What's New? How to Prevent the Swine Flu!

The craze, the hype, the media, the drama, the contagion. There is so much fear revolving around the viral outbreak of the swine flu. People rush to buy masks, gloves, and hair nets. What we really should be buying is Vitamin C, Echinacea, and anti viral herbs. What we really should be doing is cutting out the sugar and eating as nutritiously as possible. Yet, these preventative items are not the focus of the overly dramatic media. Part of the fear surrounding any major epidemic is the helplessness that people feel in response to the illness. Do you really believe that you could be walking down the street and be struck down with the virus? It really doesn’t happen like that. Viruses are opportunistic, which means that if the door is open they will walk in. It’s like leaving your wallet on the kitchen table with your front door open. If your door is locked they will just pass on by and find some other poor slob to live off of. How do we lock your door you might be wondering, the simplest answer is to boost your immune system.

The best way to decrease your chances of contracting the swine flu or any other type of microbial invasion is to keep your immune system strong. The microbial population includes bacteria, viruses, and fungus. These microscopic critters are opportunistic and require a host to live off of. In the case of influenza that host source is human. In the words of the famous microbiologist, Bechamp, “The microbe is nothing the milieu is everything.” And you my dear reader have the ability to change your milieu. You are the milieu. And so the million-dollar question is, “Does your milieu taste good to a virus or does it repel it?” And so for the rest of this discussion we will focus on milieu building.

In case your still not convinced, let me explain how viruses work. It is fruitless to focus on this virus or any other. Viruses have the ability to replicate into sister components of themselves, which continuously evade our immune systems. This is why it is so difficult to cure Hepatitis, Herpes, Warts, AIDS, Shingles, Mononucleosis, Epstein Barr Virus, and any other virus out there. The best we can do once we contract a virus is treat it by boosting our immune system, and killing the majority of the virus so our immune system can get in there and do its job. When this happens that virus now lies dormant in our cells, and if our immune systems remain strong will not rear its ugly head again.

So lets cut to the chase and get informed on how we can boost our immune systems against opportunistic infections.

• #1 – Avoid all sugar. Sugar lowers our immune system for 6 hours after we eat it. That means that if you come into contact with something from the microbial population in those six hours you will be at a decreased advantage to fight it off.
• #2 – Vitamin C. Increase your levels of Vitamin C. 3,000mg in divided doses throughout the day. Vitamin C boosts out immune system overall and supports our milieu.
• #3 – Echinacea – Echinacea is immune boosting, and prevents against both bacterial and viral infections. Echinacea can be safely taken long term. Choose a good brand such as Gaia. 3 capsules 2-x day
• #4 – St. Johns Wort – Known for its help with depression. St. Johns wort is actually a very potent anti-viral. Taken when sick it can dramatically support your immune system in fighting a virus. 3 capsules 2-x day.
• #5 – Combination Anti-Viral support. Herbs work better in formulations than they do separately, buy an antiviral herb combination and take daily. Again the over the counter brands I recommend for quality are Gaia and Eclectic Institute.
• #6 – Make a Nurturing Immune Enhancing Soup.

2 quarts organic chicken or vegetable broth
1 large onion chopped
7 cloves of garlic crushed
2-inch piece of ginger sliced
Bring all ingredients to a boil for 40 minutes
Strain plant matter and drink the broth as a tea all day long.

Susceptibility to infections depends on the status of the immune system. The goal of treatment with the booster shot (homeopathic combination therapy) is to activate and support the defense mechanisms of the body by strengthening the natural immune response to viral invasion.

Numerous studies document the therapeutic and preventative benefits of this homeopathic preparation in cases of infections with or without fever such as bronchitis, herpes, ear infections, and influenza.

The components of the immune booster shot have been scientifically proven to reduce the duration and severity of symptoms during an acute viral infection as well as prevent from further infection.

BENEFITS OF THE IMMUNE BOOSTER SHOT:

*Used for both prevention and treatment of viral infections
*Turns on the immune defenses
*Scientifically demonstrated as safe and effective
*No known side effects of contraindications
*Safe for children and pregnant or nursing mothers
*May be combined with other natural immune or conventional therapies.

HOW IT WORKS:

*Basic research revealed the antiviral activity of the components of the booster shot against viruses such as: Influenza, Herpes simplex type 1, Rhinovirus, Adenovirus Type 5, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

*In vitro tests have shown that the ingredients of the immune booster shot specifically, Engystol and Gripp homeopathic preparations improve the fighting capacities of white blood cells, which digest microorganisms by 41%.

*The components of the immune booster shot assisted 88% of patients achieve a good result suffering from infections with fever or influenza.

*Preventatively, influenza infections were reduced compared to the control group. The duration and severity of the symptoms were considerably lower in the immune boost group.

RESEARCHED ARTICLES:

In vitro evaluation of the antiviral effects of the homeopathic preparation Gripp-Heel on selected respiratory viruses.

