THE FLU, COLDS, AND YOU
Dr. George M. Wolverton
There are about 105 strains of viruses that produce flu-like syndromes, upper respiratory infections, and colds. During flu and cold season, it is important to be proactive, keeping our immune systems healthy, so we are less susceptible to infection. Remember that antibiotics are not a cure-all, since they only treat illnesses caused by bacteria.
When you “start to come down with a virus,” you have a feeling of general weakness, sometimes fever, but almost always, vague aching which tends to increase. The aching is nearly always generalized and represents a viral replication. Viruses do their damage in the flu by what is called “free radical pathology.” This is a situation where free radicals are released and then penetrate the cell membrane lining, allowing the “bad guy” calcium to leak into the cells and turn off the energy factories while the “good guy” magnesium leaks out of the cells.
Whenever patients are beginning to experience symptoms of infectious disease, I recommend taking a combination of vitamins that boosts the immune system and can aid in recovery from viral, bacterial, and fungal infections. Remember to avoid sweets, which weaken the immune system. Make sure to consult your doctor if symptoms worsen or persist.
“Clinical C” Protocol
One of the best ways to prevent illness or get over illness more quickly is to take large amounts of Vitamin C. Alkalinized Vitamin C powder is better than Vitamin C tablets because it is more easily absorbed by the body. Vitamin C powder is available at McClure drugstore, at our office, and sometimes at other drug stores. One teaspoon of the powder is roughly equivalent to 4,000 milligrams of Vitamin C. The protocol is as follows:
-
Take ½ teaspoon of the powder in four to eight ounces of water or juice every half hour
until the aching is gone. -
If the aching and flu symptoms get worse during this process, take the 2,000 milligrams,
or ½ teaspoon, every 15 minutes until the aching is gone. -
If nausea, vomiting or diarrhea occurs, stop the treatment. Call your doctor if symptoms persist.
“Mega A” Protocol
In addition to Vitamin C, I recommend that patients with infectious diseases (including viral, bacterial, and fungal) utilize the following protocol:
- Take 100,000 international units (iu) of Vitamin A four times a day for five days.
- Vitamin A usually comes in 8,000 iu, 10,000 iu, and 25,000 iu.
- Also take Vitamin E, 400 iu twice daily
Unlike Vitamin C, which is water-soluble and excreted from the body if too much is ingested, excess amounts of Vitamin A (and Vitamin E) do remain in the body. This is because Vitamins A and E are fat-soluble. Thus, taking too much Vitamin A and Vitamin E for too long a time can be harmful. However, the dosage in the Mega A Protocol should not be problematic for normal adults.
IV Therapies and Infection
In addition to these oral supplements, it is often beneficial to give nutrients by intravenous (IV) therapy as well. IV nutrients are much more absorbable than those taken orally, and thus they work much more quickly. Patients usually feel much better after receiving one of our Mega C, Mega C with MZM4G, or Myers’/Gaby’s Cocktail IV’s. Patients may receive an IV daily until symptoms are totally better. Talk to your doctor about whether one of these IV’s might be helpful for you.
Infection and Antibiotics
Though antibiotics can be very helpful in certain situations, I believe they are overused in our culture. To begin with, of course, antibiotics are only effective when an infection is bacterial in nature.
In addition, antibiotics (“anti”=against, “bio”=life) tend to kill off both the bad guys, or invading organisms, and the good guys, or the beneficial flora in the digestive tract. These intestinal flora allow your body to properly digest foods. This is the reason people often get diarrhea when taking antibiotics. When the good organisms in the gut are killed off, other organisms like yeast begin to overgrow, weakening the immune system and often decreasing ability to fight future infections.
It is also worth noting the huge increase in antibiotic-resistant organisms since we started the antibiotic era with Penicillin in 1943. Sometimes a particular mutation or strain of bacteria that is not affected by the antibiotics will arise, and it will remain and reproduce even after antibiotics kill off the rest of that type of bacteria. The more we use antibiotics, the higher the chance is that this situation will occur in individuals and the general population.
If this increment of resistance persists at its present rate, we may soon find that any antibiotics that have been produced by the pharmaceutical houses no longer can protect us against infectious disease. This reinforces rather clearly the need to follow our Mega A and Clinical C Protocol for upper respiratory infections and viruses. We will then be relegating antibiotics role to more serious clinical infections.
Hopefully, with the aid of the protocols described above, this holiday season will not be one of nagging sickness but one of health and joy.