Antiviral General Regimen

Summary:  Use high dose vitamin C, oregano oil, olive leaf extract and echinacea.   Follow The Water Cure and use Colloidal Silver if necessary.

Echinacea should be used in high dose as soon as possible at the onset of an acute illness. Echinacea helps stop viruses from spreading by increasing the resistance of cells to virus penetration. It should be taken at triple recommended as soon as possible for the first day of the regimen. This would be 3 to 5g of the root or tops of a high quality product.  For echinacea extracts, use 3 to 5 times the recommended serving size. Herb Pharm makes a good liquid echinacea extract, but the best is Gaia Echinacea Supreme Extra Strength. A warning regarding this Gaia product. One of the hallmarks of a good echinacea extract product is it temporarily numbs the tongue. A few drops of Gaia Echinacea Supreme Extra Strength taken straight can numb the entire throat, making it feel constricted and uncomfortable. Use it with care until one is used to this sensation, or mix it with a good deal of water before use.

Oregano oils such as North American Herb and Spice Oreganol are prediluted with olive or other carrier oil in about a 1:4 ratio (oregano oil to carrier oil). This type is used at 10 to 15 drops mixed in some water, juice, or vitamin C water three times or more per day.  

Use Now Olive Leaf Extract, Gaia Olive Leaf, or other guaranteed potency extract as recommended up to double recommended. 

If an acute condition is not improved 90% within 48 hours, increase vitamin C to very high or ultra dose, use at least double recommended of the oregano oil and olive leaf extract, perform The Water Cure, and use Colloidal Silver if available (1 tsp of 10ppm mixed in a cup of water 8 times per day). For this purpose, either pure ascorbic acid (like Now Ascorbic Acid Powder) or sodium ascorbate forms of vitamin C may be used. If an acute viral illness is known to be very serious, such as a deadly strain of flu, start with the ultra high dose vitamin C immediately, as much as 1 teaspoon per hour.

Although not usually recommend for acute illness, astragalus is often used for flu and other viral illnesses. It appears to stimulate immunity at a deep level, and is probably effective to help prevent viral infections. It can be simpled.

The top antiviral supplements as recommended by some books include elderberry extract, zinc, St. John's wort, and astragalus. eRegimens does consider elderberry extract as a good antiviral supplement when large servings are used, such as one or two ounces at a time of the most popular elderberry preparation. At this cost, though, it is not as economical as other good antivirals such as olive leaf, oregano oil, and vitamin C.

Zinc is also a good antiviral, and very economical, but causes stomach cramps in many people. 15mg is 100% RDA, and enough to cause cramps in some people. It is the ingredient which most often causes this problem in multivitamins. It certainly is a good supplement to use in moderate amounts as included in a multivitamin or other low-dose form to keep the immune system functioning properly.

St. John's wort is most often used to fight depression and other mental conditions, but is also a good antiviral. It is most effective when using the purified extract of hypericin in IV form, but products which are standardized for hypericin are still useful, at recommended dose, for chronic or severe acute viral illness. It should be used only as directed and not long term. Long term use can cause sensitivity to sunlight. For depression, see the Depression regimen.