A wise man said, “The best way to predict your future…is to create it”.  Do you believe that you have the power to create your future?  How do you envision your future? Can you see it, taste it, feel it, experience it?  How certain are you that you will obtain your vision of the future?  Personally, I have been concerned, lately, about the future of health care systems.  Personal health is of highest importance lately.  I have found that my personal level of health is influenced even more by my own vison of the future than the incredible array of emerging technologies (of which I am aware) that we now have at our disposal.  We truly have the power to create the future.  Strategy is using what we have available to us now to influence what will happen to us in the future.

     What is your vision for your optimal body and mind?  Do you want it?  Can you see it, taste it, feel it, experience it?  Do you have obstacles, challenges, or difficulties that are standing in the way of your vision of ultimate health?  Do you feel that these obstacles might be impossible to overcome?  Are you afraid that you will never be able to obtain your optimal body?  Let us briefly examine the options, systems, and technologies that are available to you right now.

Option 1:

     Put responsibility for your health in the hand of doctors and health care professionals – as you put your trust and confidence for your health in the hands of other people, then you give these people the power to create your future.  The current medical system thrives best when people are chronically sick and need to visit the doctor often.  Insurance and medications are generally very expensive (over 18% of our Gross National Product in the US) and generate huge profits for the pharmaceutical companies that finance these systems.  The current medical system best serves those who are sick and in need of constant care and medication.  Does this align best with your vision of optimal health?

Option 2:

     Take full responsibility for your health, learn true principles and search for answers – taking personal responsibility for your own health assures that you retain the power to create your future.  With responsibility comes great power.  You can find good coaches and sources of information about how to care for your body and obtain and maintain optimal health.  This option is normally less expensive than visits to doctors and hospitals.  Health and wellness systems best serve those that are alive and energetic and want more out of life.  These organizations are more profitable when their teachings lead to ongoing health.  Does this align best with your vision of optimal health?

Examples:

    Tod is a diabetic (Type II) and his condition has degraded to the point where he needs insulin injections daily.  He needs to monitor his blood sugar constantly, he is often fatigued and needs to rest, his eyesight is getting worse and diabetic neuropathies are causing his feet and ankles to turn purple and swell up.

   Option 1:  Depend on Health Care Professionals – Tod will be dependent on insulin for the rest of his life, as he ages or if he is not careful of his diet, he will likely lose his eyesight, develop ulcers, possibly lose his feet or legs.  Tod’s insurance payments and medications will likely sap his savings.

   Option 2: Take Responsibility, Find Answers – Tod will find when he seeks good coaching and learns to hydrate, eat micronutrients and eliminate sugars and carbohydrates from his diet, lift weights to build muscle, that he will go into ketosis and build muscle, his cravings for sweets will disappear, he will lower or eliminate his insulin injections, his eyesight will improve, limbs will receive strength, his pancreas and internal organs will regenerate, he will feel alive and vital all the time and will gradually build back ability to eat sugars.

Which future would you pick for Tod?

Do you realize that you have these options?

     As an atomic/medical physicist, I have studied the laws that govern complex and unpredictable systems, like weather systems, or other turbulent systems (that act like the stock market or a roulette wheel); the future of such huge systems are determined by seemingly tiny variations along its path.  For those that believe they can create their future, a better understanding of the uncertainty factors governing these systems offers a huge advantage.  Just tiny changes, made by just one person or group, can affect huge difference in the outcome of the system.  Presidents, rulers, and magistrates and business leaders have learned to wield this power to their advantage.  You can too.

     The foundation of our great nation was based on the premise that “all men [and women] are inherently created equal; built on the idea that all are equal under the law and endowed with the freedom of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.  We are free to follow our own conscience, to freely express our ideas, and choose our beliefs according to the dictates of our heart.  From the seeds of this ideal sprang the greatest nation on earth, covering a continent in less than 100 years, a model for many other nations emerging from obscurity into the light of freedom and equality.

   We paid the price for this ideal with fountains of blood, sweat and tears as we rid our nation from many of the bonds of injustice that have stained society for thousands of years.  We eliminated institutional slavery, the suffrage of women, child labor.  We protected the free practice of religion.  We built industries.  We sang songs about our alabaster cities gleaming, undimmed by human tears; what an inspiring vision we upheld.  Our heart swelled with patriotism at the sight of our national flag.  This represents the vision of freedom and equality.  With the vision of our red, white and blue glasses we perceived the world.

