Coronavirus is on everyone's mind, and I have been getting many, many emails and phone calls asking about my thoughts and recommendations, so I decided it's time to share. As you know, it is always my goal to provide the most up-to-date and comprehensive information available on any subject I address, so here are some insights, information and suggestions from my own perspective, as well as other colleagues. In my opinion, the media coverage of Coronavirus has produced unnecessary fear and anxiety for many, many people, so hopefully this blog will help to allay that fear and anxiety and educate people with the most accurate and up-to-date information available.
Please watch my video below first, and then read through the rest of the information and articles below. I trust the information provided will answer many of your questions and help ease your anxiety around this subject. Also, please share this with your family and friends. Let's all do our part to counteract the media frenzy and promote the spread of accurate information (and actually outpace the potential spread of the virus). ;)
I am including a portion of a blog from my colleague, Dr. Elisa Song, who is an amazing pediatrician in the Bay Area at her Heathy Happy Kids office. This is a great blog article (she keeps her blog up to date) that I agree with almost 100%, so I am sharing her link: https://
Here are some very important "To-Do" suggestions from Dr. Song's blog taken verbatim:
- Wash hands frequently, especially before eating or touching your face. Washing hands with warm soap and water for at least 30 seconds is the best option. This study found that washing hands even with plain running water without soap was more effective than ethanol-based hand disinfectants at killing the Influenza A virus! (31)
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth! Do your best to keep those little fingers away! The first step is helping children (and adults) be mindful how often we actually do touch our faces! Varying studies have shown that we touch our faces on average 23-50 times per hours. So help your children notice when they’re touching their faces so they can pay attention to not touching their faces even when you’re not with them.
- Stay home when you’re sick, unless you need urgent medical attention. You may be increasing your possible exposures to COVID-19 if you don’t have it, or exposing others unnecessarily if you do.
- Cover your cough with your elbow or tissues. Teach your kids proper cough etiquette. And if you use a tissue, immediately throw it into the trash and wash your hands.
- Keep your distance. Try to stay at least 6 feet away from anyone who is obviously sick with fever and/or respiratory symptoms.
- Irrigate your nose. While we do not know if nasal irrigation makes a difference for prevention of COVID-19, I believe that one of the MOST preventive things you can do for any viral respiratory illness is to irrigate your, and your children’s, nasal passages with Xlear nasal spray at the end of every day and after any potential exposure (work, school, playgroups, plane travel, etc.). This is a saline nasal spray with xylitol and grapefruit seed extract, both of which have antimicrobial properties. You cannot overdo it, and will not get “addicted” to it. Other options for nasal irrigation are a regular saline spray, Neti pot, and other sinus rinses like Neilmed.
**Apart from regular hand washing, I believe that daily and frequent nasal irrigation is one of the MOST important things that we can do to prevent influenza and other viral respiratory infections from taking hold.** This is because after exposure to a virus, the influenza virus tries to invade and multiply in your nasal passages for at least 1-2 days before you develop any symptoms. Nasal irrigation can wash away viral particles before they have the opportunity to take hold, and thereby prevent many infections from happening in the first place!
- Load up on foods and spices with antiviral properties. These include coconut oil, raw garlic, oregano, ginger, kimchi and other fermented foods, walnut, pomegranate, green tea, apple cider vinegar, and medicinal mushrooms (shiitake, maitake, reishi, cordyceps, turkeytail).
- Eat lots of colorful fruits and vegetables. They are full of antioxidants which will destroy the free radicals that weaken our immune system and are responsible for making us feel sick when we catch a bug. Each color provides different antioxidant power – so be sure to eat a rainbow every day. If you’re kids aren’t the hugest vegetable eaters yet, give them their antioxidant dose with a smoothie packed with fruits AND veggies, use that smoothie to make Jello with grass-fed gelatin or popsicles, sneak pureed vegetables into your spaghetti sauce, soups, chilis, or whatever other way you can think of – be creative!
- Stay well-hydrated. Stick to water, coconut water, herbal teas, and bone broth. No soda or sugary drinks, please! What’s a good estimate for how much water you need at a minimum? Divide your body weight (in pounds) in half and drink that number in ounces! Do you come close?
- Drink your bone broth! Bone broth has amazing immune-supporting properties. See Amazing Bone Broth to get started easily making your own.
