Ayurvedic Strategies for Coronavirus Prevention

Ayurvedic Strategies for Coronavirus Prevention

by Marianne Teitelbaum, D.C., author of Healing the Thyroid with Ayurveda

As of mid-May 2020, the CDC has not detailed a specific treatment for this potentially deadly virus. But before we panic, keep in mind that it’s not so much the severity of the infective agent, but the degree of immunity of the person contracting the virus and how well they are able to fight it off. That’s why we’re seeing a broad range of responses when someone contracts the virus: some people are asymptomatic, some may display mild or moderate symptoms requiring no hospitalization or treatment, while others die quickly as the virus wreaks havoc in the lungs and elsewhere.

Ayurveda has numerous methods to keep one’s immunity strong as well as dozens of treatments both to prevent and treat this, or any, virus.

FIRST AND FOREMOST: Keep Up Your Levels of Ojas!

Ojas is a compound recognized in Ayurveda which gives us strength and immunity to all diseases. This compound is made after healthy, easily digested food is properly assimilated into the cells. Once the food makes its way through the digestive tract and is properly broken down and absorbed, it proceeds to nourish 7 tissues: blood plasma, blood, muscle, fat, bone, bone marrow, and reproductive fluids.

Once all 7 tissues are properly nourished, then ojas is formed at the end of the seventh tissue. Ojas is a compound that looks like ghee (clarified butter) and gives us a healthy glow, helps us to make proper amounts of hormones and balanced neurotransmitters, and gives us great strength and stamina. Thus, we all need to keep up our levels of ojas in order to fight this virus.

This means that we must make sure our digestion is working properly so it can break down the food into small enough particles to enter the bloodstream after it makes its way through the digestive tract.

We must therefore take good care of our friendly bacteria in the gut and the liver, both of which are considered the seat of digestion. Many pharmaceuticals, such as birth control pills, antibiotics, steroids, and immunizations, can both deplete the friendly bacteria and upset liver function (since the liver is responsible for processing all these pharmaceuticals).

Therefore, if you have used any of these types of medications in the past or are currently taking them, you need to replenish your friendly bacteria and clean the liver.

I recommend Natren’s probiotics, as this company is one of few who have figured out how to make a probiotic and not kill the live probiotic cultures as they process it. I also recommend herbs such as bhumi amla and mankand to improve liver function.

Keep in mind that both the friendly bacteria in the gut and the liver are not only important parts of the digestive system but also comprise a large part of the immune system. Thus, both have to be in perfect condition in order to digest food so you can make ojas from it as well as to fight infection as it comes into the body.

We also want to eat easily digested foods: warm cooked foods, cooked vegetables and grains, lentils, chicken, turkey, fish, lamb (if not vegetarian), fresh fruits, freshly made curd cheeses (cottage, mozzarella, ricotta, and panir), yogurt and drinks made from yogurt (lassi), buttermilk, cultured ghee from grass-fed cows, good quality olive oil, non-homogenized cow’s milk (boiled), and/or goat’s milk.

Avoid eating heavy and cold foods, which have a hard time absorbing into our cells and remain behind in the digestive tract, clogging it, becoming a fertile breeding ground for infection to grow. Examples of these heavier foods are nut butters, red meats, hard aged cheeses, bananas, large beans, mushrooms, chia, hemp and pumpkin seeds, cold dairy (such as ice cream, frozen yogurt and cold milk), chocolate and cacao, unfermented soy (tofu, soy milk, and edamame).

The bone marrow is another huge part of the immune system. In fact, this is where the immune system cells are born (white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets). Many pharmaceuticals make their way into the bone marrow, disrupting its function. In addition, pesticides, air pollution, heavy metals and environmental toxins can easily find their way into the bone marrow.

However, you can keep your bone marrow clean by taking guduchi satwa, which comes in a powder or pill. Take 1/4 tsp of the powder mixed in 1/4 cup room temperature alkaline spring water after each meal, or if in capsule form, take 1 capsule after each meal.

While we were busy hoarding toilet paper in America once the virus entered our shores, all the Ayurvedic physicians in India started stocking up on hundreds of bottles of guduchi satwa!

