Most of us are carriers of EBV, pretty much.

Not everyone gets sick though.

So what’s the difference between those that get sick chronically, and those that recover quickly?

 

Two Things You Need to Know About Chronic Active EBV

1. EBV is an opportunist.

When you are most vulnerable and compromised, it will turn on.

2. EBV is predictable.

I know it’s hard to hear this because it can be very confusing and make no sense.

Initially, EBV reactivations may not feel logical to you. However, they always are.

There is always a reason why you reactivate.

When you start paying closer attention, you will often realize what the reason is, especially after reading and understanding what I am about to teach you today.

Let’s discuss EBV triggers in more detail…

 

What Triggers EBV Reactivation?

 

 

1. Big hormonal shifts (Christian et al., 2012)

  • Menses
  • Post-partum
  • Puberty
  • Menopause
  • Perimenopause

These hormonal changes alone can cause EBV reactivation. In bad cases of EBV, it can flare up along with monthly menstrual cycles. Any postpartum woman who is experiencing depression or overbearing fatigue should be tested for Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and EBV right away because EBV reactivation can also cause Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. Both EBV and HT are often missed entirely in women experiencing a postpartum crisis, and these should be on the radar for their doctors.

 

 

2. Stress

Stress comes in many forms and it doesn’t matter as much what kind of stressor we are talking about. What matters more is how deeply you (emotionally) or your body (physically) react to it. Physical stress can come from things like:

  • A surgery
  • Night shifts
  • Overworking
  • Sleep deprivation

Then there is mental, emotional, existential and spiritual stress.

The deepest and most profound stress is related to:

  • Family members
  • Loved ones
  • Animal companions
  • Personal losses
  • Grief
  • Betrayal
  • Trauma
  • Abuse

Stress is the number one reactivating trigger in medical literature and the EBV community. 

Here are examples of studies documenting EBV reactivation from various types of stress:

 

3. Frequent Changes (Good or Bad)

We often hear “change is good”. Also, the way the universe works, change is the only reliable constant, and so it is inevitable. We also know from studies that resilient individuals are those that have the ability to be flexible and shift with change.

However, too many changes in your life in a short period of time are not a good thing.

So let me ask you a question. How many major changes in your life have you undergone in the last 2 years? Promotion, a new job, job loss, wedding, divorce, selling a house, buying a house, publishing  a book, retiring, moving, and more… Go ahead and make a list. You may be surprised! You know how you are told that our animal companions do not like too much change and thrive with a routine? Well, it appears that as good as change is, we actually often exceed our healthy quota! How about this: I moved 4 homes in 5 years. That level of intensity related to relocations is not easy and compounds stress.

Take a moment, pause here and really make the list of your last 2 years. And when your list keeps getting longer, please recognize how much you have gone through and give yourself grace. Take a deep breath and say to yourself, no wonder. I can see that EBV would reactivate.

People do not realize too many changes mean stress. Even if all those changes are positive.

 

4. Environmental Toxins

Studies confirm that environmental toxins can trigger EBV reactivation. Here is a sample list:

 

 

5. Poor Nutritional Status

As your nutritional status drops, your virus will become more aggressive.

Nutritional deficiencies can trigger more oxidative stress on top of the massive amount of oxidative stress caused by EBV itself.

“A nutritionally deficient person has a higher oxidative stress, and a normally avirulent virus becomes virulent because of the changes in the viral genome” (Beck, 2000).

Nutritional deficiencies also impair the immune system (Vasquez, 2014), and a strong immune system is what keeps EBV in check, so preventing nutritional deficiencies is very important.

Not enough studies have been done on specific nutrient depletions and EBV, and more are needed. We do have research on Selenium – its deficiency is clearly shown to lead to viral pathogenesis (Beck,1999). Deficiency of selenium “increased viral pathogenicity and altered immune responses” and resulted in “specific viral mutations, changing relatively benign viruses into virulent ones” (Beck, 2007). Similarly, Vitamin E deficiency has been shown to make viruses more aggressive. (Beck, 2007). I write more extensively on this topic in my book The EBV Solution. Vitamin E and Selenium are both heavily involved in curbing EBV, which is why they are a part of the EBV Ultimate Bundle our EBV Recovery Program students are recommended.

Fast food meals (high NFkB) are a prime culprit. In a study, just one fast food breakfast meal increased the inflammatory marker NFkB by 150% for 2 hours (Aljada et al., 2004). NFkB is what EBV uses to replicate itself. The more NFkB your body produces, the more EBV replication and activity. Learn more about a proper diet for EBV on our EBV Diet webpage.

Poor diet often is a result of a stressful period of time – we do not eat enough or we overeat for comfort, and/or we pick the more addictive soothing foods like chips and fast food, food products that are low in nutritional value. So now you have a double whammy. During stress, you also lose many key nutrients – e.g. in urine. A triple whammy.

There are some simple things you can do if you anticipate a stressful period: for example, a good B Complex daily, organic plant based meal delivery so you can have some easy to reheat frozen foods at hand, e.g. Daily Harvest (not affiliated), or grabbing some fresh seasonal fruit if you crave sugar. This way, you break the cycle of stress eating and more nutrient depletion, keeping you in EBV reactivations. 

Poorly regulated blood sugar is also an invitation to more viral activity (Turina et al., 2005). Acute hypoglycemia impairs “all major components of innate immunity, e.g., drop in neutrophil activity and increase in early inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor and interleukin 6. This process decreases the body’s ability to fight infections (36)

 

 

6. Changes In The Immune System

Your immune system is the gatekeeper, taking care of probably many tiny EBV reactivations we are not even aware of over the span of our lives. Without your immune system working, EBV will reactivate. As you can imagine, any immuno-compromised person is at a higher risk of reactivating their EBV.

