The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has created a secret epidemic. Out of the roughly 320 million people in the U.S, over 225 million Americans have some form of EBV, and this appllies to us Aussies too.
Epstein-Barr is responsible for mystery illnesses of every category: For some people, it creates fatigue and pain that go unnamed.
For others, EBV symptoms prompt doctors to prescribe ineffective treatments, such as hormone replacement. And for so many people walking around with EBV, it gets misdiagnosed.
Medical communities are aware of only one version of EBV, but there are actually over 60 varieties.
Epstein-Barr is behind several of the debilitating illnesses that stump doctors.
Doctors have no idea how the virus operates long-term and how problematic it can be.
The truth is, EBV is the source of numerous health problems that are currently considered mystery illnesses, such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.
EBV is also the cause of some major maladies including thyroid disease, vertigo, and tinnitus.
EPSTEIN-BARR STAGE ONE
If you catch EBV, it goes through an initial dormant period of floating around in your bloodstream doing little more than slowly replicating itself to build its numbers—and waiting for an opportunity to launch a more direct infection.
For example, if you physically exhaust yourself for weeks and give yourself no chance to fully recover, or allow your body to become deprived of essential nutrients such as zinc or vitamin B12, or undergo a traumatic emotional experience such as a breakup or the death of a loved one, the virus will detect your stress-related hormones and choose that time to take advantage.
EBV will also often act when you’re undergoing a major hormonal change—for example, during puberty, pregnancy, or menopause.
A common scenario is when a woman goes through childbirth. Afterward, she may feel various symptoms, including fatigue, aches and pains, and depression. In this case EBV isn’t exploiting your weakness, but the fact that hormones are a powerful food source for it—their abundance acts as a trigger.
The hormones flooding through your body effectively does for the virus what spinach does for Popeye.
EBV is inhumanly patient.
This Stage One period of fortifying itself and waiting for an ideal opportunity can take weeks, months, or even a decade or longer, depending on a variety of factors.
The virus is especially vulnerable during Stage One.
However, it’s also undetectable through tests and causes no symptoms, so you normally wouldn’t know to fight it, because you wouldn’t be aware it was there.