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•  Stay well-hydrated. Stick to water, coconut water,   Should I wear a mask?
               herbal teas, and bone broth. No soda or sugary    Face masks are currently not recommended for the
               drinks, please! What’s a good estimate for how   general public. They are only recommended if you have a
               much water you need at a minimum? Divide your   cough  that  you  could  transmit,  or  are  taking  care  of
               body weight (in pounds) in half and drink that   someone who is sick with COVID-19.
               number in ounces! Do you come close?              That  being  said,  this  new  research  paper  from
              •  Drink  your  bone  broth!  Bone  broth  has  amazing   February 19, 2020 that has yet to be published  compared
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               immune-supporting  properties.  See  Amazing   medical  staff  at  Zhongnan  Hospital  caring  for  patients
               Bone Broth to get started easily making your own.  with COVID-19 between Jan 2-22 who were medical staff
              •  Eat fermented foods. The probiotics contained in   in  the  Respiratory,  ICU  and  Infectious  Disease
               fermented  foods  have  tremendous  immune    Departments and wore N95 respirators and washed hands
               boosting  powers.  In  fact,  the  fermented  Korean   frequently vs. medical staff in the Hepatobiliary Pancreatic
               cabbage,  kimchi,  was  found  to  have  significant   Surgery,  Trauma  and  Microsurgery  and  Urology
               effects  in  preventing  and  fighting  the  H1N1   Departments  who  who  wore  no  masks  and  disinfected
               influenza  virus!  Other  examples  of  delicious   their hands less frequently. Even though the masked group
               fermented foods to try include sauerkraut, pickles   actually encountered more confirmed cases of COVID-19
               (try  “real”  pickles  without  added  vinegar  like   than the unmasked (730% MORE cases, in fact), none of
               Bubbies), miso, kefir, and kombucha.          of the 280 staff contracted 2019-nCoV. On the other hand,
              •  Avoid simple sugars and processed/junk food. Did   10 of the unmasked group became infected.
               you know that your blood shows lab evidence of a   So,  if  the  pandemic  starts  to  hit  a  little  too  close  to
               lowered  immune  system  within  30  minutes  of   home, will I be wearing a mask and make Peter, Kenzi and
               eating  simple  sugars  (like  glucose,  refined  sugar,   Bodi wear one? Probably yes! If you do wear a face mask,
               and fructose), and causes a 50% reduction in your   please make sure it’s a “Particulate Respirator Mask” that
               white  blood  cells’  abilities  to  kill  germ?   White   filters at least 95% of very small particles and is marked P95,
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               blood cells are our “army” cells that fight off germs.   R95 or N95, has 2 straps, and forms a tight seal around your
               This effect is most noticeable 2 hours after ingestion,   nose and mouth. A regular surgical mask will provide no
               but  is  still  present  5  hours  later!  Keeping  blood   protection  and  is  actually  meant  to  protect  others
               sugar  levels  healthy  has  been  shown  to  improve   from  your  cough  or  sneeze.  A  properly  fitted  respirator
               immune system activity.                       mask should be worn over BOTH the nose and mouth, and
              •  Get fresh air and moderate daily exercise. Moderate   form a tight seal so that you can’t smell any ambient odors.
               exercise can boost the production of macrophages,   A good test is to put on the mask covering your mouth and
               the kind of white blood cells that “eat” bacteria and   nose, pinch the mask across the bridge of your nose, then
               viruses.  However,  intense  exercise  can  actually   spray peppermint or lavender essential oil in front of your
               temporarily decrease immune function – so don’t   face. You should not be able to smell or taste any of the oil
               overdo it!                                    in your nose or mouth through the mask.
              •  Get adequate sleep. An  increase  in  sleep  actually   THE PROBLEM: Most masks won’t properly fit and
               increases the number of your white blood cells. On   create a good seal over a young child’s mouth and nose to
               the other hand, loss of sleep even for a few hours at   filter out small smoke and air pollution particles, so make
               night,  increases  inflammation  in  our  body  which   sure  you  follow  the  suggestions  below  for  immune
               makes us more susceptible to catching the flu and   boosting.  Remember,  though,  that  preliminary  reports
               having more severe symptoms. So make sure your   seem to show that children are much more likely to have
               whole family is getting enough zzzz’s. For tips on   mild and even asymptomatic disease.
               getting a good night’s sleep, see Eat Yourself to a   Another problem is that because of COVID-19, N95
               Good Night’s Sleep and The 3 Things You Need to   masks  are  currently  very  difficult  to  find  or  are  very
               Know to Get a Good Night’s Sleep.             expensive.  Manufacturers  should  be  gearing  up  their
              •  Minimize stress.  Emotional  stress  creates   production to fix this problem, so stay on the lookout.
               physiological stress in our bodies that lowers our
               immune defenses and makes us more vulnerable to   Keep Your Immune System As Strong As Possible
               illness. Stress has been shown to lower our white   Consider  keeping  your  immune  system  even  more
               blood  cells’  abilities  to  kill  germs,  and  actually   supported with the following nutritional supplements to
               creates more inflammation that may make us feel   give your body even more antiviral defense:
               even sicker. For guidance on how to help manage
               your child’s stress naturally, take a look at Back-to-  •  Fish oil – Omega-3 essential fatty acids have a host
               School, Back to … STRESS!!! for some great tips.  of immune benefits too long to list!
                                                               •  Probiotics – One study showed a dramatic reduction
                                                                 in fever and upper respiratory symptoms in children


       34   Integrative Medicine • Vol. 19, No. 2 • April 2020                 Song—Coronavirus Pediatrician's Perspective
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