     These were the perceptions of my youth.  With such perception, it was easy for me to see the evils of Adolf Hitler as I learned how he stripped others of life and liberty because they were not of his favored “race”, how he stripped the Jews of their property and all rights solely on this basis and justified it by objectifying them as inhuman monsters and turning the whole of his society against them.  He enforced his perceptions of superiority by force, fear, and death.  This seems to me the very definition of evil.  So great was this threat to freedom and equality that the whole world unified against Hitler, spilling our blood to defeat both him and his world-threatening ideology.  Is this not crystal clear to everyone of honest heart?

     In contrast, I was greatly inspired by the great human rights leader Martin Luther King and his “dream” that men [and women] should not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character, that good people of every kind would allow their children to play together.  This ideal, I believe easily extends to any cultural group, like Christians, Jews, Muslims, Black, White, Asians, Natives, Democrats, Republicans, Leftists, Rightists, Communists, Capitalists, ethnic groups, and so forth.  This seems to me to be the very definition of goodness, freedom and equality.  The question is: Are you personally willing to live in accordance with this ideal of equality and freedom?

     The greatest threat to freedom and equality lies in the polarization that evolves in society when we start to believe that certain groups of men [and women] are not equal under the law.  When we see that certain groups are being demonized by society and hated for the terrible and evil acts (pretended or real) that members of their group have committed.  For one example, the Nazis felt they were justified to strip the Jews of all rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, because “Jews” had killed Christ, the leader of their religion, thousands of years before.  Do you see the trap?

     I see this in the news: Police are demonized because one of them maliciously killed a black man.  Democrats are demonized because they are enforcing Marxist agendas in our schools.  Republicans are demonized because they blatantly disregarded legal elections.  Native Americans are demonized because they behaved like lawless savages.  White people and industrialists are demonized because they massively oppressed people of color and different cultures.  People that refuse to be vaccinated or wear masks are demonized because they are willing to put us at risk.  These are only just the perceptions of blanket injustice, and certainly not applicable to all (or even the majority) the members of the groups mentioned.  The true demons (like Hitler) are individuals that are willing to use these awful tools to subjugate the world for their own ideology power and gain, resulting in countless human suffering.

      Do you not understand that these words and attitudes of “justified” hatred are the stain and filth of bondage and inequality, not the resolution and realization of justice?  They only justify the darkest of our desires to destroy, harm, subjugate, and eliminate groups that have been so demonized.  They polarize us.  Can you see that this attitude is not the seed of freedom or equality? The seeds of freedom and equality yield fruit that is much sweeter, inspirational and satisfying, an embrace of friendship and understanding, forgiveness and tolerance.  Let us see more clearly and be personally committed to spread the true seeds of freedom and equality.  This will give us enormous comfort and power to find the resolutions to clean our society’s stains and advance in the strength for our whole national and world-wide community.

     The world perception of what is good and what is bad becomes somewhat confusing.  Claims of fake news, rampant injustice, evil intent, and ideological strife seek to surround us wrap us up in what is the truth or what is not.  The love of truth, if it burns in us, will eventually provide the light that brings us out of the darkness.  But as human beings how can we find in our hearts the compass that brings us to the truth?

     A very wise man once said that by the same judgement that you judge, so will you be judged.  If you use this as a standard to judge what is true or not true, things become interesting.  It implies that if you can perceive something that exists in another person, it is also true that it must exist in you.

     If you see someone as a liar, for example, you also must know what it is like to be a liar yourself.  You can imagine that living by such a standard is terribly harsh if you always judge by negative attributes (such as deception, envy, greed, selfishness and whatever else might be considered bad); it sucks you into a downward spiral that only leads into a perception of everything being bad to being worse.  I have noticed that this is the theme of horror shows and the seed of world wars.

     Now look at what happens when you use this same standard to perceive the good in others.  If you judge someone as being honest, for example, you must know what it is like to be honest (strong, loving, generous, kind, and so forth).  The cycle of positive judgements draws your perception into an upward spiral to higher levels of being.  The more you perceive the positive attributes in others, the more they become manifest in your own being.  This leads to inspiration from a perception of being good to being better.  This is the theme of epic novels and the seed of great civilizations.

