A 66 year old woman, who was listening to her husband’s consultation with me mid-November last year, expressed her fright about getting the flu. Many articles were appearing then such as the one in Nature titled “Flu and colds are back with a vengeance – why now?”  Restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 markedly blunted the spread of other respiratory illnesses. The flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) all but disappeared in 2020 and early 2021. However, ongoing exposures to viruses are needed to maintain immunity. In short, as the Nature article states, the population had become immunologically naive.

There are copious articles and recommendations throughout the web and social media promoting vitamins (C and D) and minerals (zinc and selenium) to boost immunity. While there is research and clinical evidence validating these recommendations, their effects only target the immune defense. They do affect the lipid defense. However, the lipid defense, not immunity, is the first and most immediate defense against infections.

The word “lipid” refers to any number of different molecules composed of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen, a variety of which together make fat.  For example, cholesterol is a lipid. While the fat in meat or in our abdomen contains cholesterol, these fats also contain many other types of lipid molecules. Therapeutic lipids on the other hands, are individual lipids that bolster our lipid defense.

There are two phases to the lipid defense. Initially fatty acid lipids can destroy an infection, an allergen, damaged tissue, a toxin or a rogue cell. Then anti-fatty acids neutralize fatty acids so their destructive capabilities end. Without sufficient anti-fatty acids, fatty acid activity will lead to chronic inflammation, and chronic inflammation sets the stage for chronic disease.

In a respiratory infection, inflammatory prostaglandins are the initial fatty acids that can destroy the infectious agent. These inflammatory fatty acids cause the familiar symptoms of a cold: a runny nose, congestion, overall fatigue and generalized aches and pains. When a respiratory infection goes deeper into bronchi or lungs, more damaging fatty acids, leukotrienes, emerge. Leukotrienes are immune modulators that exert a key role in the development of bronchitis and lung disease, from asthma to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) as seen influenza and Covid-19.  They illicit immune cytokines. In excess, cytokine storms can be lethal.

My first response to the woman frightened by the possibility of getting the flu is keep Lipid-bound Sulfur, LbS, on hand.  Take a dropper twice daily if she is exposed to the flu and/or immediately upon her first symptoms of the flu. Continue taking LbS for five days after exposure or for five days after all symptoms of the flu stop. Lipid-bound Sulfur oxidizes leukotrienes, arresting all their activity. Time and again, LbS has immediately stopped respiratory distress in those diagnosed with or assumed to have Covid-19. It will do the same for flu.

To manage the flu or any respiratory illness, even the common cold, keep Flame Quell+ and OH3 on hand. FQ+ and OH3 are fatty alcohols that neutralize the inflammatory prostaglandins. They will promptly decrease red eyes, a runny nose, congestion and, in conjunction with Lipid-bound Sulfur, decrease the severity of coughing. 

Flame Quell+ and OH3 can be taken as many times a day as helpful. Start with two droppers of each in about 2 ounces of water three times a day, followed by more water. Increase the frequency of this combination as much as needed for symptom control...