Ayurvedic Tips for Prevention and Treatment of Covid-19

I recommend tulsi tea with harsingar flowers. Tulsi is a potent antiviral and harsingar has been touted to be a cure for coronaviruses. My patients are instructed to make 1 cup a day, with 1 tsp of tea per cup of boiled water. 

I also recommend the amla berry instead of Vitamin C. Vitamin C, while effective, may produce some side effects, as it is isolated out of the fruit and synthetically made in a lab in a higher dose than what would occur in nature. By taking the Vitamin C out of context with nature, one runs the risk of making the blood acidic, causing kidney stones and other problems.

The amla berry has 20 times more Vitamin C than an orange, yet creates alkalinity in the body once ingested. We always want to keep our digestive juices and blood alkaline as acidity is a precursor for many diseases, such as cancer and autoimmune disease. The amla berry can be found easily online, and comes in a powdered or tablet form. Just follow the directions on the bottle.

One can also take Chyawan Prash, a famous Ayurvedic formula used since ancient times where 50 herbs are cooked into fresh amla berries, creating a tasty paste that can be taken twice a day (one teaspoon after breakfast and one teaspoon after lunch). This formula is great for increasing ojas and therefore our immunity. It also helps reverse the aging process.

Zinc bhasma is also used to kill the outside of the viruses attaching to the cells. A bhasma means it has been incinerated several times to make the zinc molecule small enough to enter our cells.

I also recommend various nasya (nasal) oils infused with herbs known to kill viruses. Put a few drops in each nostril to kill the virus as it enters the nostrils. These drops can also be used for breaking up sinus congestion.

It has recently been reported that heat and steam kill the virus. I recommend boiling a pot of water, then turn off the heat. Add a few drops of eucalyptus/camphor essential oils into the pot along with neem, pushkarmool, and boswellia herbs. Put a towel over your head and breathe in the vapors for 10-15 minutes once or twice a day.

If you get the virus, there are numerous herbs we use to strengthen the lungs to prevent pneumonia. You should consult an Ayurvedic practitioner to start the herbs now, even before an infection, if you have weak lungs. It is better to go into this virus with stronger lungs, as it attacks the lungs. We use: bharangi (heals the lung tissue), devil’s apple and pushkarmool (stops reactivity of the lungs), vasa (good for asthma), kantakari (a wonderful bronchodilator) and boswellia (an anti-inflammatory).

For a cough: Mix 1 tsp sitopaladi powder with 1 tsp raw honey and take after breakfast and again after lunch. If the cough is dry, add 1/2 tsp ghee to the mixture to lubricate the lungs.

Make delicious ginger/lime/mint tea to break up congestion: simmer pieces of fresh peeled and chopped ginger root in plenty of water to cover for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, squeeze in the juice of a lime and add a handful of chopped fresh mint leaves. Let steep 10 minutes, strain, and add raw honey to taste. Sip slowly once or twice a day.

Melt 1 Tbsp ghee and add 1 tsp turmeric and cook the turmeric in the ghee over a low heat for a minute or two, then add this to your food at lunch and dinner (just stir it into the cooked food). Turmeric is great for killing both bacterial and viral infections and we can temporarily increase the use of it during the time of an infection, then go back to our usual intake when not sick. Turmeric needs a vehicle of fat, such as ghee, which will deliver the turmeric into our cells. It’s not as effective if we just sprinkle it on our food, but instead needs to be cooked into the ghee. Cooking turmeric into cow’s or goat’s milk is also recommended. Simmer a couple of pinches of turmeric powder into milk for about 3-5 minutes, strain it, and drink once a day on an empty stomach to boost immunity and prevent colds and flus.

Get plenty of rest. Going to bed late (past 10 PM) depletes ojas. So make sure you go to bed early and wake up before the sun comes up for optimum immune function.

Also get out in the sunlight which helps you make Vitamin D and stimulates T cells (the cells that kill viruses).

Avoid refined white sugar as it is toxic to the liver and prevents your body’s immune system cells from attacking viruses. Also avoid alcohol, as it too is toxic to the liver and converts into sugar after you ingest it.

So here you have several tools to fight not only Covid-19, but any cold or flu virus that comes up. No need to worry -- just educate yourself and get ready to put your plans into action at the first sign of a cold or flu. You will be amazed how well your body will fight these invaders if you give it proper rest, fluids, herbal supplements, and good quality food.