     We find that the state of our heart is eventually where we find ourselves and others.  In the upward trend, our reality, in time, becomes glorious, and the horrors fade away.  Our reality manifests itself in truth and we (and those that stay around us) eventually become the best beings possible.

     I love the truth.  It appears that it is true that we will eventually be judged in the same manner that we judge others because our judgements will manifest the desires of our own heart, both for ourselves and others.  It might really be that simple.

     In the middle of the tumult of opinion and war of words from those that we have placed our trust to maintain our homeland and country, I wish to write to you the feelings of my heart.  I remember the days where my love, respect, and devotion to you, my country, were well deserved.  I grew up in an environment where truth and honor were cherished.  I felt my country to be my loving compassionate father and mother, who let the burning desires of my heart flourish, a place of safety, of unity, of faith in the future, in tolerance, in love, in respect, in admiration of inspiring principles of truth and honor.  I am grateful for my country for having instilled into me these principles and having shown me the fruits of such a union.  We are called the United States of America and this is our true banner and moral compass.  I felt we were an example to the world of what unity and true purpose could be like among diverse cultures and people.

    The price we paid in blood for this unity is great.  In our history, we spilled our precious blood to defend this unity here on the North American continent to assure freedom from slavery to one another.  Our Civil War spilled more of our blood than all other wars combined, it was spilled on our land and taught us a great lesson.  The belief that we be judged not for the color of our skin, or even the color of our political party, but for the content of our character, as so well expressed by Martin Luther King who desired his children to be able to play in the streets with mine; we honor his thoughts today with a national holiday.  We have proven that we were willing to pay the price for such a resolution.  Such was the nature of our upbringing and the hope for our future.

    As I feel the father and mother of my homeland have taught me such noble principles while under their care, now I look on with a sense of dread as the core leadership of my country squabble, like two parents seeking a divorce.  I am sure that many of the children of our nation feel the same.   Many of us have experienced the pains of divorce between those we loved and appreciated.  The markings are familiar and clear.  Between warring parents, lies are fabricated, characters defamed, distrust and dishonor heaped upon each other, faults amplified, and arguments brought before the children that are intended to polarize and break hearts as loyalties are tested and the constant onslaught of divisive opinions expressed.  If the parents are lost in such a contest, the children of such a union are torn with heart-wrenching decisions of who to believe, and great loss of security, often with impassioned pleas to their parents to mend their differences and let our family return to the way it was before.

    In the past weeks, this war of opinions has left the halls of our house open to be raped and pillaged by shirtless barbarians, whose intent and purpose was made abundantly clear.  Let us show the strength to get such rabble out of our house and remember again the purpose and dignity of our country.  In the end, the truth will always prevail; the lies and accusations will fade away like frost to the light of day.  I ask us all, “Where will we stand when this contest is over?”  My hope is that we will stand on the principles upon which our union is based and forgive those, our brothers, with whom we have worked, sweated, and bled to make our country free from such barbarity.  Let what we have learned lead our firm resolve to a truly greater United States of America.

     Recently, possibly because I have not been so happy with some of the events happening in the world, I have wondered what I would do if I had absolute power over everything in the universe, if I could change anything I wanted.  What would I do if I magically had absolute control over everything?  It is a fun thing to think about.  I am a PhD physicist and have loved science and truth from my youth, so I realized that to have absolute power, I would have to break a few of the laws of nature: wave my hand and viruses disappear, for example, or tap my staff on the ground and political differences would fade away.

      Then my logical mind spoiled my fun.  Suppose I had the power to change even the weakest force of nature, suppose I could suspend gravity, even for a second.  I know from my knowledge of physical laws that the enormous pressures inside the earth and stars, unchecked by gravity, would cause everything to blow apart.  Even if I only made gravity disappear for a second, devastation would surround me as everything on the surface of the earth would break apart while the earth surged outward, eight minutes later, the sun’s flare would consume the earth.  The destruction of the whole cosmos would follow.   The planets and all matter would veer from their appointed course.  Even with all this power, I don’t believe that I would have the knowledge I would need to to fix everything I caused, or even to survive the consequences of my actions.  Oops.

