It's that time of year when the norovirus, aka stomach bug (but no, not stomach "flu"), is going around. And so is the advice on how to treat it. There are a lot of myths out there and there's actually some interesting research about how the norovirus HELPS our health, so let's talk about the facts.
First off, like bacteria and fungus, oral/fecal viruses like the norovirus can be present with no outward symptoms in some people and yet cause horrendous symptoms in others. This is because our gut health determines how we are affected by these things.
A gut with healthy flora and adequate stomach acid can have norovirus, E.coli, H.pylori, etc. and not even have any symptoms or have minimal symptoms. (This is the same as Lyme Disease. Click here for my post on that.)
Interestingly, research is showing that the norovirus actually HELPS a disturbed gut.
Yup.
The norovirus can help a gut damaged by antibiotics, vaccines, or other things that interfere with normal immune response.
Kenneth Cadwell, a virologist at New York University School of Medicine in New York City and his postdoc Elisabeth Kernbauer have now found that some noroviruses have a good side. Rodents with gut flora wiped out and thin villi (like that caused by antibiotics) were infected with norovirus. Surprisingly, this helped rebalance the immune cells and fatten the villi.
And there's more.
“In a follow-up experiment, the researchers treated normal laboratory mice with antibiotics for 2 weeks and then gave them a norovirus. The antibiotics had upset the balance of immune cells and damaged the gut lining, shrinking the villi, but as with the germ-free mice, the guts of these mice recovered with the help of the norovirus. Kernbauer and colleagues then performed the same experiment, but instead of adding the virus they replaced various bacteria knocked out by the antibiotics. Each bacterium helped restore some aspect of gut health, but not the full complement as did the virus.
In a final experiment, the team infected antibiotic-treated mice with a pathogen that causes weight loss, diarrhea, and damage to the gut wall. Treatment with the virus lessened those effects. The virus also helped protect mice against tissue damage from a toxic chemical. 1”
Isn't that interesting?!!
But we still want to minimize the symptoms and duration of norovirus!
So let's talk about ways to do that.
Grape Juice?
There's a tip floating around to drink a bunch of grape juice for treating the norovirus. According to the info, “there is something in grape juice that changes the pH in your stomach and prevents norovirus from multiplying.”
“So many things are wrong with this sentence, it’s hard to know where to start. For one thing, the pH of the stomach naturally fluctuates a lot: It can be as low as 1 (super acidic) and as high as 5 (more neutral) depending on what it’s doing. There’s no reason to think that an unknown “something” in grape juice affects the pH of the stomach in ways that are more drastic than that. (Another article that has made the rounds claims grape juice works its magic by making the stomach more alkaline, which is also funny, because grape juice is actually an acid with a pH of 3.38—if alkalinity is what you’re going for, there’d be a lot better things to drink, like say, water.) 2”
What about all the stories of it helping people?! There are many biological factors that we've discussed above that can cause the norovirus to cause great variance in the way this virus affects each person.
Besides, grape juice is incredibly high in sugar which can negatively affect white blood cell production and slow down immune function.
The best way to be ready and treat norovirus is to promote gut health!
Some of the best ways to support gut health include:
- Avoiding antibiotics
- Avoiding chlorine
- Reducing/eliminating refined & artificial sugars
- Consuming lacto-fermented foods/drinks (lacto-fermented sauerkraut & pickles, kombucha, beet kvass, etc.)
- Taking a probiotic daily (See Recommended Supplements here.)
Some of my homemade ferments--Lacto-fermented kimchi (Korean sauerkraut) and lacto-fermented dill pickles. Even just the liquid in these is so soothing to a rumbly gut!
Increasing intake of lacto-fermented liquids can help greatly during norovirus illness!
As always, a healthy gut goes a long way in supporting continued overall health!
A note about activated charcoal:
Some people use activated charcoal at the first signs of the stomach bug because it binds to toxins. It is important to note that it also binds to essential minerals and vitamins, especially iodine, so supplementation of those nutrients should be increased after using activated charcoal.
There is something else I've found to be very effective through research and personal use, but certain regulatory agencies do not allow me to discuss it publicly. Please feel free to contact me privately for that information.
Blessings of good health,
Sara Jo Poff
Natural Health Practitioner
REF:
1. http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/11/viruses-help-keep-gut-healthy