Enhance Your Immunity Against Viral Disease. . - Book Corners - book review

Irene Alleger

Viral Immunity: A 10-Step Plan to Enhance Your Immunity Against Viral Disease Using Natural Medicines

by J.E. Williams, OMD

Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1125 Stoney Ridge Rd., Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 USA; 434-296-2772; hrpc@hrpub.com

Quality paperback, 2002, $19.95, 465pp.

"It seems every generation has had its viral epidemic: in [those] times it was polio, while the decades between 1980-2000 belonged to AIDS. Now, chronic hepatitis may prove to be the virus of our times, and the next after that may belong to stealth viruses, a new super-flu, a previously unknown virus, or the re-emergence of smallpox through an act of bioterrorism." Author J.E. Williams puts viruses in perspective, as the specter of a viral epidemic "looms over us A brief review of the history of infectious disease and modern viral illnesses gives the reader a better understanding of this microorganism. The author says although we have progressed greatly technologically, the more we "improve," the more vulnerable we become to other diseases, especially viruses.

The re-emergence of a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis; Escherichia coli in hamburgers; Lyme disease, etc. begs the question: are these "new" illnesses or are they diseases that have always existed and "only now are manifesting through a natural evolutionary process of which we are unaware?" The author of Viral Immunity has written a timely and important book for both the public and practitioners, as viral disease is proliferating at a rapid pace.

In Part 1, "Viruses, Immunity, and Evolution," the author puts forward the hypothesis that because of widespread immunological breakdown caused by the stress of modern living, environmental destruction and toxic chemical pollution, Nature is out of balance, allowing viral disease to proliferate. He says "Linked to the increasing incidence of emerging infections is a mutation in the microbe and/or a change in the immune status of the host...a number of environmental and ecological factors are implicated here, such as changes in agriculture and wildlife habitats, new dams and irrigation systems, large-scale cutting of tropical rain forests, increasing human population density, rapid mass-transport systems (such as airplanes) allowing for infected humans to move from one location to another, the large number of wars in the 20th century, and medical technology (transfusions, drug resistance, and immune-suppressing drugs.)" In other words, we have been too busy tidying up and improving our lot!

In "Viruses: Common and Exotic," viral infections from the common cold, flu, and gastroenteritis, to herpes, AIDS, and Hepatitis, and the exotics -- Ebola, Hantavirus, and Dengue -- are all examined. There is a comprehensive chart showing all the major, known illnesses caused by specific viruses, including their vector, mode of transmission, symptoms, and treatment and prevention.

In discussing the immune response to virus infection, the author proposes that an increasingly dysfunctional natural immunity combined with increasing virulence of infectious disease are simultaneous causes of the current health crisis. Another important hypothesis by this author is how fatigue is replacing inflammation and fever as the most predominant symptom of the new chronic diseases. The increasing prevalence of allergic disorders like asthma, atopic dermatitis, rhinitis, and sinusitis is also an indication of immune imbalance.

The over-treatment of the initial immune response of inflammation and fever, has, in the author's opinion, brought about this change, with fatigue now the leading symptom in many viral infections. According to Mark Swain, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Calgary in Edmonton, Canada, "The rigorous examination of fatigue as a symptom in viral hepatitis has only recently received scientific scrutiny." There are no specific medications in Western pharmacology to specifically treat fatigue, however, this is not the case in Chinese medicine.

In Part 2, "Ten Steps to Viral Immunity" this practitioner of Oriental medicine advises:

1. Build a strong immune foundation with an immune- enhancing lifestyle. Includes dietary suggestions, stress management, and supplements.

2. Defend and strengthen your immune system with Antioxidants and Oxidative therapies. Also includes medical oxygenation therapies.

3. Rejuvenate your immune system with Enzymes. This step tells you which phytonutrient-rich foods are the best for viral immunity and how to use enzymes to improve your health.

4. Renew your cells through Detoxification. Emphasizes the important role of natural medicine in cleansing the lymphatic system and the liver, both critical for viral immunity.

5. Restore your innate immune response and manage inflammation. How to use natural anti-inflammatory medicines to reduce tissue damage from inflammation caused by viral disease.

6. Boost your immunity with natural Immune-Enhancers. Explains how to use immunomodulators, including mushroom glucans, transfer factor, and lactoferrin.

7. Target viruses with natural Antiviral Alternatives. Nature's most effective antiviral medicines, including Herbals, Homeopathics, Olive Leaf Extract, Grapefruit Seed Extract.

8. Empower your viral immunity program with Chinese Medicines. Chinese herbal remedies are very effective for viral infections.

9. Optimize Immune Performance with Hormonal Balance. Hormones which are important for immune function include DHEA, thymic hormones, human growth hormone, and thyroid hormone.

10. Implement your viral Immunity Plan. Suggests lab tests, specific treatment recommendations.

Viral Immunity is the most comprehensive book on viral illness, treatment and prevention that I have seen, and an essential resource for both practitioners and patients. It's very readable, while explaining complex systems such as our immune system, and the world of viruses. The author says "We are on the verge of an immune crisis of unprecedented proportions. Our immune systems must attempt to catch up, if they can, with chemical toxins, novel microorganisms, and stress. What once were symbiotic organisms may now become lethal infections."

Postscript: On the day I finished writing this review there was a news report of a "worldwide warning" of a virulent and lethal pneumonia, called "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome." Epidemiologists are at a loss to identify the "bug" and there is no effective treatment.

COPYRIGHT 2003 The Townsend Letter Group
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group