      As I gaze out my window and see the colors of the leaves changing on the trees, with the beautiful sunset in the distance, maybe everything is just as it should be.  I am content to let the laws of the universe be as they are.  What power do I have, what can I choose to do?  I have the power to raise my arm and move my fingers over my keyboard.  That is an incredible power, to move my body and mind according to my choosing.  Even if that is the only power I have, maybe I can still change the world.  Come to think of it, with my knowledge of physics and biology, I can choose to do quite a few things.

     With my knowledge of atomic and nuclear physics, for example, I have enough knowledge to make a nuclear bomb, if I had enough of the necessary materials.  With my knowledge of nanotechnology, I could make a bomb out of available materials that would explode with enough energy to cause the same destruction (nanoparticles oxidize very fast).  How about microwaves that would kill anything living instantly?  As I think about it, it is a good that great scientists are not motivated by evil intentions because with their knowledge they could readily build technologies that could destroy everything.  Luckily, the best minds in science are motivated by much better intentions.  True motivation to gain knowledge almost always drives us to a greater purpose.

     I have seen, with the help of an electron microscope, nanoparticles that are just the right size and shape to stick to viruses and stop them from replicating.  I have spent many years working on a way to make such nanoparticles inexpensively on a mass scale, my intentions were noble.   So now, even without breaking the laws of nature or using magic, I have the power to safely slow down viral replication enough so that the immune system has a chance to win.  This is a powerful tool that can be used to save lives.  Other scientists also have come up with effective technologies in their own sphere.

    With another technology In my sphere of knowledge, I have helped develop a set of redox-generated reactive oxygen molecules (the same one’s that the immune system uses) that can kill microbes on contact but are perfectly safe to put on, in, and around any type of human living tissue.  I have held a mouse in my hand that was injected with huge amounts (20% of the blood volume) of a specific type of this redox compound and the mouse was very much alive, aware and playful afterwards.  The technicians had a hard time catching these energetic little mice to take observations.  Years of studies have proven absolute safety for this compound inside and outside the body.

      If we have such high-potential, safe and effective technologies, why do we not leverage them for good?  Doesn’t it sound like such technologies could be key players in the fight against infectious organisms that are causing so much devastation and misery for so many of us?  These technologies work with the laws of nature, they enhance our natural immune response, they are perfectly safe, available and ready to go right now.  Along with me, hundreds of other scientists have seen them.  They exist.  They work.  Studies and science have proven them out for many years now.  So it just might be that having the power to move my body and exercise my mind is enough.  We might not need magic or to break the laws of nature after all.  We can work in harmony with the law of nature.  Maybe what we need is inside us already to be released by our collective mind, the unity of our community.

How much does an anti-viral suit cost? Most of it can be made from a plastic tarp and duct tape. The mask and filter would be the most expensive part. I could not keep myself from doing the math. The United States economic stimulus package of 2 Trillion Dollars, that comes to more than $7800 dollars for each of the 258 Million workers in the country. For much less, I bet you could find quite a few manufacturers willing to make millions of the needed masks and filters.

In a few weeks, the suit would come in the mail, you put it on and get back to work — no trashed economy, no terrorizing the globe, just the inconvenience of wearing an uncomfortable suit for a while.

At this point we need a real solution, even this sounds more reasonable to me than what we are doing.

     Coming forward to protect yourself, your family and neighbors in a time of crisis is considered noble and right.  On the other hand, putting others at risk by selfish behavior is considered unwarranted and wrong.  Most people intuitively understand this.  But did you know that your positive and negative beliefs, emotions and behaviors strongly affect the efficiency of your immune system?

      For over 200 years, every serious scientific study to determine whether a medication works or not has involved a placebo.  A placebo is something you believe will cure you, but really has no curative power of itself.  In almost all studies, a placebo works much better than no treatment at all, and often works even better than the medication that is being studied.  Medical professionals, without a doubt, have long proven that beliefs and attitudes strengthen your immune system and heal your body.  In this post we look at the science of how the human mind works and reduce it all down to 5 universal Laws of Mental/Emotional Health.

