Hello everyone: According to new research, about one-third of post-Covid infection cases report a new neuropsychiatric diagnosis within 6 months of the initial infection. It did not seem related to how mild or severe the infections were as the risks were raised in both the hospitalized and non-hospitalized groups with the hospitalized group showing greater incidence of problems. Furthermore, many did not have any prior history of neuropsychiatric issues such as anxiety or depression mood disorders. About one in 8 had no previous history, however, 7 out of 8 did have an issue with mood disorders before getting Covid-19. The most common diagnosis was anxiety plus the illness seemed to aggravate or progress other conditions like cognitive decline and dementia. This group also included stroke and other neurologic disorders. Additionally, the presence of co-morbidities was strongly ... Read more
Covid-19 Update: Food and Immune Health
Hello again everyone: Sadly, the predominant narrative that is being broadcast everywhere seems to almost completely ignore what we can do to protect ourselves against any type of infection both now and for the future. This is sad because we know that the vast majority of those getting severe Covid related illness and/or death have at least 1 to 5 co-morbidities. It is also known that about 80% of those co-morbidities are diet related and can be improved with simple and direct lifestyle upgrades. Furthermore, this is not a secret and is well documented in the research literature. What surprises me every day is that I meet people who are not optimally well and have multiple co-morbidities (the simultaneous presence of 1 or more chronic conditions or diseases) and over the past year, no one has mentioned to them that it might be an absolutely fabulous idea if we all used this ... Read more
Covid-19 Update: Vitamin D Still Critical in Helping Reduce Risk in Pandemic
Hello everyone: Every day I look at the results of lab tests that I have ordered here for patients, and every day I find most of us are actually very low in Vitamin D. I would have hoped that by now the word would have gotten out that everyone should be taking Vitamin D as a part or component of their overall strategies to build immune strength and resiliency. It is still important to understand that Vitamin D is considered adjunctive care and not primary care. However, it is without question that adjunctive therapies can assist primary care therapies and should be a part of our total efforts. For a great perspective, take a look at this review paper (1) and some of the highlights: “As the world's attention has been riveted upon the growing COVID-19 pandemic, many researchers have written brief reports supporting the hypothesis that vitamin D deficiency is related to the ... Read more
Covid-19 Update: Immune Health and Physical Activity
Hello again everyone: During this pandemic, it becomes even more critical than normal to maintain a robust and resilient immune system. Additionally, we all know that co-morbidities are a major part of the driving forces behind those that get severe illness or even die. The question then becomes, how can we reduce our comorbidities and increase immune health and function? As it happens, exercise is clearly one part of that answer. Here are some quotes from the link (1) at the bottom of the blog: “…precarious metabolic health is considered the main risk factor for the development of severe forms of COVID-19. This may occur in T2DM (type 2 diabetes), obesity and MS (multiple sclerosis autoimmune disease), possibly due to immune dysfunction in synergism with pathophysiological complications of these comorbidities.” “Metabolic disorders lead to immune activation of ... Read more
Covid-19 Update: Swiss Cheese Layers of Protection is Missing a Layer
Hello again: As this pandemic rolls along and everyone gains more experience with this virus, many interesting ideas are emerging. One that makes sense is the Swiss Cheese Model of protection put forth by an Australian virologist. This is a short article that explains how no single effort is proving to be 100% effective, and thus we need multiple layers to obtain maximal protection. (1) Please quickly review this article and then proceed to the Bottom Line. (1) Read more
Covid-19 Update: Food as Medicine is Real So Get with It Now!!
Hello again friends: In my last blog post I went over how to de-flame with food. We all know that inflammation causes, perpetuates and aggravates every human condition or illness. And we know that a primary source of inflammation can be from food choices, more specifically processed and sugary ‘foods’. There is now adequate science demonstrating that processed food intake is harmful. (1) And in a recent blog I posted a link that revealed that along with this Covid pandemic we are fighting a pandemic of chronic disease that is responsible for the increased lethality of the pandemic, and it is largely driven by lifestyle choices. (3) What is inspiring to me is that we are starting to see the mainstream medical profession take an interest in this issue and advocating for policies that assist us out of this quagmire. (2) First of all, they actually recognize the problems that these ... Read more
Covid-19 Update: Foods, Inflammation and Health
Hello again everyone: Here is a great, quick and concise read about inflammatory foods and their possible effects on our health. As you all know, inflammation causes, perpetuates and/or aggravates every known human illness, including viral infections. The ability to respond to any bodily insult, including viral exposures or ongoing viral load/burden, can be directly impaired by chronic low grade non-purposeful inflammation. What? Ok, there are 2 types of inflammation: acute and chronic. Acute inflammation is absolutely necessary for healing and repair, if we do not go through an inflammatory phase we do not heal because inflammation is the first phase of healing. Thus, acute inflammation is purposeful and natural. Chronic inflammation is inflammation that persists beyond the healing phase or arises from gradual persistent bodily insults such as: consumption of an inflammatory ... Read more
Covid-19 Update: What to do if You Get Covid-19
Hello again: If you have been reading our blog, you should be up to date on both primary care strategies as well as adjunctive care (self-help) things you can do to keep an optimized immune system to minimize the severity and risks of any infection, including Covid-19. I am attaching a link to a 39 minute You Tube video from about 3 months ago. This video covers several things that I have not yet mentioned that can be very important to know about: air filters and thermal therapy. Most of the info on those two subjects is in the last 10 minutes and is really worth viewing, plus in the first part you can see some great data that has good and plausible application to create a comprehensive overall protocol to keep you as safe as possible during this pandemic. Lot of really great information throughout the entire video: Read more
Covid-19 Update: Zoom Fatigue? How About 4 Simple Solutions for Kids and Adults
Hello again friends: Many of our patient community have had to switch to working from home, and this entails a lot of computer time and sometimes endless hours of online Zoom meetings or other online video conferencing and meeting services. We hear about Zoom fatigue, computer fatigue, headaches, eye strain, neck and back pain, lack of movement and more. Here is what the authors have to say: Abstract: For decades, scholars have predicted that videoconference technology will disrupt the practice of commuting daily to and from work and will change the way people socialize. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic forced a drastic increase in the number of video conference meetings and Zoom became the leading software package because it was free, robust, and easy to use. While the software has been an essential tool for productivity, learning, and social interaction, something ... Read more
Covid-19 Update: What to Eat to Lower Risk of Respiratory Infection
Hello again everyone: As the science shows, what we eat influences our immune system, and in this paper they show that increasing daily fruit and vegetable consumption significantly lowers the risk of many disease, including respiratory tract infections. Specifically, the research is summarized: CONCLUSIONS: Higher intakes of fruit and vegetables were associated with lower mortality; the risk reduction plateaued at ≈5 servings of fruit and vegetables per day. These findings support current dietary recommendations to increase intake of fruits and vegetables, but not fruit juices and potatoes. (1) Bottom Line: This research revealed that 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables per day was significantly better that 2 total per day, but interestingly, there was very little benefit seen to eating more than the 5 servings. This has led to the saying “5-per-day” is the ... Read more