- Eat fermented foods. The probiotics contained in fermented foods have tremendous immune boosting powers. In fact, the fermented Korean cabbage, kimchi, was found to have significant effects in preventing and fighting the H1N1 influenza virus! Other examples of delicious fermented foods to try include sauerkraut, pickles (try “real” pickles without added vinegar like Bubbies), miso, kefir, and kombucha.
- Avoid simple sugars and processed/junk food. Did you know that your blood shows lab evidence of a lowered immune system within 30 minutes of eating simple sugars (like glucose, refined sugar, and fructose), and causes a 50% reduction in your white blood cells’ abilities to kill germs? White blood cells are our “army” cells that fight off germs. This effect is most noticeable 2 hours after ingestion, but is still present 5 hours later! Keeping blood sugar levels healthy has been shown to improve immune system activity.
- Get fresh air and moderate daily exercise. Moderate exercise can boost the production of macrophages, the kind of white blood cells that “eat” bacteria and viruses. However, intense exercise can actually temporarily decrease immune function – so don’t overdo it!
- Get adequate sleep. An increase in sleep actually increases the number of your white blood cells. On the other hand, loss of sleep even for a few hours at night, increases inflammation in our body which makes us more susceptible to catching the flu and having more severe symptoms. So make sure your whole family is getting enough zzzz’s. For tips on getting a good night’s sleep, see Eat Yourself to a Good Night’s Sleep and The 3 Things You Need to Know to Get a Good Night’s Sleep.
- Minimize stress.
Below are some additional recommendations from yours truly and Oasis Family Medicine. Please note that almost all supplements sold at Oasis Family Medicine are at least 10% cheaper than can be found elsewhere in stores or online as we try to pass on whatever savings we can to our clients.
#1: Daily Cold Plunges (or showers): it may sound whacky at first, but brown adipose tissue activation (via cold thermogenesis by way of cold showers and/or plunges) has been shown to enhance innate immunity.
#2: Sauna: the research on sauna use and cardiovascular disease protection is impressive. Additionally, sauna therapy stimulates the immune system to a high degree.
#3: Probiotics: although they've been wrongly marketed as 'cure all tummy aids' probiotics actually work by communicating with our immune system. If you don't ferment your own foods or live on a farm, it's wise to supplement with a strain-specific probiotic with proven immune-supportive strains—especially during times of stress or travel. Our favorite is Mega Sporebiotic available at Oasis.
#4: Selenium: as Selenomethionine is best. At Oasis it can be found as Selenium by Pure Encapsulations. See the attached poorly scanned document called "Studies-Selenium and the Coronavirus" but nevertheless pertinent, so I'm sharing them as they were given to me.
#5: Vitamins A, C, E and Mineral Zinc: all found in Immuplex by Standard Process also available at Oasis. Numerous clinical studies support supplementation of these to reduce the incidence of acute lower respiratory tract infections.
#6: Mushrooms & Herbs: including echinacea, astragalus, elderberry, andrographis, lauric acid, cordyceps, shiitake, maitake, reishi. All found in Immunotone Plus by Designs for Health also at Oasis.
#7: Silver: as a spray to use as disinfectant on surfaces, your hands, and even your nose or mouth before and after close contact with a sick person. Highest quality available at Oasis as ACS200 Silver Spray.
#8: IV Ascorbic Acid: also known as IV Vitamin C. Impressive against Coronavirus to say the least! The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource and has what I would call a gold mine for Coronavirus protection and/or treatment. Check out the website here (http://www.
Another good article: https://www.
Link to the Los Angeles Department of Public Health: http://publichealth.
While Coronavirus is definitely something to be taken seriously, sometimes injecting humor (pun intended) into the situation can be helpful, so I just had to share the photo below. I think it speaks volumes ;)
Medical Disclaimer: Information provided in this article is for informational purposes only. The information is a result of years of practice and experience by Yoshi Rahm, DO. However, this information is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or another healthcare professional, or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging.
Do not use the information provided in this article for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing medication or other treatment. Always speak with your physician or another healthcare professional before taking any medication or nutritional, herbal or homeopathic supplement, or using any treatment for a health problem. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, contact your health care provider promptly. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking professional advice because of something you have read in this email.
Information provided in this article and the use of any products or services related to this article by you DOES NOT create a doctor-patient relationship between you and Yoshi Rahm, DO. or any other physician featured in this article. Information and statements regarding dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