5 Laws of Mental/Emotional Health

1. Belief/Attitude – Your subconscious mind is working 24 hours a day to make sure that what you believe to be true will become reality in your life.  If you really believe that you are the world’s greatest basketball player, then not only will you be highly motivated to prove it, but as you act, your mind and body will learn the moves to reinforce your beliefs.  The power that belief has over your body is almost unbelievable, even on the cellular level hormones, messengers, even DNA expression is affected.  Because the mind is so powerful, positive affirmations will always build you up and lies will always destroy you.  The greatest emotional stress you can experience is when your words or behavior do not reflect your real beliefs, such stress is physically evident (like a lie detector).  Your attitude is the manifestation of your beliefs.  To be strong (even your immune system), follow this advice: In all you say and do, to your own self be true.
2. Learning – Since you are the only person that can ultimately determine your beliefs (and your mental/emotional health) learning truth is about the only way to really make a difference.  Remain curious, fascinated, excited about new ideas.  As you learn, you form your beliefs.  As we have learned, your mind makes your beliefs real in your life (including your health).
3. Choice – You, and only you, can choose what you believe.  You are responsible for your beliefs and resulting actions.  The consequences of your actions cannot always be determined but choosing what you feel is right always wins.  The power of choice is a great gift.  True freedom is experienced even in the worst of circumstances, even when it feels like everything else has been taken away, for those who realize that they can choose what they believe and how they act despite all impinging circumstances.  Strong mental and emotional health ensues for those who choose to follow their beliefs.
4. Balance – Balance is also a central principle of life.  All of your cells strive to maintain chemical balance.  When something living is knocked out of balance, it will always attempt to come back into balance.  This is how you can tell if something is alive, whether it be a cell, an organ, an organism, a person, a society, an economy, an ecology, a corporation.  If something gets out of balance (checkbook, excess or deficiency of one thing or another), a living organism will strive to bring it back into balance.  Balance is certainly a sign of strong mental emotional health.
5. Action – All our beliefs, desires, wants, needs, imbalances all will lead to action.  If we choose our beliefs wisely then our actions will be to the benefit of everyone around us.  If we choose poorly, it will lead to the destruction of those around us.  If we desire to be strong and healthy mentally and emotionally, it is our choice.  And as our mind so powerfully controls our body, we will also be strong in physical health.  Oh, be wise and live!

As more scientific evidence pours in on how the mind works, the above laws become more and more evident.  We follow the laws and we grow mentally strong.  Mental strength determines everything.  I have found personally that as the mind grows strong, so does the body and our ability to act.  We have the strength to draw a circle big enough to include everyone.  What a wonderful thought!

     In these modern times, strengthening our immune system requires some knowledge of how our cells work.  There are things we can do to make our cells (including the immune system) to work optimally.  The more I study the incredible science of how cells work, the more I realize how much they work like machines; oxygen, water, molecular supplies, signals go into the cells and energy, productive activity, supplies and signals come out.  Just like a car engine, if we want cells to be powerful and work optimally every time, we do need to understand how to supply them with what they need to keep running and to maintain them in great condition.  We only need to know the basics, just like learning how to maintain our car engine by changing the oil, fill the coolant, inflating the tires, etc.  This post is the first part on a brief maintenance manual for your immune cells.

The 5 Laws of Physical Health

1) Cells need Oxygen – Much of this is handled by nature; babies breathe perfectly, they breathe deeply expanding their lungs into their abdomen (not by heaving their chests).  Put your hand on your stomach, breathe deeply pushing against your hand, if you practice this often, you can learn to breathe like you were designed to.  Yoga, breathing meditation, and other techniques can help us.  These techniques can save our lives when we are in respiratory distress.  Instead of panicking with small shallow heaving breaths, work through the abdomen to pull the air deep into our lungs.  Expel the air evenly, expelling air and built-up fluids, pause and repeat.  Finding an environment with clean fresh air, free of pollution, mold or toxins (bad smells) is also critical.  Cleaning house, or filtering air can be helpful.

2) Cells need Natural Water – Natural water has the same balance of electrolytes and minerals and biological materials that exist in a pure mountain stream.  This kind of water is absorbed almost instantly into our blood, increasing our blood volume, infusing into and lubricating our joints, muscles and tissues, cleaning the garbage out of our brain and organs.  Since natural water is difficult to find, we can get something close every morning by filling 2 liter-sized bottles with filtered water, putting in a pinch or two of good sea salt and 10 drops of lemon into each bottle.  This water will be absorbed quickly and can decrease hunger, headaches, moodiness, mental cloudiness, fatigue.  Hydrate and “soak” our organs every morning by drinking one half a bottle (1/2 liter) before doing anything else.  The science behind hydration is well established, you can google it.  Besides natural water will kill and wash down viruses.

