countries, then sort by deaths per thousand, which is one of the far right columns, you'll see that Italy and Spain have nearly 300. The U.S. at the bottom row in this view has 37. And then you have to scroll way, way down in the chart to find India with his current 0.1 per thousand. That's right. Not even one per thousand compared to 33 or 300. And perhaps when this is over, we'll find out how much of that success is due to homeopathy and or their traditional Ayurvedic herbs. Please note we can't claim that these homeopathic medicines can treat the current virus, only reduce anxiety and support your immune system. To take on a daily basis, try to get a low potency like 6C, 9C or 12C. The number reflects how strong it is. If you can only get a 30C, which is the potency typically found in health food stores, take it less often. Like once a week, a dose is two pellets. You can get both Arsenicum and Gelsenium online. And I'm not specifically endorsing this particular brand. It's the only brand that's widely available in the U.S. and you may have seen it in your local health food store. Honestly, both are good. And they both are known to help with viruses in general with anxiety and with that extreme fatigue like a truck just ran over you. However, I would only take one of them, choosing whether you're more worried about the medical aspect of this crisis, which would indicate Gelsenium would be best for you or the overall survival or scarcity aspect, which would point you towards Arsenicum album to give it its full name. I normally recommend going to your local health food store, but they fit out of them recently. And if so, you could easily order them from online suppliers. Next, let's look at supplements that are well researched as antivirals. Vitamin C is currently working in China. The hospitals there are successfully using high doses of intravenous vitamin C along with Chinese herbs. And it's now being tried in hospitals here in the U.S. For prevention, take several thousand milligrams a day. Vitamin D is well researched for its effectiveness against upper respiratory viruses. It's formed in the skin when there's plenty of sun exposure with no sunscreen, which means basically most of us need it. 5,000 units a day of vitamin D3 is an effective dose, not the 50,000 units of D2 prescribed by doctors. 50,000 units sounds like a lot more, but it's a synthetic form that the body doesn't recognize and can't use well. D3 is the form commonly found in health food stores so you can easily find it. Elderberry syrup. This is a favorite with kids because it tastes so good. Research shows that it works about as well as Tama flu against the flu. It's a great antiviral and it comes in capsules as well as a yummy syrup. Look for honey-based syrup or other non-sugar sweetened syrup because you want to limit sugar at a time like this. You may have seen the fake news that elderberry is contraindicated now. This is a typical reaction from mainstream health authorities who don't understand how herbs and other natural therapies work. What's true is that you shouldn't take elderberry at the crisis point when you're in the hospital on a respirator and actually you wouldn't be able to get it then anyway. A couple of minerals are helpful. Zinc works well against viruses, especially when it's right in the mouth and throat. So zinc, lozages are a good idea. Even better when you find it combined with propolis, the substance that bees use to keep their highs as a sterile environment. These are so smart. If you ever think about this, the inside of the hive is dark, humid and warm, a perfect environment for growing mold and microbes. So the bees, in their wisdom, have developed propolis, a res in which they collect from tree buds. Bees have the same microscopic enemies that we do, so what works for them will also work for us. So zinc, lozages, even better with propolis. Magnesium. Our best source is green leafy vegetables, and most of us don't get enough green leafies, so this is a good time to supplement. Selenium. One of my colleagues calls it birth control for viruses, or to put it more correctly and less vividly. A selenium deficiency allows viruses to mutate, which can make it easier for them to overcome their host defenses, meaning your defenses. The best food sources are meat and fish, so vegetarians especially may need to supplement, unless you're eating a lot of barley, eggs, Brazil nuts, and other nuts and seeds. Finally, a wonderful new type of supplement. Medicinal mushrooms like reishi, chaga, cordyceps, and turkey tail. And here is this beautiful, beautiful turkey tail mushroom. It's hard to buy these particular mushrooms fresh, so you can get them in a capsule or even in powdered form and mixed in with instant coffee. Please don't get overwhelmed with this list. You don't have to go out and buy everything. You probably already have several of these things in your cupboard already. You can take extra