Golden immunity soup & Norovirus tips

Everyone seems to be sick right now: flu, Norovirus, RSV...here's an anti-inflammatory powerhouse soup and some tips to help you stay healthy

Nov 07, 2024

Happy Lunar New Year if you are celebrating! 💞

The so-called “quad-demic” 🦠 is in full swing right now, with not one, not two, but four highly contagious viruses making their rounds: norovirus, flu, COVID-19, and RSV 😩.

All of them are nasty and have knocked many of my family and friends sideways. If you’ve had norovirus before, you know it can hit you like a bus. And here’s the kicker: having had it before doesn’t mean you can’t get it again, because the virus can mutate quite quickly.

A new strain is making the rounds, contributing to a surge in cases—more than double what we saw last year.

The symptoms? A combo of vomiting, diarrhea, and overall misery from fatigue and cramping. There’s no treatment; it just has to run its course. If it’s severe, supportive measures like IV fluids can help, and those with a compromised immune system may need medical care, so prevention is really where it’s at.

Skip the hand sanitizer

IMPORTANT: Hand sanitizers do NOT work well against norovirus, so PLEASE wash your hands frequently and properly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially before meals.

At home, I’ve whipped out my Force of Nature (40% off link) disinfectant—a less toxic, EPA-registered spray that kills 99.9% of viruses if you follow the instructions properly. I am using it to clean the high-touch surfaces my kids touch when they come home from school.

While there’s no food or supplement proven to prevent or treat norovirus, there are some intriguing preliminary studies—mostly in Petri dish and test tubes —suggesting that certain foods might have antiviral properties against norovirus. We most definitely need to see human studies to confirm their effects but think of them as a bonus - these foods are easy to incorporate, and taste great, so I see no downside to adding them to my routine. For example1:

Green tea (hello, matcha (20% off) — my daily ritual)
Thyme (part of the recipe below!) & oregano. I use this drop
Pomegranate juice (gut-healthy and delicious)
Spices like turmeric, cloves (hello, chai, and golden milk!)

person washing hands on sink — Washing your hands is better than using hand sanitizers against norovirus.

A hidden gem

Another important piece people forget when thinking about the immune system? Vitamin A.

I don’t generally recommend supplementing unless you are advised to/monitored by a doctor, because excess amounts can accumulate and cause toxicity. Supplementation is also a resounding ‘no’ during pregnancy/nursing.

Instead, I focus on beta-carotene-rich foods, which are precursors that become Vitamin A.

Secretory IgA

Vitamin A plays a crucial role in maintaining the health of our mucosal barriers—namely, our airways, gut, and skin. These barriers are like our body’s first line of defense against pathogens, acting as a shield to stop viruses and bacteria from entering.

Vitamin A is involved in the production of secretory IgA, which is essentially your body’s immune “bouncers.” These are antibodies that patrol our mucosal surfaces and neutralize harmful invaders before they can cause trouble. Without enough Vitamin A, our secretory IgA levels can drop2, leaving you more vulnerable to infections like norovirus, flu, and RSV.

I like to get my vitamin A through food: 🥕carrots, oranges, sweet potatoes, butternut squash (like this recipe below), leafy greens like kale (another reason to eat your veggies), and if you eat it, liver is a very concentrated source.

Golden Immunity Soup

On that note, I have the PERFECT winter soup that combines many of the foods I just talked about above in one delicious recipe. Best of all, you can roast everything on a sheet pan and then throw it all in a blender - who doesn’t love an easy recipe?!

In addition to beta-carotene rich squash, we are including thyme, which has anti-microbial and lung-protecting properties; roasted onions and garlic - both anti-microbial and sulfur-rich to support our hard-working liver in detoxification.

This cozy soup is warming and comforting, perfect for a chilly day.

Ingredients:

Serves 2 (double up to serve 4 or freeze half for another day)

1 large Honeynut squash (or 1/2 of a medium Butternut squash)
1.5 cups vegetable or bone broth
1-2 tbsp cashew concentrate (or substitute with 1/2 cup coconut milk, reducing the broth by 1/2 cup). I use JOI (link here).
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and quartered
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 head of garlic
2 tbsp avocado oil
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (for drizzling)
1/2 tbsp freshly grated ginger

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
Slice off the top ¼ to ½ inch of the garlic head to expose the cloves. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of avocado oil over the exposed bulbs.
Scoop out the seeds from the squash half and tuck the thyme sprigs into the hollow.
Drizzle the squash and quartered onion with the remaining avocado oil. Place the squash and garlic cut-side down on a baking tray (I use Xtrema, code “Platefulhealth” for 15% off on top of any deals they have), along with the onions.
Roast in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until the squash is tender when pierced with a knife. If the garlic and onion start to brown before the squash is done, take these out first.
Allow everything to cool.
Once cooled, scoop out the squash flesh and transfer it, along with the thyme, to a high-speed blender. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins and add them to the blender with the roasted onion, broth, grated ginger, and cashew concentrate or coconut milk.
Blend until smooth and creamy. If needed, transfer the soup to a saucepan and heat gently until warmed through.
Serve hot, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil for a rich, finishing touch.

Tried this recipe yet? Leave me a comment below on how you found it or share any suggestions you might have with our Substack tribe!

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This information is for educational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have a question about your health, supplements, or medications, please consult with your own healthcare provider.

Sarowska J, Wojnicz D, Jama-Kmiecik A, Frej-Mądrzak M, Choroszy-Król I. Antiviral Potential of Plants against Noroviruses. Molecules. 2021 Aug 2;26(15):4669. doi: 10.3390/molecules26154669. PMID: 34361822; PMCID: PMC8347075.

Turrubiates-Hernández FJ, García-Arellano S, Herrera-Jiménez LE, González-Estevez G, Márquez-Sandoval F, Padilla-Bórquez DL, Ceja-Gálvez HR, Vega-Magaña N, Nicoletti F, Muñoz-Ríos G, Muñoz-Valle JF. Vitamin A Positively Correlates with Secretory Immunoglobulin A: A Cross-Sectional Study in Omicron COVID-19 Outpatients. J Clin Med. 2024 Mar 7;13(6):1538. doi: 10.3390/jcm13061538. PMID: 38541764; PMCID: PMC10971742.