Glatthaar-Saalmüller B.Clinical Immunology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, A-1210 Vienna, Austria
Gripp-Heel is a homeopathic preparation frequently used in the treatment of respiratory viral infections such as various types of influenza and the common cold. The antiviral activity of Gripp-Heel was studied in vitro on human pathogenic enveloped and nonenveloped RNA and DNA viruses. Before the antiviral assays, in vitro cytotoxicity of Gripp-Heel was determined with cells used for the infection experiments (HeLa, HEp-2, MDCK, BGM) as well as with mitogen-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes. A concentration of 0.5 of the commercially available product slightly reduced cell viability and proliferative capacity, and experiments on antiviral activity were determined starting with a dilution of 0.2 of the commercially available product.

The antiviral activity was determined against a broad panel of enveloped and nonenveloped DNA and RNA viruses with plaque reduction assay, cytopathogenic assays, virus titrations, analysis of the viral proteins in virus-specific enzyme immunoassays, and haemagglutination tests. Control substances were acyclovir (10 microg/mL), ribavirin (6 microg/mL), and amantadine hydrochloride (5 microg/mL), depending on the virus type.

Gripp-Heel demonstrated dose-dependent in vitro activity (significant reductions of infectivity by 20% to 40%) against Human herpesvirus 1, Human adenovirus C serotype 5, Influenza A virus, Human respiratory syncytial virus, Human parainfluenza virus 3, Human rhinovirus B serotype 14, and Human coxsackievirus serotype A9. The mechanisms of this antiviral activity are still unclear, but type I interferon induction might be a possible explanation. Further research on this homeopathic preparation seems warranted.

PMID: 18066110 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
1: Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 2007 Nov;85(11):1084-90.

THE JOURNAL OF ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE

Volume 11, Number 5, 2005, pp. 855–862
©Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
Antiviral Activity of Engystol®: An In VitroAnalysis

Objectives: To study the effects of the homeopathic preparation Engystol®(Biologische Heilmittel HEEL GmbH, Baden-Baden, Germany) on a panel of human pathogenic viruses in vitro.

Design: The effects of Engystol were studied using plaque-reduction assays and virus titration assays, and
by quantification of newly synthesized viral proteins in virus-specific enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assays
(ELISAs).

Subjects: The DNA viruses Adeno 5 and herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1), the RNA virus respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and human rhinovirus (HRV)

Results: A 73% reduction of Adeno 5 specific proteins and an 80% reduction in HSV-1 specific proteins
were observed in ELISAs of virus-infected cells treated with Engystol after infection. The effects appeared to
be dose-dependent. With these viruses, similar results were observed in titration assays of viral offspring from
cells treated with Engystol. Pretreatment of adenovirus with Engystol did not inhibit the infectivity of the virus
suspension and no Engystol-induced stimulation of interferon-??could be observed. Plaque-reduction assays
with the RNA viruses, RSV and HRV, showed reductions in infectivity by 37% (RSV) and 20% (HRV), respectively.

INTRODUCTION
Many respiratory viruses, most commonly influenza virus, respiratory syncytial viruses (RSV) and rhi-novirus, are capable of causing respiratory disease, either by their direct effects or by exacerbating underlying conditions. A number of substances are available for effective treatment of viral infections, such as amandatine,1neuraminidase inhibitors,2 and nucleoside analogues.3 However, many antiviral substances are associated with side-effects4–6 and there is still a need for antiviral substances with good efficacy and tolerability, and low toxicity. The homeopathic preparation Engystol® (Biologische Heilmittel HEEL GmbH, Baden-Baden, Germany) is frequently used in complementary medicine for the prophylactic treatment of infectious diseases.

Engystol is used in the form of tablets or in solution for injections and contains two main active ingredients, Vincetoxicum hirundinaria (swallowort), which has been associated with stimulation of host defense mechanisms, and sulfur, which has been used homeopathically for treating a range of conditions, including skin diseases, acute and chronic inflammations, and hepatic and gastrointestinal complaints. The remedy has been
shown to be effective in various clinical settings for treating viral and respiratory infections.7–9Other studies have indicated Engystol treatment to be associated with a stimulation of the immune system in terms of phagocytic activity, granulocyte function, and improved humoral response.10–13

CONCLUSIONS
The scarcity of antiviral drugs without problematic side effects may be one reason why complementary and alternative medicine is enjoying a rising popularity in both the United States and Europe. If it can be shown conclusively that Engystol, a plant-derived substance at quite a high dilution, has antiviral effects, this would be a welcome addition to the treatment options for viral infections.

Thus, it seems homeopathic agents in general have a well-established record of tolerability and there are no adverse effects indicated for Engystol.18

In summary, this work supports a direct effect from the homeopathic agent Engystol on a variety of human viruses, assessed in specific assays. Further work is needed to establish an explanation for the effects at the molecular level and to assess the relevance of the in vitroresults in our assays to benefits observed with Engystol in clinical practice.