How I Prepared my body for the Vaccine: Do's & Don'ts

Believe me, the vaccine decision was such a headache. Literally! I had a headache for a week trying to make the decision. And I actually rescheduled my original jab because I wasn’t feeling 100%. When I finally made the decision I was going to make sure my body is ready for it! Below is a summary of how I prepped for the big day!


How I prepared for the vaccine?


1. Optimise Sleep

For those who know me, I love tracking my sleep with my Oura ring - for good reason. Sleep is so important for our recovery and there are even studies showing that having just one night of sub-optimal sleep can lessen the efficacy of the flu vaccine. A week prior, I worked on optimising my deep sleep which is when our bodies do most of its restorative work. I took a dose (3mg) of melatonin prior to bed even though I don’t have issues sleeping, in order to assist my body in sleeping more efficiently and effectively.

Read more about the Importance of Sleep to Survive a Viral Infection

2. Fasting

To minimise any inflammatory reaction to the vaccine, I wanted to minimise my own inflammation in my body. On a day to day, I practice Intermittent Fasting (IF) which in itself is a powerful way to lessen inflammation in the body. During my fueling hours, I made sure I was loading up on more fruits and vegetables and healthy proteins like white fish with omega 3 essential fatty acids.

3. Supplements

I have my own supplement regimen, currently focusing on my hormones, but I stopped that 2 weeks prior and switched to a high antioxidant, anti-inflammatory protocol which included the below.

NAC 900mg

3 caps per day 

Vitamin D3 4000-5000IU 

2 per day

Zinc 30mg

1 cap per day 

Liposomal Vitamin C 1000mg

2 tsp per day 

Curcumin 

3 caps per day 

Quercetin (7 days prior)

2 caps per day 

Melatonin (to optimise sleep)

30-60mg before bed 

 

4. Fitness & Social

Being one that naturally pushes myself beyond limit, or at least to the edge, I had to consciously ensure I wasn’t over-exercising or over committing myself to appointments and activities. Because over-exercising can cause inflammation in the body and sore muscles means my body is spending its energy in repairing it (a natural process) rather than building my immune system. To be honest, this area was probably the hardest part for me - saying no to invites =)

5. Gratitude

I didn’t want to go into the vaccine with fear (as we know that causes inflammation). And the best way to combat fear, is gratitude. The days leading up to the jab and on the morning of, my gratitude journaling was focused on the vaccine and my health status. Here’s a snippet of it ….

Dear God, thank you for my health that I know comes from you. I thank you for this place of health that I can even make a decision about the vaccine. Lord, what a privilege! 

Thank you for this city that I live in- Hong Kong, that is so well organised, and that has resources for its people, securing two vaccines for us to choose from. Thank you for bringing me to this decision and the peace you have given me. 

Read more about fear and our immune system

What I’m doing Post-Vaccination?

In a way, I’m treating this as if I took a heavy dose of antibiotics or a round of chemotherapy.

Sleep

I continue to focus on protecting my sleep habits. I was a bit tired the second day after the jab so I naturally slept earlier. I stopped taking the melatonin and just worked on getting to bed earlier and allowing myself to sleep in if it’s what my body was needing. Some may experience fatigue after the jab and that’s fine. Sleep is the best way to naturally recover.

Diet

As much as I can, I am including more dark green cruciferous vegetables and eating more fresh fruits. I am also adding in more fibre through chia seeds and my new favourite sprouted flax and chia seeds to help bind the toxins. If I’m hungry I’ll eat and I won’t push through any kind of fasting protocol if my body is telling me otherwise. By now, I can identify false hunger or cravings. As for liquids, I am opting for green tea over coffee just to increase the antioxidants.

Supplements

For the subsequent two weeks, I continued with the more or less the same supplements above, apart from melatonin.  I added in a probiotic to recolinate my gut which likely is out of balance from the chemicals I’ve just injected into my body.

Because the Sinovac vaccines contain aluminum, a heavy metal, I included a heavy metal detoxification supplement, specifically Pure’s HM Complex, a multivitamin with sufficient B Complex, important cofactors for the detoxification pathway, and switched out my NAC for glutathione. I started this 1 week after the vaccination and will continue just prior to jab #2 and then go through the cycle all over again and do a proper longer cleanse after the second jab. 


For the Pfizer Biontech that doesn’t have aluminum or other heavy metals, you won’t need this. Instead the fatigue response may be more severe so take a day or two to recover and hydrate well before and after.

Here’s the summary of my supplements post jab

Liposomal Glutathione 

2 caps per day 

Vitamin D3 4000-5000IU 

2 per day

Zinc 30mg

1 cap per day 

Liposomal Vitamin C 1000mg

2 tsp per day 

Curcumin 

3 caps per day 

ONE Multivitamin 

1 cap per day 

HM Complex (7 day after vaccination) 

3 caps per day 

Super 8 Probiotics 

3 caps per day 


Important Note!

I know there are some suggestions about taking a panadol before or after the jab to avoid getting a fever. This is not something you want to do. A fever is a way for your body to build up immunity to the virus, it means it's fighting something. By suppressing the fever with medication like panadol, you are not allowing your body to build up the immunity and  in a sense lessening the efficacy of the vaccine. Let the fever run its course*. Instead you can shorten the duration and severity of it through zinc, echinacea and vitamin D & C.

*Obviously if it’s a high fever you’ll want to go see your doctor.

Denise Tam, Holistic Nutritionist



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