of them just temporarily while you feel exposed to possible contagion. For most of these things, it's safe to take two to three times the label amount for just a short time during this current crisis. Vitamin C is the only exception I can think of. If you take more than your system can handle, it's not dangerous. It can just cause your body to react and say, whoa, too much. I'm going to get rid of this stuff. And then you may get diarrhea just temporarily. And the way to avoid that, split the doses. Take smaller doses throughout the day. So let's talk about foods with antiviral properties. No surprise. This involves eating a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. And remember that the brighter the color, the deeper the pigment, the more likely they are to be beneficial. It's called eating the rainbow. And look at how beautiful they are with all their different colors. They're likely to be beneficial because the components in plants that cause the color are often also the medicinal compounds. Plants need to ward off viruses, bacteria and fungi, just like the rest of us. And their defenses can work for us as well. A group of Korean scientists has isolated the specific plant compounds that worked against past coronaviruses. And I won't bore you with the long scientific names, but here are foods that are, that are especially high in these anti-coronavirus substances, onions and garlic. And I like to share my own secret to social distancing, eat an entire bulb of garlic every day. Well, maybe I don't eat an entire bulb, but definitely more than a few cloves. Here's another secret, minced and sauteed in butter, which I call my fifth food group. If I were in charge of the world, we would all eat garlic and nobody would care. Actually, if I were in charge of the world, there are a lot of changes I would make. This would be high on the list. Green leafies we just talked about, which we already talked about as a source of magnesium. Here's a couple more. Broccoli and peppers, two other vegetables high in these anti-coronavirus substances. Apples and grapes. I know these pairs seem a little arbitrary, but remember they're the best source of the specific compounds that the Korean scientists found to be most active against coronaviruses. Green and black tea, you probably already know for their health benefits. And flax seeds and red wine. And look at those beautiful deep red grapes being crushed for wine. Remember what I said about the most medicinal foods having the deepest color? So those are the foods that contain antiviral substances found by Korean researchers to be specifically active against coronaviruses. Let's look at a few more that have general antiviral or immune support substances. These are foods that could be considered medicinal herbs except you cook with them. Garlic and ginger, turmeric, cilantro, raw organic honey, which contains propolis. More immune-boosting culinary herbs, such as parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, Simon and garfunke or rite, and also oregano. These all support immunity through antimicrobial, antibacterial, and antiviral actions. If you like even one of these, just get in the habit of adding it to your soups and stews or herbal steams. Some of them taste great on pizza. And again, please don't get overwhelmed by the list. Consider, among the many foods we're talking about, notice the ones you like best. The foods that make you really happy. Eat more of those. You don't have to eat all of the ones on this list. Finally, stress relief. Exercise. Get out in the fresh air at a safe distance. Be kind to other people. Sing. Make music. Be creative. Laugh. And share funny things with others. Take deep breaths when you're feeling anxious. Deep breathing is calming just by itself. So this leads us into meditation, which is so great for stress relief. And I'll give you a 10-minute guided meditation. This is a heart-centered meditation based on the writings of my spiritual teacher, Shri Chinmoy, who always provided meditation instruction for free. When you're getting ready to meditate at home, try practicing concentration for just a couple of minutes to calm your busy day mind. Let's try concentrating on a candle flame, which represents your own inner light. So if you'd like to try this with me at home, start by sitting with your back comfortably straight. Breathing slowly, deeply and gently in a way that's comfortable for you. Focus on the candle flame. Feel like you're focusing all your mental energy, all your mental intensity on this one point. Imagine that you're piercing the flame with the intensity of your concentration like shooting an arrow with a bow. If thoughts come up, just let go of the thoughts. Feel that they're flowing out on your outgoing breath as if they're floating out on an outgoing tide. You're breathing slowly, deeply and gently, focusing on the candle flame. Feel that nothing else exists, letting go of your