Germ Theory and how we think about illness

Before I share some tips about health, I would just like to highlight some really important knowledge about our immune systems, and what we are taught about diseases, based on the work of Louis Pasteur (b. 1822) and Antoine Bechamp (b. 1816).

Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist, and is the father of “pasteurisation” - using heat to destroy germs. He is credited with having come up with Germ Theory, which forms the basis of how we deal with germs, but actually he a) wasn’t the original proponent of this theory, it was Plenciz in 1762, over 100 years. before Louis Pasteur was born, and b) it isn’t entirely accurate.

Germ Theory is based on the idea that diseases are caused by an external microbe - so to not get sick, we have to avoid those germs, or kill them. Which seems to make sense, until you understand the work of Bechamp.

Antoine Bechamp was another French scientist who found that microbes (germs) are always there, but not everyone gets sick. This is true. We are surrounded by germs all the time - the herpes virus, the streptococci family of bacteria, MRSA, all sorts of bugs, but we aren’t all sick from them. Also, we have friends and loved ones who fall sick from colds and flu and other bugs, but we don’t always get sick ourselves. Bechamp looked at why.

He said that this was about the soil. He said if we (the soil) were healthy, then germs don’t make us sick. So if we make ourselves healthy, through nutrition, water, housing, physical living conditions, toxins, sanitation, and we balance our emotional, physical and mental health, and have time for relaxation, then we have a healthy soil (think healthy immune system) and can withstand the germs around us more easily. In fact, it was the introduction of sanitation and better housing that caused a huge decline in diseases that were once common.

Towards the end of his life, Louis Pasteur conceded that Bechamp was right, and that his Germ Theory wasn’t correct, but not until after he had also plagiarised some of Bechamp’s work!

What does this mean?

The Coronavirus, like any virus or germ, can only make us sick if our immune systems are run down. Coming into contact with the virus isn’t on it’s own going to make you ill - but if your immune system is struggling at all, then it could. So the best things all of us can do is to make sure our immune systems are as strong as they can be.

Strengthening your immune system

1. Have a think about your diet, and how you can use your diet to create as strong a immune system as you can. There are 4 things I would recommend:

a) Go organic, especially if you eat meat or dairy. Non-organic meat contains antibiotics, growth hormones and GMOs. Antibiotics destroy healthy gut bacteria. Around 80% of our immune health is dependent on a healthy gut, and 80% of our serotonin production (which helps us feel happy) happens in the gut - and needs healthy gut bacteria in order to be produced. Our liver also has to process toxins out of the body, so having to process these out of the body means the liver has to work hard. So every time you eat non-organic meat or dairy, antibiotics may be affecting your gut health, and your liver has to work harder. Whilst antibiotics may be genuinely necessary for you at some point in your life, getting these from food isn’t going to help your body, or your immune system, which you need to keep strong and healthy now. If you can go organic with everything else, then great - a pesticide free body is one that is stronger.

b) Eat lots of organic fresh fruit and veg - try an organic green smoothie a day, and help your way to health.

c) Avoid foods with bleach in them. Bleach in food (and chlorine in swimming pools), when we swallow it or eat it, can damage the good bacteria in our gut. This includes bleach / ammonia in bleached white bread (eg burger buns), and bags of salad, and pre-cut boxes of fruit and salads that are not organic - these are all washed in bleach. Meat imported from the US is usually washed in bleach as well. So make sure your salads are organic, as well as your meat. And try using ozone sterilised pools for swimming if you can.

d) Cut out cane sugar. Some research suggests that the immune system can be weakened for up to 5 hours after we consume it. It’s added to everything - because it’s 5x more addictive than cocaine, so it means starting to read the ingredients lists of what you buy. There are now great alternatives using coconut sugar, dates and agave that don’t suppress the immune system in the same way.

1. Look at what supplements you might need. Your immune system needs Zinc, Vitamin C, Vitamin D3 and selenium to function well, so look at getting these from a well made food source supplement (as opposed to a chemical supplement), or taking a good general all round supplement that includes these vitamins and minerals. I particularly like the Terra Nova brand - they use foods as fillers that compliment the vitamins and minerals, to help your body utilise the nutrients more easily, instead of cheap fillers that many companies use. And most of the foods are grown on a biodynamic organic farm, started by a former NASA rocket scientist who uses the same freeze-drying process to capture all the nutrients in ways that are done so astronauts can have nutritious meals in space. Terra Nova also produce a wonderful Life Drink, filled with superfoods, probiotics, a prebiotic, health-promoting fungi and digestive enzymes, which is an ideal way to boost the health of your body. (I am not paid commission by them, or anyone else btw, I just genuinely love what they do!)

2. Support your gut health - it’s absolutely crucial for our health. I mention the Life Drink which contains probiotics, but do look at the balance of your gut health. Many people have an out of balance microbiome, and some people get their microbiome analysed. If you have results that show an imbalance, don’t try to deal with this yourself - do go and see a homeopath with experience in this area or a natural health practitioner, and if needs be your doctor.

