False Remedies
Much like a hundred years ago when Spanish Flu killed millions, questionable medicinal concoctions and folk remedies have surfaced across the world, claiming to boost the immune system.
Social media is super quick to spread nutritional advice, home remedies, and bizarre ideas. Some are straightforward like seeking out foods rich in Vitamin C and antioxidants, many pseudoscientists are peddling products like probiotics, cayenne pepper, and green tea as ways to protect us from the virus, which they cannot.
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While over-the-counter medicines provide us with a so-called ‘relief’ by suppressing our fever, runny nose and other ‘symptoms’, these are in fact necessary for the body to get well. The symptoms we want to be stopped are not our enemy:
- The mucus is helping flush out the pathogen.
- The fever(heat) makes the body impalpable for it to survive and replicate.
- The body pain is actually the inflammatory chemicals in your veins, guiding the immune cells like an air traffic controller.
- The brain is provided with a signal to slow down and let the body recover.
Basic lifestyle adjustments to suit the ongoing pandemic: Social distancing, covering your face with a mask, and staying at home at all times, will work.
The time-tested approaches to improving our well being, like getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, not taking stress and eating a balanced diet will also work.
- Antioxidant pills do kill bacteria and viruses but also damage healthy cells, leading to wearing out of the immune system and even cancer. No study so far has given compelling results in favor of antioxidants boosting the immune system or treating viral infections.
- Stuff with live microorganisms like probiotics and kombucha is doing the rounds in the news with claims of curing the new virus, cancer, and AIDS. One study did show that probiotics reduce upper-respiratory-tract infections, but more evidence is needed.
- Claims of masturbation improving our immunity or protecting us from the new virus are untrue.
Pills, superfoods, and other wellness habits do not boost our immunity as the 'symptoms' which we get when infected are in fact measures taken by our immune system to respond to the foreign pathogen.
Many allergies that people have are a misguided response from the immune system that treat harmless foreign bodies as harmful pathogens.
Common knowledge tells us that Vitamin C boosts our system's ability to fight the common cold, but extensive studies debunked this as well.
Vitamins aren’t really beneficial for our bodies unless we are deficient in them. Only Vitamin D is beneficial to be taken as a supplement form if we are not able to get it from the sun due to some reason.
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To cash in on the global craze for boosting immunity, many people are selling fraudulent products promising to cure, treat or prevent viral infection.
There is no evidence that the advertised zinc supplements or green teas have any kind of effect. It is important to be wary of the hype and fake news.
Experts warn that smoking or vaping cannabis or anything else is not good for the lungs, regardless if it's during a pandemic or not.
Smoking specifically damages type 2 pneumocyte cells in the lungs. The new virus also binds to the type 2 pneumocytes. If you have less type 2 pneumocytes, your lungs are already under stress. If you smoke and contract the virus, you're going to be worse off.
The immune system does an outstanding job most of the time. To provide such excellent protection against bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi, our immune system must continuously learn.
❤️ Brainstash Inc.