Learn what you can do to speed up healing after a severe illness.
The problem often in natural healing is people want to be well yesterday and that is not how it works. Learn what you can do to speed up healing after illness knocks you down in this Substack.
I am updating all of you on my husband’s progress because it demonstrates how healing the body often occurs in small steps and over time. The attitude of so many is impatience. I want to be healed yesterday. They will not give their body time to heal on its own. Some friends visited him in the hospital. After seeing how he had deteriorated both mentally and physically, they asked if I was going to put him in a nursing home. I told them no, not unless there was no improvement,ment and I couldn’t take care of him at home. It has been 6 weeks since he got home from the hospital. In the first month, he didn’t show improvement, but we can’t see what is going on in his body.
Photo by Dollar Gill on Unsplash. Learn what you can do to speed up healing after illness
The first 4 weeks, he just didn’t function much, mentally or physically. It was hard. Over the past two weeks, he has made significant improvement; he can now shave, shower, and take care of his personal needs. That is huge progress. For the first time yesterday, he was able to take out the trash, which is huge. He has improved in his memory, although he has a way to go to get back to the point before being sick with COVID and strep. He will start PT services this week, which should help him dramatically.
We often get impatient and want healing to take place on our time, which is usually yesterday. It takes time after a serious disease or infection, and it is especially true if you are older, like my husband. Give it time, readers. Don’t give up on your loved one, even when each improvement seems to take forever.
What did I do to speed up recovery and strengthen his immune system?
I gave him vitamins such as Vitamin D, Vitamin C, B-Complex in high doses, quercetin, zinc, minerals, electrolytes, and probiotics to strengthen his immune system after he received antibiotics in the hospital. The body is depleted during illness, so you need to give extra-heavy doses of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids to replace what was lost and help the body rebuild its immune system.
Most of your one-a-day vitamins are NOT strong enough to do much good after illness!
Moringa Oleifera-
He gets large doses of these herbal leaves from the Moringa Oleifera tree. Moringa is extremely high in all the vitamins and minerals you need for body health. It is a healing food. So Moringa is important for building the patient’s strength. In countries where there is starvation, they give these leaves to mothers who are starving, pregnant, and nursing. They give them to their children to help them live and get healthier. It is a food that rebuilds with nutrients to help all the body's systems get stronger.
He gets Suma twice a day,
which is an amazing adaptogen from the rainforest, to build up and strengthen his whole body. It is a new herb I didn't know about until 3 months ago. I take it too, now. I have tried Ginseng and several different adaptogens, which did not seem to make a difference, but this improved his health within two weeks. His energy level improved, and his nonexistent appetite improved within a week.
Suma Root Health Benefits
Suma root (Pfaffia paniculata, also known as Brazilian Ginseng) natively grows in South America. Suma is known for its potent adaptogenic properties and is used by local doctors and natives alike. Suma root contains a rich array of bioactive compounds, including pfaffic acids, saponins, and beta-ecdysterone, which contribute to its nutritional and adaptogenic profile.
The amazing health benefits of suma root are listed below:
It enhances brain function and helps protect the brain from damage. Both strep and COVID cause inflammation that damages brain function.
It is an adaptogen herb that helps the whole body work better. It strengthens immune function.
It's anti-inflammatory because diseases and illnesses always increase inflammation in the body. This anti-inflammatory effect also helps cancer patients.
“Research has also linked suma root with the following health benefits:
May benefit people with sickle cell disease. Test-tube research suggests that suma root extract may improve the shape of red blood cells, which are commonly misshapen in people with sickle cell disease (16Trusted Source). Red blood cells are often misshapen in CLL as well.
May improve digestion. Animal studies suggest that the root may help reduce gut damage and markers of inflammation in rats with inflammation of the colon (5Trusted Source, 17Trusted Source).”
Dosages of Suma are not exact and are generally given as follows, according to Healthline. Always test your body on anything new, get your doctor’s approval first, and go slow to begin with. Herbs and drugs do interact with each other sometimes in a very negative way.
“Suma root manufacturers or sellers generally recommend drinking 2 daily cups of suma root tea or consuming 500–1,500 mg of dried root capsules 2–3 times per day.
Alternatively, it’s commonly encouraged to dissolve 1–2 grams of powdered suma root or 1–2 mL of the root extract in a beverage of your choice up to 3 times daily.” from the Healthline page.
Probiotics:
Important, since your immune system needs your gut microbiome to work properly to defeat pathogens such as strep and Covid. Antibiotics destroy your gut biome. It can take weeks or months to rebuild your gut system.
A healthy gut is central to immune function, with around 70–80% of immune cells residing there, where the microbiome, gut barrier, and immune tissues interact to regulate immunity and inflammation.
The Probiotic Supplement which we use and I recommend to you is Naturebell, with each capsule containing 200 billion CFU and 40 different strains. The bottle contains 240 caps. For cancer and rebuilding the immune system after heavy antibiotic use, take 2 caps twice a day, not once a day as on the bottle, until your loved one recovers. The bottle label states that it is lab-tested, made in the US, and GMO-free. Those labels on the bottle are important in selecting quality products.
The following is from A1, but I see no reason not to use the explanation, because it is accurate and precise. It would take me a long time to restate all of this when it is not needed.
The Gut-Immune Interface
The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is not only responsible for digestion but also serves as a major immune organ. The gut houses the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT), including Peyer’s patches, the appendix, and isolated lymphoid follicles, which collectively coordinate immune surveillance, antibody production, and the maturation of immune cells such as B cells and T cells. Secretory IgA (sIgA), produced in the gut, neutralizes pathogens and maintains mucosal homeostasis. The intestinal epithelial barrier, composed of tight junctions and mucus, prevents harmful substances from entering the bloodstream, supporting immune tolerance and defense.
Role of the Gut Microbiome
Trillions of microorganisms in the gut, collectively called the gut microbiome, produce metabolites like short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)—butyrate, acetate, and propionate—that influence immune cell activation, differentiation, and anti-inflammatory responses. SCFAs enhance the integrity of the gut barrier by promoting tight junction proteins and mucus production, while also modulating T cell activity, including regulatory T cells (Tregs), which help maintain immune balance. Beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium, Faecalibacterium, and Roseburia are associated with stronger immune resilience, whereas dysbiosis—an imbalance in gut microbes—can lead to leaky gut, chronic inflammation, and increased susceptibility to infections or autoimmune conditions.
Early-Life Immune Education
The gut microbiome plays a critical role in immune system development, especially during infancy. Early microbial colonization educates immune cells to distinguish between harmful pathogens and harmless substances, establishing immune tolerance and reducing the risk of allergies and autoimmune diseases later in life. Germ-free animal studies show that the absence of gut microbes impairs lymphoid tissue development and reduces key immune cells, highlighting the microbiome’s essential role in immune maturation.
Diet and Lifestyle Influences
Dietary and lifestyle factors profoundly affect gut-immune health. High-fiber, plant-rich diets support microbial diversity and SCFA production, while fermented foods provide probiotics that enhance gut barrier function and immune modulation. Nutrients such as vitamins A, C, D, E, zinc, selenium, and glutamine support both gut integrity and immune function. Conversely,
Birmingham Gastroenterology Associates+4”
I hope, by this Substack, you realize that you need to give your body time to heal; it needs to be strengthened and repaired so it can be rebuilt. That takes extra nutrients to do this.