Dr Barri Phatarfod

In Australia, we have recently seen this during our devastating bushfires when it was noticed that areas that had used Indigenous land clearing methods seem to be spared. In fact as far back as during the settlement of USA, Europeans who had life-threatening scurvy were treated by the Indigenous people with a tonic made from Conifer spines which were very high in Vitamin C – long before this was confirmed by biochemistry laboratories.

The use of Ayurvedic practices in preventing  coronavirus infection or reducing the worst effects of the disease if you do catch it has been promoted by the government of India. Despite India’s notorious overcrowding and well-known difficulties for many in accessing appropriate healthcare and sanitation, currently the death rate of India’s Coronavirus infection is around 3% case fatality rate. This means if you catch Coronavirus in India you will have a 3% chance of death. Comparing this with the case fatality rate of some of the wealthiest countries in the world: USA (5%), UK (14%), Germany (4.6%), Italy (14.5%) and France (18%)  the results are quite astounding. Note, we have not used the case per population statistic as this is heavily dependent on testing rates. We are using the figures where people have died from coronavirus infection as a percentage of all the people who have documented to have the infection. Further, the countries used in comparison are all in the Northern Hemisphere like India as the disease is yet to fully take hold in the south where winter has just begun.

Why do you think this is?

There are many possibilities, but the term ‘immunity’ comes up frequently. Ayurveda explains that maximising our immunity is unique to each of us.

Read more if you would like to learn how you can optimise your own individual immunity.