On this 50th anniversary of Earth Day, show kindness toward our planet and every creature who inhabits it, as the transcendent photographer, adventurer, preservationist and raconteur Peter Beard advised us. My old friend’s recent death offers an eerily timely punctuation on this virus and a reminder that we can’t forget to protect one another, and the animals that roam the Earth.
One’s character will truly be evident now as things begin to open and people begin to recirculate in public. Are we going to behave like locked-up wild animals set free? Maybe we take a cue from them and emerge slowly, quietly, trepidatiously. How will we greet one another? I’m going for the peace sign. How will we behave when those we know get sick, because this virus is not going away? This is a great challenge America is facing now as we organize re-entry. It’s also an opportunity to learn how to keep the immune system up and at PURIST, we are planning to share those methods with you in our June issue.
Cristina Cuomo with the late Peter Beard
This past week was very challenging for me. What started as a sinus cold escalated into nightly sinus headaches and tough breathing. I stayed on the course I set for Chris of oxygenated herbs:
- 3 Sinex daily
- 3 Antivirals daily
- 3 KappArrest daily
- 3 OXO (nontoxic quinine) daily. Here’s one you can buy from Cinchona officinalis—Peruvian bark. This is essential to oxygenate the blood.
- Zinc
- Alka C—6000 mg per day (helps reduce the inflammation this virus causes all over the body)
- 3 Vitamin B
- 2 Vitamin D
- Echinacea Osha—3 droppers full daily
- Respiratory Response—3 droppers full daily
- Glutathione powder
- Two medicinal florals: xanthium and magnolia
- Viracid from Orthomolecular—available online
My sister Andrea dropping off my Spirometer and father, Rainer, who made me laugh talking about the haircut he desperately needs.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, when my sinus congestion was painful, I enlisted Dr. Roxanna Namavar from Pretty Healthy NYC, who also does vitamin drips at home in the Hamptons. She shows up in her full hazmat outfit and 3M mask. I got magnesium, NAC (a precursor to glutathione, said to be very helpful against COVID-19), vitamin C with lysine, proline, and B complex, folic acid, zinc, selenium, glutathione and caffeine (to combat the headache).
Both days, I added ½ cup of Clorox to my bathwater to combat the radiation and metals in my system and oxygenate it.
I used a “body charger,” which energy specialist Randy Oppitz suggested I borrow from a friend. It sent electrical frequencies through my body to oxygenate my blood and stimulate the healthy production of blood cells to fortify my immune system. It also rebalanced my energy, which was gravely off from the stress of caregiving, catching the virus, fearing my kids would get it, etc. The key to healing the human body is directly related to the body’s ability to allow energy to flow through it. “I discovered in my 40-year career as a personal energy specialist that every person I ever worked with has blocked energies. The Body Charger is a device that transfers energy, breaks up, and pulls out the low frequency while replacing with a higher rate,” Oppitz told me.
Spirometer to help oxygenate the lungs.
I also rented a PEMF (pulsed electromagnetic field) machine, which optimizes the ability of cells to start healing. It uses low-energy fields to stimulate the self-healing mechanisms of the cells after a physical injury or a viral attack on the body’s tissues or bones. For COVID-19, it increases the speed with which your lungs and whole body can recover. I was able to rent this from StandWellness in Water Mill for the month, but it is good to use for any ailment, at any time. I have used it in my office for the arthritis on my foot and for the inflammation Lyme disease caused my shoulders.
Every day this week, Chris and I both ate an Ayurveda lunch from chef Corey de Rosa at Tapovana in Bridgehampton; his menu treats food as medicine. Aside from improving digestion, Tapovana’s dishes are also nourishing and cleansing. They focus on having balanced proportions of essential healing micro (vitamins and minerals) and macro (proteins, carbs and fats) nutrients. I had also ordered lots of comfort Italian cuisine to go from Aquolina; that way, I could freeze it and have it on hand for the kids to simply heat up.
Here’s what we ate for food as medicine:
Monday:
Breakfast: Organic coffee with oat milk; the vascular shrinkage of the caffeine helped my raging sinus headache from the inflamed pressure. Liver-cleansing smoothie. Chris had English muffins with almond butter.
Lunch: Chickpeas and spinach, which is high in B vitamins; lemon rasam—a high immunity-building soup; and mango chutney for digestion.
Dinner: Soup made with organic chicken stock, spinach, carrots, ginger, nutmeg and black pepper, for respiratory health.
Tuesday:
Breakfast: Green tea (caffeinated). Liver-cleansing smoothie. Chris had oatmeal.
Lunch: Cabbage, asparagus—a kidney cleanser—and chayote sambar (chayote is a tropical squash that hydrates the body and is high in vitamin C), with a lentil stew; mango with cardamom and cashews, a tissue-builder that’s also delicious
Dinner: Aqualina’s zucchini-and-mint soup and mushroom crepes.
Wednesday:
Breakfast: Organic coffee with oat milk. Liver-cleansing smoothie. Chris had scrambled eggs on seven-grain toast.
Lunch: Pongal, made of mung beans and rice, which strengthens and fortifies all bodily systems; and rose lassi, a yogurt-based drink packed with natural probiotics.
Dinner: Aqualina’s vegetable lasagna, organic chicken stock soup with vegetables.
I got through the week with my favorite flavors of Hint fruit-infused water plus Lumi’s organic juices and Turmeric shots.
Thursday:
Breakfast: Organic coffee with oat milk. Liver-cleansing smoothie. Chris had scrambled eggs with spinach and tarragon on seven-grain toast.
Lunch: Chai tea, a tissue-builder and digestive aid; mashed mung daal, green chile and cilantro, all of which help remove environmental impurities; butternut squash with toasted lentils and red pepper, a dish high in vitamins A and C.
Dinner: Eggplant caponata (a slow-cooked Italian dish with chopped cooked veggies); Juice Press’ Soupa Doupa Greens soup
Friday:
Breakfast: Ginger lemon tea, GT’s Kombucha Gingerade, liver-cleansing smoothie.
Lunch: Sesame brown basmati rice, high in calcium; organic chicken stock soup with vegetables
Dinner: For Chris and the kids—filet mignon with broccoli rabe, egg noodles; zucchini-and-mint soup for me.
Saturday:
Breakfast: Ginger lemon tea. Liver-cleansing smoothie. Chris had pancakes with the kids.
Lunch: Tutto il Giorno salad and eggplant parmigiana
Dinner: Tutto il Giorno lasagna and chicken for the kids and Chris; butternut squash soup from Aqualina for me, and some vegetable lasagna.
Sunday:
Breakfast: Ginger lemon tea, Organic Krush Wellness Shot with cayenne, orange, ginger and lemon
Lunch: Organic Krush’s chicken, tomato, rice, avocado and cilantro fajitas with corn tortillas
Dinner: Mushroom crepes; steamed spinach and broccoli rabe; eggplant caponata
Monday:
Breakfast: Organic coffee with oat milk, Lumi grapefruit juice
Lunch: Organic Krush’s avocado, cheese, tomato and cilantro quesadillas; lentil soup
A drawing Peter Beard made for me many years ago.
Why is Chris Cuomo so angry?
