If you’re looking to protect yourself against Covid-19, Richmond Simmons claims to be your man.With 27 recorded cases on the island, the naturopath says he has been getting “one to two calls per day” from people asking for his help. He takes the same approach with all his clients: “The best treatment in any health situation hasn’t changed — to acknowledge and balance one’s individual health picture.” More common is for people to self-prescribe vitamins, herbs and foods even though that can actually “do more harm than helping”, Mr Simmons said.“We think the vitamins, herbs and minerals are natural, so it’s all good. The only natural thing we should be getting is what our bodies need now. That first, then we can get to the coronavirus. Poorer or variable qualities of nutrients majorly contribute to obscure expressions of health and thus the possible spread of disease.“While you may be getting some immune help or whatever you hoped [for], you’re encouraging your immune system to be uncontrollably stimulated — which is what this virus and many other common problems [do]. The lungs eventually become over-clogged with immune cells and lung damage progresses to continuously clog the lungs, bringing strong symptoms and possibly death. We can help with normalising these type of physiological processes before, during and after any health issue.”Mr Simmons’s classification as a Grade A natural doctor means he “has reached the pinnacle of knowledge of the body and understanding of the profession”. He opened his practice here in 2003, his interest piqued by hearing people complain that they were unhappy with the structure of the healthcare system.He uses such methods as acupuncture, supplementation therapy, ayurvedic, traditional Chinese medicine, herbal therapy, massage and re?exology, and also analyses blood work and urine to get a complete picture of his clients’ health so he can better address the “underlying causes of problems” that he says are often ignored by traditional healthcare.“People are not having their health seen from a total 360-degree angle,” he said. “Doctors take it upon themselves — and therapists as well — to act as a whole. In doing that, they still tend to not cover all the possibilities of what’s going on in [a person’s] body. It’s creating a lot of disgruntlement. People are starting to see that there are limitations in people’s practices. “[With] science, [it’s] difficult for doctors and therapists to cover everything. Instead of having poorly trained doctors and therapists who won’t admit to their limitations, we could have a properly and fully trained naturopath to meet the increased demands in natural medicine.”He says he has been fielding requests in recent weeks from people worried that their families will fall victim to the pandemic now that it has reached Bermuda.“People have been calling about the coronavirus, like one to two calls per day,” Mr Simmons said. “They ask how I could help in preventing and treating — fully managing — symptoms, for children as well.“The best prevention is to minimise its infectiveness, by acknowledging and balancing one’s individual health picture — a Grade A trait. I may modify, not boost, one’s immune and other systems because that is not insulting the body [which would] lead to body imbalances later in time. If a vaccine comes out, our systems still have to be ready to manage the energy of the vaccine. I am not sure this is the way to go, but I can ready people.”To do that, he works with clients to determine the “therapy, diet, nutrients, foods and herbs” each one needs.“Plus you get your coronavirus prevention/treatment by getting your systems used to acknowledging, killing and detoxifying viral activity. “We keep in mind that most of us have weakening viruses and health conditions in us already: from injuries, to A to Z issues, to the accumulation of old or new vaccine residues and sexual transmissions, to toxic residues left behind from our diet/environment and other therapies. “Therapies can make us feel good, but lots of times lead our bodies down the above-mentioned uncertain health paths, leaving imbalances/ toxicities behind.” Because they consider the body’s complete health, naturopaths are better placed than most healthcare professionals to repair such damage, Mr Simmons believes. “Note, my practice likes to minimise collateral damage, even repair longstanding damage so to allow continuance of habits,” he said. “Injuries are a sign of the above-mentioned ‘insult’ and ‘imbalance’ to the body, and with viruses and unnecessary therapy being rampant now for over a decade, these are signs to not see yourself, the physio, etc, but the Grade A natural doctor first. “Your mental health will be grateful when you do things in the right order, or be less insulted. All parts of your health are vital to immune health. Settling for feeling good and temporary avoidance of disease is not the same as optimality.” • Contact Richmond Simmons on Instagram, @bermudasnaturaldr, or 799-6903