Groundhog CHRONIC

Introduction

As we age we acquire infections. My DNA is comprised 15% of retro virus. So is yours. I was inoculated with Salk polio vaccine between 1957 and 1966 so I will probably have simian virus 40, a known carcinogen. I am probably carrying the chickenpox, measles, mumps and rubella viruses because I suffered those as a child. I was also a bit spotty so proprionibacterium acnes may be a potential problem. At least 90% of us have been infected with Epstein Barr virus. I have been bitten by insects and ticks from all over the British Isles so I could also be carrying Lyme (borrelia), bartonella, babesia and perhaps others. I have been a cat owner and could well test positive for bartonella. I have suffered several fractures which have healed but I know within that scar tissue will be lurking some microbes – feed them some sugar and they will multiply and give me arthritis. I have had dental abscesses in the past and have one root filling which undoubtably will also harbour microbes. In the past, I have consumed a high carb diet which inevitably results in fermenting gut. On the good side, my puritanical upbringing means I have been free from STDs (thank you Mum!).

As you will have read in my book "The Infection Game - life is an arms race", we now know all these microbes have the potential to drive nasty diseases such as leukaemia, lymphoma, dementia, Parkinson’s, heart disease, auto-immunity, cancer and so on. I cannot eliminate them from my body, I have to live with them. I too am part of the Arms Race. Of course, this is a race I will (eventually) lose, but I will settle for losing it when I am 120. I am hoping that Groundhog Chronic will handicap my assailants and stack the odds in my favour.

So, as we age and/or we acquire stealth infections, we all need Groundhog Chronic. It is an extension of Groundhog Basic. Most will end up doing something between the two according to their health and history. But as you get older you have to work harder to stay well.

“Youth is wasted on the young”

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Diagram of how the Groundhogs 'work'

