This article is dedicated to supporting people and the community in these times of uncertainty with the recent pandemic of COVID-19 or Corona Virus. Below you will find updates and recommendations from L’Alchimiste with links to various sources. Please check these pages for updates regularly and note the dates of the updates to ensure they are relevant to current times.
Note that L’Alchimiste continues to offer naturopathy and health support services during this time. And in times of more severe restrictions, services are not discontinued but rather are offered especially in the form of phone and on-line naturopathy services as well as postage of supplements and products. Acute consults are also available for support. During these uncertain times and with the current updates for NSW for physical distancing, and the quarantine being effective in a few days, this physical isolation will extend to most non-essential services in our community to support with flattening the curve of affected people and hence and assisting the medical system to handle the caseloads.
With this required physical isolation, L’Alchimiste will continue to maintain the apothecary (shop front) open as much as possible and we are also available by phone. We will continue to offer care and services to our clients (both Naturopathy and Physiotherapy) via remote health consults either by phone or online consults, and in-person consults where possible. Contact Kate Greenaway for Physiotherapy support. Contact: Henrietta Chang for Naturopathy and Nutrition support, and to purchase vitamins and supplements.
Note that Henrietta is also offering shorter, one-off Naturopathy consults for support with simple cases at a lower cost than a full consult.
Furthermore, with so much information around COVID-19, we have felt to put together some simple and practical suggestions you can do to take care of yourselves and your loved ones. L’Alchimiste is preparing some articles and suggestions for support but in the interim, Gould’s Pharmacy in Tasmania, have made a head start on this about 1 week ago and have really nailed it with simple things you can do with keeping the ingredients simple and practical in terms of access and cost, and though there is no evidence of direct effectiveness against the COVID-19 Virus, they certainly have the potential to support your general health as well as your immunity. So here is an adapted version of their list of suggestions (you can check out the links too):
Gargle and drink GREEN TEA. Consuming green tea, in particular, gargling it, has been shown to reduce the risk of contracting influenza and the common cold. The tannins in green tea have been shown to have broad antiviral effects topically. In one study, residents in an aged care facility gargling the equivalent of ½ cup of green tea three times daily were more than 15 times less likely (OR 15.7) to catch the flu.
Take a Vitamin D supplement. Living in less sunny areas or getting less sun is known to increase our risk of having low vitamin D. A number of studies have shown that taking vitamin D, particularly in people who are vitamin D deficient, reduces the chances of developing acute respiratory infections including influenza. Most studies reviewed used adult doses ranging from 2000IU to 4000IU a day, which is known to be safe to take long term even in the absence of deficiency.
Take probiotics daily. Taking a probiotic supplement has been shown to reduce the risk of developing an upper respiratory tract infection. You can consume probiotics through foods such as probiotic yogurt or if you would prefer to take a supplement, talk to a naturopath about the most ideal one for your situation.
Eat plenty of raw crushed GARLIC. We don’t care if you stink, we can all stink together! Garlic is one of nature’s best antimicrobials, and it is quite amazing in that it appears to be selective in its action – it doesn’t wipe out your good bacteria. Local organic garlic is best if you can access it, but don’t worry if you can’t – eat what you can find. Ensure you are eating raw garlic according to your own tolerance as not everyone can stomach it. We find that adding crushed garlic to a meal just before consuming it or having it with avocado on wholesome bread, improves tolerability.
Keep any medicines you regularly use in stock and within date. This includes pharmaceuticals (check your scripts are also in date), herbal remedies and nutritional supplements. At L’Alchimiste, we have taken measures to ensure we have enough immune and respiratory herbs in stock to get through the winter season, and while we encourage you to be prepared, we emphatically ask that you don’t stockpile herbs so that we can continue to serve the community through the winter period.
Keep your home above 20°C. Having a cold home reduces respiratory resilience and increases susceptibility to and mortality from respiratory tract infections. This is especially important for people who are elderly, asthmatic or have other chronic/recurrent respiratory conditions.
Eat a healthy well-balanced diet. Eat an abundance of plant foods, high antioxidant foods (especially berries, kiwifruit and purple grapes), fresh local fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and plenty of legumes. These help to feed your beneficial gut bacteria, which will assist you with immune resilience. They also ensure you have a healthy intake of vitamin C along with other nutrients important for immune health.
Avoid drinking alcohol. Drinking is bad for your gut flora, and also impairs immune function and increases the severity of respiratory tract infections.
If you smoke, action a quit plan. Contact NSW Quitline 13 7848 (13 QUIT) and iCanQuit website for support.
Get enough sleep, maintain a healthy exercise regime, and try to keep stress levels in check. We understand that these things can be easier said than done, but all three of these are integral to your immune system working well. So take the opportunities that present to take care of yourself.
If you do get sick, don’t panic, but please minimise your contact with other people, and follow the guidelines about self-isolation.
Self-isolation is recommended if …
● You have returned from or transited through any high-risk countries within the last 14 days. (It appears prudent to extend this to moderate risk countries also.) At the time of writing this post (12th March 2020), the following countries are considered high and moderate risk: Mainland China; Iran; Italy; South Korea; Cambodia; Hong Kong; Indonesia; Japan; Singapore and Thailand. It appears that the USA may soon be classed as moderate risk also. ● You have been in close contact with anyone who has recently transited through these countries. ● You have been in contact with anyone who has confirmed coronavirus or is suspected to be at risk of being exposed to the virus. ● You have recently returned from anywhere overseas and have even mild cold or flu symptoms.
***In all of these cases you should call the Coronavirus hotline on 1800 020 080 nationally (in Australia) to clarify your next step.