COVID-19: How to strengthen your immune response

I want to share my thoughts about staying well during this pandemic, but first I think it’s important to understand a few slightly more philosophical things about what is going on. In western culture, we tend to value only the Yang: activity, accomplishment, action, work, “doing”. We very much undervalue Yin: rest, relaxation, withdrawal, quiet, sleep, space, “stopping”. Western capitalism is largely responsible for this: your value is determined by how hard you work, how much you do, how busy you are, how productive you can make yourself. The idea that doing nothing, resting, that that could be seen as valuable, as productive in its own right is anathema to capitalist principles. I grew up in New York: trust me when I tell you that I fall victim to this thinking all the time.

The quarantining that is happening and that I believe will grow more widespread in the coming weeks is a radical correction to a system that is completely out of control. The economy is only considered to be doing well if it is growing. Consider that for a moment. We expect it to grow, constantly, without exception, all the time, and any contraction is literally seen as a disease. There is nothing in nature that follows this model. Children have growth spurts, and then they plateau. Trees grow during the summer and go dormant in the winter. Nothing is supposed to grow constantly.

First and foremost, I would encourage you to reconsider your perspective on activity, work and productivity. I would encourage you to think about valuing rest equally to activity. To value contraction equally to expansion. Sleep equally to wakefulness. We put our energy into what we value. If we begin to change how we see value, we nudge ourselves in the direction of actual balance.

I’m going to lay out the basics and then get into specific lifestyle changes that will go a long way in strengthening your immune response.

Basics:

1. Wash your hands like you just picked a bunch of green chile and need to change your contact lenses.

2. Wash them again.

3. This virus can live on surfaces for some time: change your clothes when you return home, put them straight into the washer, being careful not to touch your face with either your clothes or your hands.

4. Avoid all non-essential contact for the time being. Do not go to crowded places. Shop at “off” hours. Maintain 6 feet of distance between yourself and others.

5. Drink an enormous amount of water, specifically warm water. I don’t care that peeing every 15 minutes is a hassle. ;) Drinking water accomplishes two things. It helps keep you hydrated, but it can also flush viruses from the mouth and throat into the stomach where they can potentially be neutralized by your stomach acid.

6. Sleep. Try to be asleep by 11 pm. If it takes you two hours to fall asleep, then your bedtime is 9 pm. Stop all screen activity (phones, tablets, tv) at least an hour before you go to bed (not an hour before you plan to be asleep). Light, especially blue light, affects how our bodies produce melatonin and will make it more difficult to fall asleep. Late night television is garbage, and that show you’re addicted to isn’t really that good. ;) Youtube is a nightmare of a rabbit hole: don’t even go there.

Next Steps:

1. Cry. Grief injures the Lungs which are the “delicate” organ in Chinese medicine, and the organ most threatened by this virus. More specifically, holding in or repressing grief injures them. Crying is like a rainstorm: it clears and cleanses the system. It washes out the eyes so we can see clearly. Don’t hold it in.

2. Sing. Singing is great for opening the chest and the lungs, and getting the heart and the lungs on the same page. Belt out those favorites.

3. Get out in nature. We shouldn’t go to the restaurant, or the mall, or the movie theater. But we can still go to the woods, to the river, to the mountains. Nature helps our nervous system reset. Specifically skin to earth contact. Take your shoes off. Lay on the ground. Take a walk.

4. Alkalize your system: most of the things we like tend to be very acidic: sugar, alcohol, dairy, gluten. Try to avoid this stuff. Focus on gluten free grains, vegetables, fruits, beans and legumes. Try veggies that you’ve forgotten about like jicama or endive. Eat foods that support the lungs like radishes, daikon, asian pears. Use trace mineral drops in your water.

5. Gargle regularly with saltwater, especially with a full-spectrum natural salt (i.e. not Morton’s)

6. Stimulate lymphatic circulation by brushing with a skin brush, especially the head, neck and chest.

7. Deep hydration: eat foods that are cooked for a long time in water or fluids, like congees, soups, stews, casseroles, broths, braises. This is like time-release hydration. It puts fluids into the digestive tract that can be absorbed over a long period. Drinking water is vital, but it is more clearing than it is hydrating.

8. Avoid the “dehydrators”: coffee, tea, sugar, carbonated drinks, spicy food, garlic. I’d include chocolate in this list but sometimes I think the sheer joy that people derive from it is more valuable than the relatively minor drawbacks it presents. Just don’t overdo it.

9. Fats. Fats are important part of staying hydrated on a deep level. Use high-quality saturated fats like unsalted butter, fish, ghee, eggs, and organic meats.

Chinese herbs have been used for millennia to combat epidemics of this sort. There are excellent formulas for prevention, the treatment of flu, and the treatment of pneumonia. We can arrange to leave them out for you to pick up.

Sincerely,

Sean