3) Cells need Micronutrients – Micronutrients are the critical molecular supplies and materials pumped through our blood flow to all our cells.  Micronutrients are “cell nutrients”.  There are only about 40 different types of micronutrient molecules needed by our cells.  Here is a list of some of them: Vitamin, A, B6, B12, C, D, E, K, Calcium, Chloride, Copper, Iodide, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Selenium, Zinc, Linolenic acid (DHA) Lysine, Valine, Choline, and so forth.  There are great sources of information on Micronutrients.  Google “Micronutrients Bruce Ames” or go to the Linus Pauling Institute (https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/) and click on the Micronutrient Info tab.  Micronutrients are found in plants and have vibrant colors: greens, yellows, reds, purples, oranges.  The more color in vegetables, the more micronutrients they have.  Buy a bunch of these veggies, learn how to make delicious salads and fill half your plate with it every meal.  Even fussy kids can learn to eat them.  How many micronutrients have you eaten lately?

4) Cells need Exercise – Use them or lose them.  Your body will get rid of cells that are not needed.  If you don’t move, your muscles cells will die off and disappear.  If you are not challenging your body (and cells) they simply will go away.  This applies to all cells, brain cells, muscle cells.  Even your immune cells will get lazy and inefficient if they are not challenged from time to time.  Going outdoors, smelling the soil and plants, putting your hands in the soil, gardening.  This is what we are designed to do.  Besides, as you move, fluids are efficiently pumped throughout your body (blood, lymph, spinal and brain fluids, joints, fascia, muscles).  Do you want to lose fat?  Build muscle, as you do so the fat will disappear, and your body will rise to the challenge.  This is the way it works.

5) Cells need Restoration Cycles – Deep Sleep provides time for your cells to go through their repair cycles.  The immune system and repair systems of the body are many times more effective during sleep than when you are awake.  It is not enough to just sit back and relax and entertain ourselves.  We must get into the deep sleep cycles where our body is programmed to shut down and start the repair cycles.  Sleep science (yes there is such a thing) has proven that 7 ½ hours of sleep per day are optimal, anything less or more than this and the body cannot efficiently function.  Sorry folks, there is no substitute for sleep.  If you are sick, follow the sage old advice.  Go to bed and get some sleep.  This is much more effective than any drug could be.

These are the 5 Basic Laws of Physical Health.  If we are not obeying these laws, we cannot have optimal health.  These laws are as binding to health as gravity is binding in the physical world.  These laws govern the function and strengthen all our cells, including the immune system.  They are the Basics.  Before we start going into any more detail on how cells work, we must at least learn to obey these laws.  There are also Laws governing Mental and Emotional Health.  I will cover these in the next post.  I desire that all receive them, especially at moment in history.  The best to you all.

     There is only one thing we know that can really fight and win the battle with a virus: it is our own immune system.  Vaccines can train the immune system how to recognize viruses, but the immune system must still win the fight.  The following is a basic tutorial on how the immune system works on a cellular level to protect us and preserve our life.

     How does the immune system work?

Our big heavily armed immune cells circulate mostly through our blood, rolling along inside blood vessels, looking for the signals of trouble from surrounding cells.  When they receive these distress signals, they quickly mobilize, moving and squeezing through cells and tissues until they arrive at the place of distress.  There are two types of communication systems that immune cells use so they know what to do.

(1) The innate immune system uses Redox Signals coming from damaged, oxidatively-stressed cells and the subsequently activated cytokines (the distress signals) to locate where the damaged cells are (we see this as tissues becoming inflamed and red).

(2) The adaptive immune system keeps a list that identifies the “bad guys”.  When they identify a “bad guy” they call in the heavy artillery to fight and kill the bad guys and clean up the damaged cells.  Often millions of cells must be damaged before a significant immune response happens and the bad guys are successfully identified.

    How do the immune cells kill viruses?

