Eating for Health™ Resilience and Recovery

© Dr. Ed Bauman, 2025

In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the CoVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. In May 2023, the WHO and former U.S. President Joe Biden declared an end to the pandemic. With a great deal of fear, and an array of medical and natural treatments, most of us survived. The elderly, infirm and those in condition of highest stress and pollution suffered the greatest prevalence of morbidity and mortality. Far too little attention was given to the role of nutrition and self-care to strengthen innate and adaptive immunity. It is wise to strengthen our nutrition, self-care practices and microbiome to deal with pandemics that threaten our health, economy, ecology, and social systems.

Eating for Health™ 2025

The basis of all evidence-based nutritionally sound food plans is to eat a well-rounded, nutrient-dense, chemical-free, whole food diet. The Bauman Eating for Health™ Model provides a unified food system consisting of beverages, colorful carbohydrates, booster food herbs, spices and condiments, quality protein and fats synergistically to build health. Other food models emphasize the value of one food category with a restriction of others. This reductionist approach is not only challenging to follow, but has diminishing returns over time, and certain valuable foods, such as complex carbohydrates or protein are limited.

Eating for Health™ encourages one to eat as much S.O.U.L. (seasonal, organic, unprocessed, and local) food as possible. It suggests limiting or eliminating refined sugar, gluten (wheat, rye, barley, and oat) flour and grains, additives, preservatives, pesticides, fungicides, food coloring, and genetically modified food. These substances with an occasional or single exposure are tolerated by a healthy person. But, when combined and experienced daily, are disturbing to a compromised neurological, metabolic, and hormonal and or immune system. Repeated exposure to food and chemical antigens contributes to both hyper- and hypo-immune conditions, making a person more vulnerable to and slower to recover from a viral infection.

Hydration may be more important than food, as dehydration is both a cause and result of a compromised immune system. Caffeine, sugar, and sugar substitutes (sports drinks and Coke Zero®) contribute to dehydration. As such, a liter of soda or several cups of coffee are not healthy fluids. Drink a half a cup of water or unsweetened tea per hour each day to be ideally hydrated. This is preferred to drink several cups at a time and then not hydrating again for several hours. Green tea is a more immune supporting beverage than coffee. For most, 8-12 ounces of coffee in the morning is acceptable. Thereafter, make a liter of bioflavonoid rich white or green tea, masala chai and/or herbal tea. Decaffeinated green and black teas are available for those with caffeine sensitivity.

Minimizing one’s intake of alcohol, drugs, tobacco, stimulants, Aspartame®, sweets, and treats are suggested. For many, these are the substances they reach for when stressed or overwhelmed. Eating for Health™ enables one to stay C.A.L.M. (calm and living in the moment) rather than overwhelmed by F.E.A.R. (future expectations about reality). Exercise, meditation, and creative arts are also wonderful wellness behaviors to practice dialing in daily with more inner space now available due to social distancing.

Key Foods and Combinations:

• Allium family of Vegetables: Onions, leeks, chives, scallions, and garlic
• Citrus Fruit: Lemon, orange, tangerine, lime etc. (fruit and peels). Beets and cooked greens (Nettles are #1)
• Fresh Orange Juice: Rich in vitamin c + quercetin, hesperidin and luteolin
• Root Vegetables: Carrots, celery, celery root, artichoke, and asparagus
• Cruciferous Vegetables with Shiitake Mushrooms: Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts
• Fruit: Pears (poached with ginger, honey, orange slices and a cinnamon stick)
• Homemade Tomato Sauce: On spaghetti squash or spiralized zucchini
• Blood Cleansing Fruit: Pomegranates or Pomegranate juice
• Nutrient Packed Foods: Nuts, seeds, and seaweed
• Lentil or Chicken Soup: With garlic, ginger, turmeric, curry, oregano, and thyme

Rest to Recover

Fatigue lowers our immunity and makes us more vulnerable to infection, injury, and chronic illness. It slows our recovery. A personal or small group self-healing retreat in a low-risk area is a great way to create viral protection and recovery rather than being the subject of a forced quarantine. Both are a withdrawal from the outside world, but with a different mindset.

Foundational Nutrients

Research is abundant that the following supplements, herbs, spices, essential oils, and remedies significantly decrease the frequency and severity of viral illness. Your diet should be checked first to see which of the following are most needed. It is advised to work with a certified nutrition consultant, naturopathic or integrative health provider to select the proper combination of nutrients and dosage that fits your age, health status, environmental exposures, and health condition.

• Zinc: 30-45 mg, 2 times per day
• Vitamin C: 500 mg, 3-5 times per day. Best forms are amla (from gooseberries) buffered, liposomal, or ester vitamin C.
• Vitamin D: 2000-5000 IU per day based upon health status and body weight.
• Probiotics: 50 billion units of a mixed flora product. These friendly bacteria, vital for good health, immunity, and digestion. They have been shown to decrease the number of upper respiratory infections significantly.
• Essential Fatty Acids: 2-3 grams EPA/DHA per day. EPA/DHA from fish or algae is essential for our brain, nerves, and immune system to work efficiently. Under stress, systems become inflamed.
• N-acetylcysteine (NAC): 300 mg, 2-3 times per day

Anti-Viral Protection for Anyone Over 60 or in Poor Health

• Liposomal Glutathione: 250 mg, 2 times per day
• Quercetin: a cell protective bioflavonoid, 500-1000 mg per day
• Vitamin A: 10,000 IU per day
• Selenium: 200 mcg, 2-3 times per day
• Melatonin: 2-5 mg before bed

Herbal Support for Affected Body Systems

It is advised to collaborate with a skilled herbalist or naturopathic physician to select the proper blend, dose, and duration for you given your age, exposures, and health condition.

Immune System

Select one or more of the following and take 2-4 times per day:

• Astragalus
• Eleuthero
• Garlic
• Licorice
• Medicinal mushrooms
• Propolis

Anti-Viral Herbs

For prevention and treatment of chronic or acute viral infection:

• Andrographis
• Lomatium
• Oregon Grape
• Osha Root
• Scutellaria Baicalensis
• Yarrow

Cool Inflammation, Lessen Pain, Regain Vitality

• Astragalus
• Boneset
• Cordyceps
• Huang Qin (Scutellaria baicalensis)
• Japanese Knotweed
• Kudzu
• Rhodiola
• Turmeric

Respiratory Support

• Elderberry
• Ginger
• Licorice
• Lobelia
• Marshmallow
• Mullein
• Thyme
• Wild Cherry

Lymphatic Support

• Cleavers
• Figwort
• Mullein
• Red root
• Spilanthes

Essential Oils

Add several drops of one or more into a diffuser, in a bath or rubbed onto the soles of your feet.

• Clove
• Eucalyptus
• Frankincense
• Grapefruit
• Lavender
• Lemon grass
• Tea tree
• Thyme

Conclusion

A virus or other pathogen gains a foothold into our cells via a chronically weak or compromised body system. As such, being a health warrior is far better than being a disease worrier. A vaccine does not insure total protection. Rather, it slows disease progression for one infected. Our best defense is staying away from crowds and toxic environments, and improving out Integrative Wellness Practices, which include:

• Eating for Health™
• Joyful Movement
• Mindfulness
• Healing Relationships
• Spiritual Practice

Our health is in our hands. It is ours to protect and improve. Listen and follow guidance from sane and reliable sources, including your own inner knowing to stay abreast of evidence-based research from allopathic, naturopathic, and integrative sources.

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