By Dr. Michael Haley

With all the uncertainty surrounding Ebola, there’s a level of panic and fear now that it has been diagnosed for the first time ever in the United States. Every news station and internet news website is dedicating their opening stories to Ebola updates. A Google search for “NEWS” makes it clear that Ebola is currently the most popular content.

People are remembering what happened when H1N1 was spreading across the globe and how protective medical wear supplies were wiped out. The sales of these and immune boosting supplements is increasing dramatically as fear is turning to panic. Yesterday, Natural News announced “Sales of pandemic preparedness supplies skyrocket 143,000% following announcement of Ebola in America”

For the past couple days, I have been inundated with the the question “What Do You Think About Ebola”. I have thought about it plenty and have already taken basic preparation measures in my own home. The purpose of this article is to use logic rather than fear so that you can leverage the information to your benefit.

To help understand my advice, let us reason together.

Currently there are no proven medications or vaccines for Ebola. We don’t really know how communicable Ebola is. Most of what we know about Ebola is based on statistics from parts of the world that have less hygiene and sanitation. Initially we were told that it was taking the life from 50% of the people that get it. Recently, the mortality rate was raised to 70%. But we really have no idea what the mortality will be like here in the United States.

Distance Is Your Friend

They are telling us that Ebola is not transmitted through the air… unless it is in flinging body fluids such as sweat, blood, and phlegm. 3 feet is supposedly a sufficient distance to prevent transmission. I don’t know about you, but I have seen people sneeze more than 3 feet!

An old principle to avoid over-exposure to radiation is “double the distance to quarter the exposure”. That means that you are exposed to 25% of the radiation if you double your distance from the source. And if you double the distance again, your exposure is again quartered. Distance is your friend whether it is radiation or the next plague. For now, don’t settle for 3 feet when you come across a very symptomatic person.

Contaminated Surfaces

They seem to be more concerned with contacting body fluids that may have been left behind. This is evident in the way they handled the ambulance that was used to transport the first case to the hospital. It was kept in isolation for a properly trained team to come and decontaminate it. This means that touching surfaces such as phones, door knobs, keyboards, counter tops, and more could be a source of transmission.

Washing your hands before touching or washing your face is one way to decrease your chances of contracting a virus. In our home, we do NOT use antibacterial soap. The controversy continues over the effectiveness of antibacterial soaps to kill bacteria. But it is established that they are “no more effective at deactivating viruses than any other kind of soap”. That is, antibacterial soaps will likely offer no more protection against Ebola than chemical free soap. Antibacterial soaps may, however, damage your normal healthy flora that is their for your benefit.

Protective Wear

Protective masks, gloves, eye wear and more may offer protection from getting direct or indirect contaminated body fluids on you. They also help by making it difficult to touch your face which is likely the primary way we “catch a cold” hand delivering a virus to our nostrils. When you suspect that you have a virus, wearing protective wear can help prevent you from spreading it to others.

Disposable protective wear comes in many different materials, thicknesses, shapes, and sizes. Some have “fluid barriers” built in and are really designed for those in the thick of it such as in surgery. Understanding the principles of hygiene and distance should help you decide what or if to purchase protective wear. In the event you can’t purchase but do need protective wear, makeshift cowboy kerchiefs and bandannas may offer some protection. Though they may be less of a fluid barrier, they can hinder you from touching your face.

Some viruses are spread by other means such as animal and insect bites. There is no current evidence suggesting Ebola could be carried by insects such as mosquitos. But there’s no reason to let those little blood suckers take blood from you or your family.

Increasing Your Chances Of Survival

Should you become infected with Ebola, assuming your odds are 50/50, you have to ask yourself, “What can I do to make sure we are in the 50% that survives?”

Your nutrition, exercise, rest, mental thoughts, and physical stress levels will affect how well your body can fight off illnesses. Many books can be written on each of these points. So, to simplify things, let’s focus on the nutrition basics.

Don’t Eat This

One of my favorite nutrition quotes comes from my friend, Author, and Nutrition Guru KC Craichy of Living Fuel. Speaking of Carbohydrates, he said “If It’s White, It Ain’t Right!” The colors in foods come from nutrients in the food. Generally speaking, foods that have been processed and have had their colors removed have had many of their nutrients stripped. That is why we do not de-colorize nor deodorize Stockton Aloe #1 gel. You have heard that bleached processed flours and sugars are “empty calories”. That is, the only nutrition value they have is the calorie… which most of us already have enough of.

*** Side Note *** KC Craichy is on of the speakers in the coming online docu-series “The Truth About Cancer”. Register HERE.