WHAT to do	WHY	My patients always ask me what I do. I am no paragon of virtue…..I may have to become one eventually!
The Paleo-Ketogenic diet – high fat, high fibre, very low carb. Probiotic foods like kefir and sauerkraut No dairy or grains. 2 meals a day. No snacking.	See my book My book - Paleo-Ketogenic: The Why and The How	Yes. I do the PK diet 95% of the time. Glass of cider at weekends! Other liberties if eating out or socialising. But my friends are all becoming PK adapted too!
Eat daily food within a 10 hour window of time…..	…so 14 hours a day when stomach is empty – this keeps the stomach acid and so decreases the chances of microbes invading. Maintains ketosis.	Nearly there……. breakfast at 8am, supper 6.30pm
Consider episodic fasting one day a week	This gives the gut a lovely rest and a chance to heal and repair	I do this some weeks. The trouble is I am greedy and love food!
A basic package of nutritional supplements – multi-vitamins, multi-minerals and 10,000iu vitamin D daily	A good multivitamin and Sunshine salt 1 tspn daily with food. A dessert spoon of hemp oil	Yes
Glutathione 250mgs daily Iodine 50mgs at night (Lugol's 15% 3 drops) in 1/3 glass water [Some think that glutathione is not well absorbed orally but my experience is that actually it is! Please see also - Randomized controlled trial of oral glutathione supplementation on body stores of glutathione]	We live in such a toxic world we are inevitably exposed. Glutathione and iodine are helpful detox molecules (some people do not tolerate iodine in high doses)	Yes
Vitamin C to 90% of bowel tolerance taken little and often through the day. Remember this will change with age, diet and circumstance. If ascorbic acid is too acid, mix 2 parts AA by weight with 1 part magnesium carbonate	With age, influenza becomes a major killer. With Groundhog you need never even get it!	Yes. I currently need 8 grams in 24 hours. BUT I never get colds or influenza.
Lugol’s iodine 15% 3 drops daily in water.	Swill round the mouth and swallow at bed time - this avoids taking Vitamin C and Iodine at the same time - vitamin C is a reducing agent, iodine is an oxidising agent. However, some people find that iodine is stimulating and may keep them awake at night - I think this is due to a DDD reaction (see Diet, Detox and Die-off Reactions Expect to get worse ). If you find that iodine is keeping you awake at night, then take it in the morning. The key thing is that Vitamin C and Iodine (taken by mouth) should be taken apart from each other - leave a gap of around 2 hours.	Yes
Make sure your First Aid box is stocked - see Groundhog ACUTE	So, you have all your ammo to hand to hit new symptoms hard and fast	Yes – even when I go away I take this – often to treat sickly others!
Sleep 8-9 hours between 10pm and 7am Regular power nap in the day	More in winter less in summer Good sleep is as vital as good diet	Yes
Exercise within limits. By this I mean you should feel fully recovered next day. If well enough, once a week push those limits, so you get your pulse up to 120 beats per min and all your muscles ache. It is never too late to start! BUT CFS/ME sufferers please see Exercise - the right sort in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome	No pain no gain. Muscle loss is part of ageing - exercise slows this right down Helps to physically dislodge microbes from their hiding places. I suspect massage works similarly	Yes. Thankfully I am one of those who can and who enjoys exercise
Take supplements for the raw materials for connective tissue such as glucosamine. Bone broth is the best!	With age we become less good at healing and repair	Yes
Herbs, spices and fungi in cooking	Use your favourite herbs, spices and fungi in cooking and food, and lots of them!	Yes. Because I love food!
Consider herbs to improve the defences	Astragalus, cordyceps and rhodiola - see Infections: how to prevent and cure – first improve the defences and my book "The Infection Game - life is an arms race"	Sometimes when in stock and I remember
Address energy delivery mechanisms as below	See my book “Diagnosing and treating Chronic fatigue syndrome and myalgic encephalitis: it's mitochondria not hypochondria”
Take the mitochondrial package of supplements daily vis: Co Q 10 100mgs, niacinamide slow release 1500mgs, acetyl L carnitine 500mgs. D ribose 5-10 grams at night if you have really overdone things	With age fatigue becomes an increasing issue because our mitochondrial engines start to slow. The ageing process is determined by mitochondria. Look after them!	Yes I don’t take carnitine because I eat meat and my digestion is good
Mitochondria may be going slow because of toxins. Consider tests of toxic load to see if you need to do any detox	A good allrounder is Genova urine screen with DMSA 15mgs per kg of body weight. You can get this test through Natural Health Worldwide	I have not got around to doing this but I know I should
Check your living space for electromagnetic pollution	Look to hire a good detection meter	Yes. The cordless phone has gone! I never hold a mobile phone to my ear – I use the speaker Turn wifi off at night
Review any prescription medication – they are all potential toxins! The need for drugs is likely to be symptomatic of failure to apply Groundhog	Ask yourself why you are taking drugs? See my book “Sustainable Medicine - Whistle-blowing on 21st century medical practice” Once Groundhog is in place many drugs can be stopped. Taking prescription drugs is the fourth commonest cause of death in Westerners.	I never take symptom supressing medication. This has allowed full and now painfree recovery from three broken necks (horses again).
Consider tests of adrenal and thyroid function since these glands fatigue with age and chronic infection	Thyroid bloods tests and adrenal saliva tests available through Natural Health Worldwide Core temperatures are helpful for fine tuning adrenal and thyroid function with glandular. See Conducting the CFS orchestra – how to put yourself in charge
Heat and light	Always keep warm. Sunbathe at every opportunity. Holidays in warm climates with sunbathing and swimming are excellent for killing infections and detoxing	I am a pyromaniac! My kitchen is lovely and warm with a wood fired range. I work in my conservatory with natural light. I sunbathe as often as wet Wales permits Do not forget hyperthermia and light as a good treatment for chronic infections
Use your brain	Foresight: Avoid risky actions like kissing (see below!), unprotected sex Caution: Avoid vaccinations. Chose travel destinations with care. Circumspection: Do not symptom suppress with drugs, treat breaches of the skin seriously.	I have to say that with age this is much less of an issue! No vaccinations. No foreign travel except to the continent to see my daughter and to do lectures.

Oscar Wilde knew the dangers of kissing, perhaps for different reasons than the risk of infection, when he wrote that:

“A kiss may ruin a human life”

Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance
16 October 1854 - 30 November 1900

Pregnant and breastfeeding Women and children

All Groundhog regimes are safe, indeed desirable, for pregnant and breastfeeding women. It is less likely that children will need to take Groundhog Chronic but if they do, then children under the age of 12 should halve doses of supplements and take a 'children's multivitamin' such as Biocare Children's Complete Multinutrient - they should work out their own Bowel Tolerance of Vitamin C, just as adults do, but by taking 5grams of Vitamin C every hour until reached.

Motivational thoughts

If you are tiring from Groundhog, be inspired by these quotes…

1-“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

Idiomatic translation by Will Durrant in ‘The Story of Philosophy’ of the original,

2-“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation..”

Aristotle, 384BC- 322BC

3-“repetitio est mater studiorum” – repetition is the mother of all learning

Old Latin Proverb

4-“consuetudinis magna vis est” – the force of habit is great

Cicero, 106BC – 43 BC
(assassinated for his opposition to Mark Antony, Cicero’s last words were purportedly “There is nothing proper about what you are doing, soldier, but do try to kill me properly.”)

External Links

Sunshine salt
Natural Health Worldwide

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Groundhog CHRONIC – the starting point to treat any chronic infection AND to live to our full potential

Contents

Introduction

Diagram of how the Groundhogs 'work'