thoughts, letting them flow out with your outgoing breath as if they're floating out on an outgoing tide. Just try this for a minute. When you feel your mind is calm, close your eyes and point to yourself where you say, this is me. Most people point right to the center of their chest where their heart is. We don't point to our minds, we point to our heart. So try this. Try pointing to the center of your chest and then actually touch your chest in the middle of your breastbone. Imagine little doors opening wide at that point right in the middle of your chest so that your breath can go directly into your heart. Imagine it's not going through your mouth or nose. Your breath is flowing into your heart. You're following your breath to a point just behind your breastbone in front of your spine in the center of your chest. And you're imagining there a beautiful, golden, glowing light in the center of your chest. This is your heart center or heart chakra, the energy center, which is the center of your love, inner peace, kindness, compassion, inner strength, all these qualities we need. Feel that you're resting in this golden, glowing light in the center of your chest. Imagine that you're breathing in and out of your heart center. As you breathe in, you're breathing in peace. As you breathe out, you can feel this light spreading. It's spreading from your heart, filling your chest, filling your mind, chasing away busy day thoughts from your mind, spreading out into the environment all around you. You're breathing in peace. And as you breathe out, this light inside your heart is glowing brighter. And you're sending it now. Imagine you're sending light and love to the people you care about. You may not be close to them now. Imagine that they too have this beautiful light in their heart. As you breathe in, you're breathing in peace. As you breathe out, your light is expanding, and you can send it light and love and peace to the people that you care about. Next, send your light and love and peace to the parts of the world where people are really suffering now. Imagine that people on the other side of the world can receive strength and peace. As you send it from your heart to theirs, the middle of your heart. Imagine a most beautiful child. This child is smiling and smiling. Imagine this beautiful child represents your inner being, your spirit, you may call it your soul, your real self. Imagine this smiling child. As you breathe in, feel you're breathing in the love of the universe. As you breathe out, the radiance of this child's smile radiating all around you. Imagine all the people you come in contact with are touched by the radiance of your inner child, this smile sending love, sending peace, strength, healing, goodwill, radiating from the center of your heart. You're imagining this beautiful, beautiful child in your heart. You can call it your inner being, your inner child, your real self, your soul, your sending love and healing all over the world from your beautiful inner child in your heart. And finally, imagine if you feel the need to get higher and higher above all the cares and worries of the world. Imagine the bird in your heart. Again, you can imagine the bird in your heart as your spirit or your soul. And imagine this bird flying higher and higher. When you feel bogged down by the cares and worries of the world, imagine the spirit soaring higher and higher above the earth to a level where you can feel that you're rising above all your worries and cares, flying higher and higher. And reaching this point where you have this inner knowing that no matter how bad things are, you'll survive. Your spirit will carry you far beyond, far above. This too will pass, and it will pass more easily if you keep tapping into that inner source. Your inner spirit, your inner well that you can draw on, your inner source of peace, universal love, compassion, kindness to others. Feel this bird of your heart which you can imagine as your spirit, that it's soaring far above all these earthly troubles. And you're concentrating now on what you can learn from this experience, how you can grow, how you can become stronger and how you can become kinder to others. The bird of your heart, flying higher and higher above all the cares and troubles of the world. And when you're ready, you can open your eyes, come back to your everyday reality and feel that you have stored up deep inside your heart. The inner peace and strength and love that you may have gained from this meditation and you can tap into them whenever you want by just taking a few deep breaths into your heart. Thank you for joining me. This has been Stay Calm, Stay Strong with Natural Healing produced by me, Bhagavati Lenehan, with ACMI assistance from Katie Chang, Meditation Music composed by Street Chin Roy, and arranged by Alap Jetser, Eternity Sunrise, available free on Radio Street Chin Roy.org, Photo Credits by StopPhotop. Thank you for joining me.