Williams - Viral immunity: a 10-step plan to enhance your immunity against viral disease using natural medicines

Author J.E. Williams puts viruses in perspective, as the specter of a viral epidemic looms over us. A brief review of the history of infectious disease and modern viral illnesses gives the reader a better understanding of this microorganism. The author says although we have progressed greatly technologically, the more we improve, the more vulnerable we become to other diseases, especially viruses.

The author of Viral Immunity has written a timely and important book for both the public and practitioners, as viral disease is proliferating at a rapid pace.

Viral Immunity is the most comprehensive book on viral illness, treatment and prevention that I have seen, and an essential resource for both practitioners and patients. It's very readable, while explaining complex systems such as our immune system and the world of viruses.

Irene Alleger, Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients

Drawing on over 20 years of clinical experience in diagnosing and treating chronic viral illnesses, Dr. Williams explores both viruses and viral illness and explains prevention and treatment in a manner unavailable to the public until now.

In a world in which our borders and oceans no longer provide barriers to war, terrorism and pestilence, Viral Immunity is a book that could, literally, save your life.

Total Health

In Viral Immunity, James Williams, OMD does an outstanding job of educating the readerwhether lay public or healthcare practitionerabout viruses, viral diseases, and both the conventional and natural approaches to prevention and treatment of viral illness.

This text is an important reference for individuals desiring to avoid viral infections, for patients with chronic viral diseases who would like to know more about their illness and treatment, in addition to the healthcare professional wanting more information on methods of enhancing viral immunity.

Alan L. Miller, ND, Alternative Medicine Review

The most effective way to handle current and future viral infections, says Williams, is to strengthen your immune system naturally. In Viral Immunity, Williams lays out guidelines to create a personalized viral immunity program based on his years of research and experience.

The New Times

Other books by J. E. Williams

Prolonging Health

The Andean Codex

Beating the Flu

Copyright 2002
by J. E. Williams, O.M.D.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this work in any form whatsoever, without permission in writing from the publisher, except for brief passages in connection with a review.

Interior illustrations by Anne L. Louque

Cover design by Marjoram Productions

Cover image 2002 Corbis Images / Picture Quest

About the cover image: Tobacco mosaic virus; the first virus to be isolated and also the first virus to be photographed by electronmicroscopy.

Interior photograph of influenza virus 2002 Corbis Images / Picture Quest

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Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2002100967

ISBN 10: 1-57174-265-4

ISBN 13: 978-1-57174-265-0

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

Printed on acid-free paper in the United States

This book is written as a source of information to educate the reader. It is not intended to replace medical advice or care, whether provided by a primary care physician, a specialist, or a licensed alternative medical professional. Please consult your doctor before beginning any new medications, diet, nutrients, or any form of health program. Dosages are given in ranges for the average adult and are to be used as guidelines only. Effects from any medication can vary a great deal from person to person, and applications must be adjusted to meet individual requirements. The author has spent a great deal of time and energy supporting the information contained in this book with published documentation; however, this research is not meant to be used as justification for any of the recommendations contained in the book.

Neither the author nor the publisher shall be liable or responsible for any adverse effects arising from the use or application of any of the information contained herein, nor do they guarantee that everyone will benefit or be healed by these techniques, and are not responsible if they are not. The author has no financial ties to any of the products, clinics, services, or medications cited in the text.

I grew up in a small New England farming community in the 1950s and 1960s. Second- and third-growth forests of birch, maple, and white pine blanketed a landscape dotted with green patches of pasture, orchards, and only an occasional front lawn. Streams were full of trout, deer roamed the forests, and beavers built dams and flooded hollows, creating ponds where migrating mallards rested on their way to Canada. However, all was not completely pastoral.

On the viral scene, smallpox had yet to be eradicated; the new kissing disease emerged at a time when French-kissing before marriage was still taboo. Paranoia over viruses was common. Rabies, for example, was a serious issue among farming folk, and even the favorite dog was put down if there was the slightest hint of foaming at the mouth or strange behavior. Children were forbidden to play with wild animals, and batscommon in attics and barnsalso conjured up dark fears of rabies. During the hot, humid summers, swimming in the local watering holes was a pleasure; however, on several occasions these ponds were off limits. They were called polio pits, and parents scared children into avoiding them with stories of the crippling effects of poliomyelitis.

Ironically, at the same time we were allowed to swim in a river that had been chemically purified by run-off from a factory just upstream. The water was so clean that no fish, algae, or any life at all grew in it. No one questioned the effects of swimming there, not realizing that it was sterile due to toxic chemical runoff. Another river was so polluted that it turned an opaque green, and at times, small bursts of fire flickered on its surface.

Luckily, in the countryside, serious contagious infections were almost non-existent. The worst-case scenarios and parental fears never materialized, and I never caught anything more than a seasonal cold or mild flu. Those times were the beginning of the age of vaccinations that were given to all children by the local country doctor in the school gymnasium. Things have changed dramatically since then, yet the notion of viral plagues is still an ingrained part of the psyche.

It seems every generation has had its viral epidemic: in those times it was polio, while the decades between 19802000 belonged to AIDS. Now, chronic hepatitis may prove to be the virus of our times, and the next after that may belong to stealth viruses, a new super-flu, a previously unknown virus, or the re-emergence of smallpox through an act of bioterrorism.

My professional interest in viral diseases began early in my career. In the early 1980s I worked with AIDS support groups in San Diego, as well as with chronic Epstein-Barr virus and cytomegalovirus cases at the California Clinic of Preventive Medicine in Del Mar. My work with these viral illnesses lead me to look at other viruses, including hepatitis C in the late 1980s and later at human herpes virus-6.