3. Your liver balances your hormones, and processes toxins so help your liver out! Even if we aren’t massively boozy ourselves, our liver has to process a lot, from air pollution, to artificial chemicals in skincare, to pharmaceutical drugs, to additives in processed foods, to what’s in our water (the contraceptive pill and cocaine are in the top 5 ingredients in tap water!). A great supplement to take is Milk Thistle. It has been found to literally regenerate the liver, and is safe to take for long periods of time (although do check with your doctor if you are taking prescribed medication). Gingko Biloba can also be a great addition, because it helps to open the capillaries, so any toxins can leave the body more easily - again do check with your doctor if you are taking prescribed medication or are pregnant.

4. Move to using only 100% natural toiletries, cleaning products and make-up. Synthetic perfumes and ingredients in standard toiletries can affect hormones, and some have been linked with cancers, and using them can add to the work your liver and immune system have to do. So help your body and your immunity by making the switch, there are so many brilliant natural alternatives now, and I write more about all of this in my book Nature’s Medicine Code.

5. See a great natural health practitioner. I am biased as a homeopath, because I have seen great results in my own health and I see great results using it with patients, but you may be drawn to a naturopath, or herbalist or nutritionist, or a TCM practitioner, or an acupuncturist. Find someone you feel you can trust, and who you resonate with, and support your health with the knowledge and experience they can share with you.

6. Some people like to take Echinacea to boost the immune system. It’s a wonderful plant medicine. I always keep some Thyme tincture at home as well; it has antibacterial and antiviral properties, and can be useful for some lung or digestive issues, including lingering coughs. It has also been shown to have some effect against parasites. Do buy only good quality organic products, and do check whether you can take these if you are taking any prescribed medication.

7. We need “good bacteria”. Hand sanitisers kill good bacteria as well as pathogenic bacteria, which we need to make serotonin, and also to help keep the immune system strong. Also research has found that hand sanitisers can cause thyroid cancer. Wash hands with soap and water only if at all possible, and do not use antibacterial soaps or washing up liquid. If you have to use hand sanitiser, Neal’s Yard make a natural one. 

8. Finally, I know it’s easy to say in our busy lives, but do what you can to reduce stress in your life, which helps keep our immune systems strong. Rest more, maybe take up meditation and/or yoga or other activities that you find relaxing.

Homeopathic remedies

Homeopaths treat individuals, not diseases. We look at all of the presenting picture of a person’s health, and how an illness presents in them, and then prescribe according to those symptoms.

How one person presents with flu symptoms will be different to how another person presents, and so each person would be given a different remedy, specific to how their symptoms diffe

Remedies that may be indicated:

1. Arsenicum Album - the person may be very anxious about their health, and restless too. They might not want to be left alone because of their anxiety. Their fever may be very high, with lots of chills internally (they may even feel icy cold inside), but may be hot out the outside. They may have complete exhaustion. If they have a cough, it may alternate between loose and dry, and they may be exhausted after coughing. It may be worse at night, especially when lying down. The flu might move to the lungs.

2. Gelsenium - this is one of the most useful homeopathic remedies for flu symptoms. It is particularly indicated where, as well as fever, there is a feeling of weakness, tiredness, muscle weakness, dizziness or drowsiness. The person may just want to be left alone, and to be quiet. They might also have a sore throat, with pain going from the throat to the ear. If they have a cough, it might be dry and may be tickly.

3. Bryonia - temperature with external coldness and a dry cough, can have a hot head a red face. Person may want to be uncovered. Dry hacking cough, worse at night. Flu symptoms that can move to the chest, cough can become painful. The person may be extremely irritable, capricious, hard to please, and may just want to be left alone, and to lie completely still.

4. Eupatorium Perfoliatum - influenza where there are aches and pains deep in the bones, patient may be restless, anxious, and might not be able to keep still. They may feel very weak and may moan during chills. They may have abdominal pains. They may have a cough with their flu symptoms, a loose cough. The throat may be hoarse.

5. Baptisia Tinctoria - with this flu picture, individuals might be confused, bewildered, have an indifference to everything, may seem as though they are intoxicated. May have a very sore throat, difficulty swallowing anything other than liquids. Their high fever may come on suddenly with chills, pains and soreness all over their body.

6. Justicia Adhatoda - this remedy is made from the Malabar Nut, which Ayurvedic physicians call “the mother of physicians”, according to Robin Murphy’s Materia Medica (3rd edition). It is particularly indicated where, in addition to chills, there is a violent, spasmodic cough, a really runny nose, and fits of sneezing.

7. Phosphorus - if the flu symptoms might be moving to the lungs. There may also be a red raw sore throat, and the person might be sneezing a lot. The person may be anxious, restless, fidgety, and afraid of being on their own. They can be quite sensitive emotionally.

Unless prescribed by a homeopath, homeopathic remedies are usually bought over the counter at the 30c potency. For influenza, 200c is usually a better potency, because influenza is a disease with a high energy, and so needs higher potency remedies to match it. Remedies can be taken every 1-2 hours in really acute situations, but are usually taken 1-3 times a day. Reduce what you are taking as symptoms improve.

Remedies can be ordered from a homeopathic pharmacy. Usually a 4g or 8g bottle of remedies is sufficient. The most usual form of pillules is the No.6 size pillules. There are made from sucrose and are suitable for vegans. Soft tablets that dissolve in the mouth or hard tablets contain lactose.

For more comprehensive support for the health needs of you and your family, do find a personal or family homeopath to support you all.