I’m sure, like me, you’re worried about what to expect as this unprecedented health crisis unfolds. And it is unfolding quickly and changing daily.
It’s important to stay aware… in particular of what is going on in your local area. But I also ask you to stay alert to what is happening in the larger cities. Because what happens there could ultimately trickle down to other areas — quickly.
I spent the week stocking up in anticipation of spending an extended amount of time at home. Food was mostly plentiful (except frozen vegetables, they were cleaned out) but household cleaners and items like toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, napkins, and baby wipes were completely gone.
I recommended at the end of January all my readers stock up on masks and gloves (if health compromised), disinfectants, cleaners, and hand sanitizer. Sorry, but I honestly could not have anticipated the run on toilet paper… but the others, I knew would fly off the shelves as soon as worries about the coronavirus started to escalate.
In fact, The New York Times is reporting that as of the first week in March, sales of hand sanitizer were already 73 percent higher than the same time last year.
And it’s no wonder… the CDC, in offering advice about reducing the risk of contracting COVID-19, has stressed that hand sanitizer works as long as it has a high alcohol content.
So, in anticipation of the shortage, I had already bought some, but I am really concerned about how others will keep the germs away — especially as it’s now known that this virus has started community spread.
But there is a definite downside to hand sanitizer you need to be aware of…
If you’re using hand sanitizer, here’s what you need to know…
While hand sanitizer is a great solution for keeping your hands (hopefully) germ-free on the go, it does come with some drawbacks. If you’re making it part of your protection strategy against COVID-19, you should be aware of them…
The CDC says that if you’re going to use hand sanitizer, you need to go with one that is high in alcohol (at least 60 percent).
Here’s the problem with that…
Skin damage, infection and killing off beneficial bacteria
When you use anything on your skin too often, it can lead to irritation and cause your skin to break down.
But when you add a high level of alcohol to that equation, the problems can become even worse — leaving your skin dry, cracked and open to a host of germs that can make their way inside your body and cause infection.
Isn’t this exactly what you’re using hand sanitizer to try to avoid?
To top it off, alcohol doesn’t just kill bad bacteria and viruses. It can also kill the good bacteria that inhabit your skin and work to protect you.
As Dr. Trevan Fischer, surgical oncologist and assistant professor of surgical oncology at John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, puts it, “If you’re beating down a natural defense the body has, you could be causing some chronic risk over time.”
And, there’s still more…
Studies have found that applying alcohol to your skin can reduce its barrier function, making the membrane more permeable to allowing harmful chemicals (such as the nitrosamines found in cosmetics) and resistant bacteria to slip in.
So, with all of those negatives, should you skip the hand sanitizer?
Under current circumstances, I’m not recommending it.
The official CDC guidelines instead say to use good old-fashioned soap and water whenever possible, but when you just can’t wash your hands (like when you’re nowhere near a sink or running water), using hand sanitizer is still the right choice.
The key is that if you can get to water and soap, it’s hands-down the best choice.
When washing, just be sure to take the advice of the FDA and Harvard doctors and soap all surfaces of your hands, from the inside of your fingers to around your nail beds and up to your wrists. Also, make sure you wash for a full 20 seconds — about as long as it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song.
I know that seems like simple advice, but it’s coming from the experts, and right now we need to do what they advise.
But in addition to keeping clean hands and avoiding crowds, the most important part of my family’s strategy is using nutrition to boost our immunity to fight off whatever may come at us.
That’s why we start the day with Peak Organic Alkalizing Greens™, this once a day green drink is not only delicious, it’s packed with nutrients to keep your body in proper pH balance.
Why is that important? If your body is too acidic it provides the right terrain for germs to invade.
Combine our current western diet with the additional use of hand sanitizers and antibacterial hand cleaners that strip us of our protective layer and you have a situation in which your body chemistry becomes too acidic.
Being too acid leaves you open to illness.
Plus with Peak Organic Alkalizing Greens™ you get an Enzyme and Probiotic Blend of protease, amylase, bromelain, cellulase, lactase, papain, and lipase to help digest proteins, fats and carbohydrates as well as L. acidophilus, B. longum, L. casei, L. rhamnosus to help beef up your protective intestinal flora.
But that’s not all, you get…
Organic Greens Blend — A powerhouse of fermented alkaline-forming grasses including barley, oat, alfalfa, and wheatgrass plus spirulina, broken cell wall chlorella and dulse leaf. The FermaPro® fermentation process ensures these hard to digest grasses are bio-available for full nutritional value.
Organic Fruit & Vegetable Blend — A special blend of alkalizing kale, carrot, parsley, broccoli, spinach, apple, blueberry, and black current.
Organic Fiber Blend — Inulin, flaxseed fiber, and gum acacia encourage and support digestive and intestinal health and help keep your gut in healthy pH balance.
Organic Antioxidant & Alkalizing Spice Blend — This blend includes the super mineral Vitakelp™, an excellent source of iodine plus nitric oxide producing beet and gut soothing ginger.
All of these important nutrients combined promote a healthy pH balance to provide you extra immune and gut support.
For a limited time, when you buy 6 canisters of Peak Organic Alkalizing Greens™ I’ll send you another 6 on me. That way your whole family can enjoy this delicious, immune-supporting once-a-day drink — like we are. Just add one scoop to cold water, mix and enjoy. We prefer ours in the morning, but you can drink it any time of day.
And please know this, at Peak Pure & Natural® we are fully prepared to weather this storm. Our staff is now set up to answer calls from their homes if necessary. And we have plenty of products in stock and more coming every day.
We are shipping packages every day and are currently keeping up with increasing demand. The USPS, FedEx, and UPS are still delivering, and we have no reason to believe they will stop.
My philosophy in life is hope for the best but prepare for the worst. And that’s exactly what we’ve done — to ensure you continue to have access to the supplements you love and depend on.
Now, I want to leave you with something a dear friend said to me the other day…
Things are very weird right now, a little scary… and a lot stressful (who would have thought keeping toilet paper in the house would become a challenge?) We may have to put things on hold that we like to do, stop going out so much and miss seeing friends in person. But we will get through this together. And that’s what matters.
