***Facing Down Ebola

I tell you true, this Ebola thing is a mess, and the reactions to it are not promising. Medicine has nothing to offer, so they’re in a panic. Which means the media is beating a very loud drum about death and mayhem marching in shortly. Meanwhile, the President has sent soldiers, trained to defeat the enemy with guns and tanks, into Ebola-stricken lands where, apparently, they’re expected to win the war against a virus. Sayeth the brass, “Training? We don’t need nostinkin’ training!” So, our soldiers get no training. No particular health knowledge. And they’re not armed with anything to protect themselves, let alone anybody else. And we’re no better prepared. And we don’t have time to build our defenses against all the health foes that come against us. It takes up to six months to develop a customized vitamin/mineral program to meet our unique, specific needs. Ebola is not going to wait six months for us to get our act together. So, we won’t worry about heart disease, kidney disease, lung disease, diabetes, cancer and all the rest–at least not now, because they take a more long-term approach. Fortunately, we have a really potent weapon that can beat back viruses. You’ve heard of it. You may even have some at home. It’s very common. But few people know how to use it in a real battle, a battle where the enemy seems to have the advantage, where it’s go big or die. The name of this kill-all-the-viruses powerhouse? Vitamin C. And right now you may well be staring, slack-jawed, at this page wondering why I think a boy can do a man’s job. Or perhaps you’re giggling about my naivete. And you’re wrong in either case. Vitamin C is a warrior, which probably comes as news. We’ve been taught that vitamins aren’t serious medicine, they just create expensive urine as our body gets rid of them, and if you take vitamins, take just a little, “to be on the safe side.” When it comes to fighting viruses, though, especially monsters like Ebola, Vitamin C is a champion–but a little dab won’t do the job. You may read about sticking to, say, 100mg or so a day, but it takes thousands of milligrams a day to go mano a mano with something like Ebola. Even the flu, for that matter. Besides revising your thinking about how much vitamin C you need to take, you’ll have to think through how to get started. You can’t start your vitamin C adventure with huge doses. A body surprised by a whole lot of vitamin C it was never warned to expect, responds with diarrhea. Big time. And a patooty on fire is never fun. So, start with, say, 500mg with breakfast. Then, a couple of days later, add 500mg more with lunch. Then add 500mg with dinner, then go to 1000mg per meal, a meal at a time. Wait at least a couple of days between increases in the dose. One exception: If you get a virus, you can pretty much take all the vitamin C you can get down your gullet, and your body will use it to fight the war. In fact, your body will use up massive doses of vitamin C in a trice. We usually take vitamin C with meals, but once the battle’s on, take it whenever. Give your body the ammunition it needs, when it needs it. Back in the days when I used to get colds and the flu, I’d take my regular dose of C, plus 2000mg every two hours. It kept me symptom-free and hurried along my recovery. How will you know when enough is enough? Doctors call it “bowel tolerance.” When your bowels start getting loose, stay with that dose. If your health starts sliding back down the hill a little, pump up the dose; you’ll find you now have a higher “bowel tolerance.” Don’t worry about the number of milligrams you take a day, but conce yourself with what your body thinks about what you’re doing. Our bodies are so fabulous that they not only fight like tigers when we give them help, but they cheer us on so we know we’re on the right path. And our body will tell us when we’re off course, too, so let your body be your guide. There’s a huge argument going about the best type of vitamin C to take, but the research has been done with plain ascorbic acid, so that’s what I take--and what I recommend. To deal with my allergies, etc., I take 6000mg of ascorbic acid a day. If a virus invaded my life, I’d start ramping that amount up--quickly if the fever was having its way, cautiously otherwise. If you know a soldier sent to fight Ebola, without the needed ammunition or information, forward this e-mail to them. And go to VitaCost.com to order the weapons they need. (I’m not associated with Vitacost in any way.) Send your soldier a good supply of VitaCost 1000mg Vitamin C (in the ascorbic acid form) and, for an extra blessing, add Twi Lab Daily One Without Iron; taking one or two a day makes life better. Not all supplements have the power and the glory, but these do. Do this for all the people you love, including yourself. God is goodr Bette Dowdell