The “big gun” that the immune cells use will kill almost anything is called the “oxidative burst”, made from a special combination of the same redox signaling molecules that are used to send the distress signal (isn’t life incredible).  For those technically savvy, these redox signaling molecules include Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2), Hypochlorous  Acid (HOCl), Superoxide (O2*-), and other hypochlorite ions and reactive oxygen species (ROS).  In the right combination, these can be either anti-inflammatory (passing along signals) or fatal and inflammatory (killing cells and viruses).  The chemical redox balance is what makes the difference.  Hydroxychloroquine, announced by Trump to kill the Coronavirus, uses such oxidative methods.  Chloroquine Phosphate was shown to be somewhat successful during the SARS-2 outbreak last decade.  The immune cells, however, have the best weapons and are trained on how to use these “big guns”.  If they get it wrong, they can start destroying the good cells and bacteria or start a cytokine storm (see below).

    What does our immune system need to optimally destroy viruses?

Basic supplies needed by our immune cells to be effective are simply found in the micronutrients we eat found mostly in vegetables and fruits.  These include magnesium, zinc, selenium, copper, Vitamins A, B12, C, D3, and others.  Also amino acids in proteins are needed to build and repair damaged cells.  Folates (in veggies) are also needed to build DNA and nervous communications.  We cannot understate the importance of these nutrients, nothing can substitute for them!!!   To get them, go to your produce aisle and pick out everything that looks lush and colorful (greens, oranges, reds, purples).  Learn how to prepare them into delicious raw salads or fixings (or make smoothies).  Better yet, learn how to grow them!  The perfect blend of micronutrients and pre- and pro-biotics are found in fresh raw garden vegetables (grown in good soil).  Without them, your immune system army will not have the supplies they need to win.  Lots of Vitamin C and bitter herbs is very helpful to battle viruses.  Good home-made soups are wonderful and they even help wash the viruses out of our throats!

     What weakens our immune system?

During a viral invasion, our immune system must be armed to kill literally trillions of viruses.  Any weakness in our defenses can spell lots of pain and distress to our organs and tissues.  In order to win, we should avoid things that would weaken our defenses.  Besides lack of nutrient supplies, steroids, antihistamines, many pain killers, cold medicine, and some drugs can seriously weaken immune response and slow your recovery.  It is very wise to avoid such unless absolutely necessary to reduce swelling.  Overabundant carbohydrates and sugary foods raise blood sugar, though this provides energy, too much of it causes inflammation and distress to the blood vessels, that can confuse immune cell signaling, and/or can cause the immune system to overreact.  It is dangerous to distract or overstimulate the immune system.

     What is a cytokine storm?

The distress signals, cytokines, help the immune cells recognize where they should go.  If the immune system gets overly stimulated, it can start to harm healthy cells, create excess distress signals (oxidative stress), these signals in turn create more cytokines, which call in stronger immune response, and the whole thing escalates into an unneeded and miserable full scale attack.  Balanced redox signaling is required to clear things up.  Sometimes immune suppressors may be employed by health professionals to slow down the escalation to quell the cytokine cascade.  Serious allergic reactions often involve cytokine storms.

     How does a virus work?

Viruses are little packets of genetic material (viral RNA) that can attach to cells and be injected into the cell, where they are converted to DNA and grafted into our DNA coding.  When this viral DNA coding is executed (expressed) by the cell, it creates more of the viruses that can infect other cells.  Virus packets have different shapes.  The Coronavirus, for example, looks like a little ball with spikes coming out (like a crown).  At the end of the spikes are the molecular machinery used to attach (fuse) to cell receptors and inject the genetic material into the cells.  When a cell is infected and activated, it can produce many millions of copies of the same virus.  These viruses fill and rupture the cell, sending millions of viruses out that can then infect other cells.

The immune system detects the distress signals from the cells and called in.  If immune cells can identify the viruses, the adaptive immune system will then work to destroy them.  There are safe nanoparticles of just the right shape and size that might be able to attach to the fusion points of some viruses, like the HIV-1 virus that can be used to block the injection machinery from fusing to cells.  Nanoparticle solutions, however, are still in testing.

     Can my immune system kill the Coronavirus?

YES.  The immune system is really the only thing that will be able to kill the virus once it is inside us.  We need to have a fully-functioning immune system to win!  Older people have slower immune systems and thus are more susceptible to more serious consequences.  If you are older or have had health problems, it would be very wise to take the advice from the post to heart, I wrote it so you know that we can win.  Education about what we are dealing with is critical.

We can and will beat this virus, as we have done throughout all history. Having a strong immune system is the key!