Eat foods with lots of flavor and color. Herbs and spices tend to be jam packed with anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and immune boosting benefits.

Garlic

One of our favorites for fighting the flu virus is fresh garlic. research has shown that consuming sufficient garlic to fight the flu can cut the average recovery time from 5 days to 1.5 days. Garlic has natural antibiotic, antiviral, immune boosting, and decongesting benefits.

Aloe Vera

Aloe vera has Acemannan among other nutrients. “Acemannan has been demonstrated to induce macrophages to secrete interferon (INF), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukins (IL-1); therefore, it might help to prevent or abrogate viral infection.”

Silver Hydrosol

Silver has antibiotic and antiviral properties. We keep Silver hydrosol in our home for infections of any kind including eyes, ears, sinuses, lungs, gut… literally anything. We use it orally when we have colds or stomach viruses. It is one of those natural remedies with a long shelf life that just makes sense to keep on hand.

Cultured Vegetables

Cultured foods are a great way to keep your gut healthy and immune system strong. The easiest cultured food that is friendly with the various diet preferences whether paleo, vegan, or raw seems to be homemade sauerkraut.

Vitamin D

Getting sufficient sunshine is a great way to increase your vitamin D levels and strengthen your immune system. For those of you that live in parts of the world where there is not enough sun, supplementing is essential for optimal health. Supplements with natural sources of vitamin D such as Blue Ice Royal from Green Pasture is a sure way to get plenty of natural vitamin D with the host naturally occurning synergistic nutrients.

Thyme

The herb Thyme is known to stimulate the thymus, and hence, the immune system. It is also a known expectorant. That means it helps make coughs more productive so that you can clear congested lungs faster and breath easier. Thyme is easy to grow and easy to find in the herb section of most grocery stores.

Echinacea

“Several laboratory and animal studies suggest that echinacea contains active substances that enhance the activity of the immune system, relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and have hormonal, antiviral, and antioxidant effects.” It is suggested that Echinacea loses its effectiveness if you take it for too long. It is not intended for daily use, but rather, intermittently at times of immune system attack for about a week at a time. Our family favorite is MediHerb Echinacea Purpurea which we do NOT sell online. MediHerb is only sold through health care professionals. We will be placing an order in the coming week since our personal supply is low. If you would like us to order for you too, please contact us.

Oil of Oregano

Oil of oregano is antiparasitic, antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal. It is primarily for respiratory tract infections causing coughs and bronchitis. It is also used for asthma and croup as well as gastrointestinal problems like heartburn and bloating. Some use it for menstrual cramps, rheumatoid arthritis, urinary tract infections and headaches.

The oil of oregano is taken by mouth for intestinal parasites, allergies, sinus pain, arthritis, cold viruses and flu. It is applied to the skin for skin conditions including acne, athlete’s foot, warts, ringworm, and more. It can be used topically as an insect repellent.

Some Oil of oregano is quite strong; start small. Once we used oil of oregano to remove a tic from our dog. The tic let go immediately.

Green Superfoods

There are many other beneficial foods and superfoods too numerous to list. We like to keep a supply of “super greens” on hand. There are many brands to choose from. We have our favorites, of course, available in our online store (we only sell things we personally use nearly every day). Most powdered green blends will have a variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs, sea weed, and algaes. Most are pre-biotic. Some are even probiotic.

Prepare Your Home

Some of those that came in contact with the infected individual in Dallas are quarantined in their own homes as they wait 21 days to find out if they too have Ebola. I’m sure their basic needs for calories and hydration are being met. However, if you were ever forcibly quarantined in your own home, I doubt the officials would go out of their way to meet your desires when it comes to the quality of your nutrition. This would be especially troubling considering the increased probability of having contracted the illness.

Most of the preparation items I mentioned in this article should be staples in your home. These are the things that belong in the spice cabinet… or the proverbial medicine cabinet, if there is to be such a thing. Therefore, having these beneficial items on hand and getting experience using them for the small things is a great way to make sure you are prepared should such a dire need ever occur.

Neither medicines nor things natural have been tested or proven against Ebola. Any of the ideas in this article are merely suggestions for avoiding contact with illnesses, optimizing your immune system against the unknown, and killing foreign invaders in the body. It is better to stock your home now rather than wait since there is a good chance that many of these things will be harder to get as their demand increases.

SOURCES:
http://www.naturalnews.com/047103_Ebola_pandemic_preparedness_medical_supplies.html#ixzz3F537vt9U
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibacterial_soap
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acemannan
http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/echinacea