This is why even medical literature agrees that turning off your immune system in order to turn off EBV is not advisable.

This is why medications like corticosteroids can backfire (after a temporary honeymoon period of helping you feel better). In fact, studies suggest these medications are involved in EBV pathogenesis (Quaia et al., 2000). Learn more in my Blog Why is My Antiviral Medication NOT Helping EBV?

There are many other things that can affect your immune system. We already discussed stress. We can add antibiotics, coinfections, and mold from water damage.

 

How to Reduce EBV Reactivation: The Low-Hanging Fruit

Of all these triggers, stress, wi-fi and mold are the most pervasive in the chronic EBV community. Mold is the hardest one to deal with, while Wi-Fi is the easiest and fastest to clean up, which I call the lowest hanging fruit. I discuss EMFs and EBV more extensively in my Blog: EBV & EMFs New Concepts and Updates

Can you create Wi-Fi hygiene?

I always recommend starting with something that is inexpensive or free and does not require muscle power or brain focus and cleaning up Wi-Fi fits the bill. Wi-Fi education is not something we are taught anywhere, but it does make a big difference for a person with EBV.

Do three out of these four suggestions and watch how you feel:

  1. Stop using your phone as an alarm clock – buy an analog clock.
  2. Have your smart meter removed or put into a smart meter guard
  3. Put your Wi-Fi router into a Faraday box
  4. Get a kill switch to turn off your Wi-Fi entirely every night

All these products can be purchased here. We are an affiliate partner with August at Tech Wellness because we love her advocacy, her research and the quality of products she offers. In fact, she helped me greatly move to ethernet in my own home.

I hope this blog will help you see how much power you have in your hands. Start today with one single step and build on it. Your body will thank you!

 

References:

Aljada, A., Mohanty, P., Ghanim, H., Abdo, T., Tripathy, D., Chaudhuri, A., & Dandona, P. (2004). Increase in intranuclear nuclear factor kappaB and decrease in inhibitor kappaB in mononuclear cells after a mixed meal: evidence for a proinflammatory effect. Am J Clin Nutr, 79(4), 682-690. 

Beck, M. A. (1999). Selenium and host defence towards viruses. Proc Nutr Soc, 58(3), 707-711.

Beck, M. A. (2000). Nutritionally induced oxidative stress: effect on viral disease. Am J Clin Nutr, 71(6 Suppl), 1676S-1681S

Beck, M. A. (2007). Selenium and vitamin E status: impact on viral pathogenicity. J Nutr, 137(5), 1338-1340. 

Christian, L. M., Iams, J. D., Porter, K., & Glaser, R. (2012). Epstein-Barr virus reactivation during pregnancy and postpartum: effects of race and racial discrimination. Brain Behav Immun, 26(8), 1280-1287.

Clancy, R. L., Gleeson, M., Cox, A., Callister, R., Dorrington, M., D’Este, C., . . . Henriksson, A. (2006). Reversal in fatigued athletes of a defect in interferon gamma secretion after administration of Lactobacillus acidophilus. Br J Sports Med, 40(4), 351-354. 

Grimaldi, S., Pasquali, E., Barbatano, L., Lisi, A., Santoro, N., Serafino, A., & Pozzi, D. (1997). Exposure to a 50 Hz electromagnetic field induces activation of the Epstein-Barr virus genome in latently infected human lymphoid cells. J Environ Pathol Toxicol Oncol, 16(2-3), 205-207. 

Inoue, H., Mishima, K., Yamamoto-Yoshida, S., Ushikoshi-Nakayama, R., Nakagawa, Y., Yamamoto, K., . . . Saito, I. (2012). Aryl hydrocarbon receptor-mediated induction of EBV reactivation as a risk factor for Sjogren’s syndrome. J Immunol, 188(9), 4654-4662. 

Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Speicher, C. E., Holliday, J. E., & Glaser, R. (1984). Stress and the transformation of lymphocytes by Epstein-Barr virus. J Behav Med, 7(1), 1-12.

Lawrence, B. P. (2007). Environmental toxins as modulators of antiviral immune responses. Viral Immunol, 20(2), 231-242.

Quaia, M., Zancai, P., Cariati, R., Rizzo, S., Boiocchi, M., & Dolcetti, R. (2000). Glucocorticoids promote the proliferation and antagonize the retinoic acid-mediated growth suppression of Epstein-Barr virus-immortalized B lymphocytes. Blood, 96(2), 711-718.

Stowe, R. P., Pierson, D. L., & Barrett, A. D. (2001). Elevated stress hormone levels relate to Epstein-Barr virus reactivation in astronauts. Psychosom Med, 63(6), 891-895.

Turina, M., Fry, D. E., & Polk, H. C., Jr. (2005). Acute hyperglycemia and the innate immune system: clinical, cellular, and molecular aspects. Crit Care Med, 33(7), 1624-1633. 

Vasquez, A. (2014). Viral infections/dysbiosis and antiviral strategies (4th ed.): International College of Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine.

Williams-Harmon, Y. J., Jason, L. A., & Katz, B. Z. (2016). Incidence of Infectious Mononucleosis in Universities and U.S. Military Settings. J Diagn Tech Biomed Anal, 5(1).

Yasko, A. a. G. G. (2004). The Puzzle of Autism: Putting it All Together: Matrix Press.