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As promised, this post is going to cover what supplements I’m taking for healing my reactivated Epstein Barr Virus and lifestyle changes I’ve made since the diagnosis.
Please note, this post is strictly what I’m doing to heal. What I share should not be followed in place of your own doctor’s advice or taken as any sort of medical advice. If you are struggling with reactivated Epstein-Barr virus symptoms, I encourage you to get in contact with a naturopath or functional practitioner to help you get the healing you need. Because supplementation is individual (as are calories and macros), I will not be sharing the amounts I take.
What is Epstein-Barr Virus?
Epstein Barr Virus is a herpes virus that is found in 90% of the population! That means most of us have it lying dormant in our bodies. Much like shingles can emerge later from a dormant chickenpox virus, the Epstein-Barr virus hides and then can emerge when times of stress or sickness are happening in your life. The virus is opportunistic and can inhibit your immune system, further lowering your ability to fight the virus as well as making you susceptible to other bugs.
I recommend the following youtube video by Dr. Berg, on Youtube for an overview of Epstein-Barr Virus.
How did I get reactivated Epstein-Barr Virus?
While now I’m focusing less on why this happened, looking back I do have a pretty good idea of what may have triggered the reactivation. In 2020 I became pregnant with my second baby. Besides the covid pandemic being a huge stressor, my pregnancy was not as easy as my first. I had severe sciatica that slowed me down dramatically. I could not workout like I did with my first pregnancy or even take walks like in my first pregnancy. I also had many medical appointments with multiple health threats to my baby such as: an issue with my placenta, a too big baby, and induction. The labor of my son was more difficult and a week after his birth I was sent via ambulance for surgery for a retained placenta. Needless to say, I was left with medical anxiety and trauma. The year following I believe I dealt with undiagnosed post-partum depression as well as anxiety with everything that on with the world at the time.
In the fall of 2021 I contracted Covid-19 and while I didn’t have respiratory issues, I had significant bloating and digestive issues. In March of 2022, I came down with vertigo and started getting recurrent vertigo going into 2023. My body was never able to get into working out as I was before pregnancy, so I didn’t have much of that stress outlet. My back, neck and hips were in quite a bit of pain postpartum any time I tried treadmill walking.
In 2023, my husband broke his leg and much of the household duties fell to me. At this time I began getting repeatedly sick with respiratory illnesses as well as digestive issues. I am of the belief that all these events led up to the reactivation of the virus.
My Current Supplements
After we found out Epstein-Barr was reactivated through a blood test, my functional practitioner recommended the following supplements:
Monolaurin. This is a supplement derived from coconut. The active chemical, lauric acid is a strong antiviral and antibacterial and is particularly helpful with herpes viruses.
L-Lysine. A natural amino acid which can be found in the herb, Lemon Balm. It is naturally known to fight the herpes virus.
NAC or (N-Acetyl-Cysteine). This amino acid is known for a myriad of health benefits including reducing inflammation during a viral infection and boosting your immune system.
Vitamin D. We all know that vitamin D plays a big role in our bodies for normal daily function. It is especially helpful during viral infections. It aids in keeping our immune system healthy.
Lifestyle Habits
While generally, I do try to keep my lifestyle in a healthy balance, I recognize I had neglected my sleep habits, my diet, and my exercise routine as all of this came into being. To help heal, I’m focusing on the following lifestyle habits:
Prioritizing Sleep. We know sleep is such an important factor in overall health. This is why I’m trying to get 7-8 hours of sleep minimum each night. That means, no more staying up until 11 like I was before…
Eating more fruits and vegetables. I just wasn’t getting as much as I should for antioxidants and minerals.
Sauna and cold therapies. We are privileged to have a sauna at home. In an ideal world, I would love to get in the sauna 3 times per week, but if I can get in at least 1 time per week, I’m happy. I also try finishing out my showers with 30 seconds of cold water therapy. The cold is known to stimulate your lymph system which is important in detoxing your body.
Lemon balm tea. As mentioned before, lemon balm is an herb that contains L-Lysine which is helpful in killing the herpes viruses. It also has a calming effect, so I try and drink a cup before bed.
Exercise…but not too much. Now this one is super hard for me. With my history of working out, I’ve always pushed hard. Knowing where the line is on how far I can go has been hard to learn. Now, about 6 months into the process, I’m finding I can workout a little more like I did in the past, but I definitely listen to how my body is feeling and don’t push it when it needs rest.
Stress management. Easier said than done, right? To combat stress, I’m trying to take it easy on myself, consume less caffeine (to reduce anxiety), and find ways to relax like taking a walk outside or spending time with my family and pets, and spending time on my hobbies.
A huge help in educating me about this virus has been Dr. Kasia Kines’ book, the Epstein-Barr Virus Solution. It is gold. It has everything you need to know about how to heal, what to avoid, and supplementation.
Here’s a link to the book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Vz7pK1
See you all in the next one!
~Tara