By Megan Roberts, Integrative Health Coach and Head RN of Forum Health Knoxville
Where did I get it? Well, could have been that last trip to Target, maybe the bounce house where dozens other parents took their children to let off some steam this weekend because schools are closed due to illness for the second time in three weeks. Or maybe it was the hockey game where I stood in line next to a 9ish year old who was doing his best to cough into his sleeve, but I could almost see the airborne virus he was carrying floating around my head like a cloud of doom. Perhaps it was one of my hacking, sneezing, sniffling co-workers or patients.
Where it came from is a mystery and far less important than the fact that I knew I had been invaded! It started with the sore throat. Not a terrible sore throat, but the kind that comes when the lymph nodes swell a bit and make swallowing uncomfortable. Then come the cold chills. Yes, the thermostat is set to 73 degrees and I still need a space heater and a blanket. The body aches started soon after that. Nothing terrible yet, just a stiff neck, and pressure in my head. Ohhhh yeahhh! Here it comes!
We have been directed for years by our provider to use Beta-Glucan Particle in the face of a virus. I did exactly this! I went home, put on my PJs, sucked down glasses of water between cups of hot tea with honey and lemon, and I rested. No, I wasn’t hacking and coughing and filling up wastebaskets with tissues, but I knew my body was mounting an attack and I needed to do everything I could to help it. Though it is hard to take a break from life to rest my body, I knew it was a couple of hours or days now vs. several days or weeks recovering later.
All of that started yesterday at about 10 am. Today at 5pm, though I am tired and still have some cold chills telling me the fight is not over, I am still not coughing, I am not going through boxes of tissues, it does not hurt to swallow, and the body aches and sinus pressure are gone. I plan to be back at work tomorrow with a full weekend of celebrations ahead.
This is not a miracle. This is science. Why the rest of the world doesn’t know about this science in the middle of Flu season, I am not sure, but I wanted to make sure all of you do. Please, if you want more of the science behind beta-glucan particle see the link below:
Glucan Supplementation Enhances the Immune Response Against an Influenza Challenge in Mice
Prevention is so very important. So, wash your hands, take your supplements and vitamins as directed by your provider, eat whole foods, avoid sugar, exercise regularly, and try to avoid large crowds if you are immune compromised. If you find that all these things are not enough, and you feel the crud coming on, please call us, we can recommend a trusted brand of beta-glucan to our patients.
