Dr. Kitsteiner’s Recommendations to Maintain a Strong Immune System

I have been asked numerous times about how to keep healthy during this COVID pandemic, what people can do to boost their immune system, what people can do if they get COVID, and what my family is actually doing. I finally put it down in writing.

NOTE: These are general recommendations. This information is readily available online. Every person has individual medical problems and tolerances. Talk to your physician about personal recommendations and medication interactions and side effects. The included photos are of products we actually use, but there are a lot of good products out there.

Dr. Kitsteiner’s Recommendations to Maintain a Strong Immune System

• Get good sleep.
• Most people need at least 7 hours per night.
• If you think you are one of those few people who need less, you are probably wrong.
• Be active.
• Even mild exercise (walking, gardening, etc.) is associated with better health and stronger immune systems.
• Go outside.
• Being outside encourages activity (see above) and increases your vitamin D levels (see below).
• Research shows that being outside improves concentration and creativity and decreases anxiety and depression.
• Research also suggests that just being outside, especially in nature, boosts your immune system.
• Drink 64 ounces of water per day.
• Don’t drink more than 1 Liter (33 ounces) of water per hour.
• Daily Multi Vitamin
• Unless you have a perfect diet composed of perfectly produced food, then I would recommend a daily multivitamin.
• Elderberry
• General dosing standard 2:1 elderberry extract is 10-60 mL daily for adults and 5-30 mL daily for children.
• The most common elderberry supplement is Sambucol, but many grocery stores and pharmacies sell generic products that are very similar to Sambucol.
• They are commonly sold as syrup, gummies, and dissolvable tablets.
• The dosing recommendations on the packaging is appropriate.
• Use this once daily as an immune booster, but STOP this medicine as soon as you show signs of COVID-19 infection (fever, chills, cough, etc.).
• Green Tea or Green Tea Extract
• Dosing should remain at about 400 mg daily of epigallocatechin gallate, EGCG, the antioxidant found in green tea.
• You can also drink three or four 8-ounce cups of brewed green tea. This will give you the same amount of EGCG as the extract with the addition of all the other compounds that make green tea so helpful.
• Green Tea can be taken before and during influenza or COVID-19 infections.
• Do not take more than is recommended, since there is concern for liver or kidney damage with excessive doses.
• Echinacea
• Typically, the product will have dosing directions that are appropriate, but there are a number of Echinacea species, so dosing can vary a bit between products.
• General dosing of dried powdered extract is 300–500 mg of Echinacea purpurea 3-4 times daily with maximum dosing of 2,000 mg daily. Dosing of liquid extract tincture is 2.5 mL, up to four times daily with a maximum dosing of 10 mL daily.
• Use this daily as an immune booster, but STOP this medicine as soon as you show signs of COVID-19 infection (fever, chills, cough, etc.).
• Quercetin
• General dosing is 500-1,000 mg per day. I recommend 500 mg daily.
• Typically, the product will have dosing directions that are appropriate.
• Quercetin can be taken before and during influenza or COVID-19 infections.
• Vitamin C
• General dosing is up to 500 mg daily as a preventive dose during cold/flu season. Some will take up to 2,000 mg daily, but most people will get nausea or diarrhea with higher doses.
• It’s best to get vitamin C from fresh fruits and veggies.
• Vitamin C can be taken before and during influenza or COVID-19 infections.
• Vitamin D
• Dosing is as follows:
• Age 0- 1 year: 400 to 1,000 International Units (IU) daily
• Age 1-18 years: 600 to 1,000 IU daily
• Adults: 1,500 to 2,000 IU daily
• Do not use more than recommended as vitamin D can build up in your body.
• Use this daily as an immune booster, but STOP this medicine as soon as you show signs of COVID-19 infection (fever, chills, cough, etc.).
• Sunlight is still the best source of vitamin D, just avoid sunburns.
• Zinc
• General dosing is 15-40 mg daily.
• Zinc can be taken before and during influenza or COVID-19 infections.
• Probiotics
• I highly recommend eating foods that are naturally high in friendly (“good”) bacteria. These foods include yogurt, kefir, kombucha, homemade fermented sauerkraut, homemade fermented pickles, miso, tempeh, kimchi, homemade sourdough bread, and most soft cheeses. I recommend eating a variety of these through the week.
• If you cannot/will not eat these foods, or if you have recently been on or are currently taking antibiotics, then probiotic supplements should be used.
• Look for products that have multiple species of bacteria and higher CFU’s (colony forming units); typically, these will be a bit more expensive than products with fewer species and CFU’s.

Switch brands after you finish one bottle. This ensures even more variety of probiotics in your diet.