Covid-19 Update: Food as Medicine is Fundamental

RVAchironeuro • October 5, 2020

Hello again one and all:

In case you are not eating as good as you might be, or should be, here is some information from Harvard University on how food can impact our immune system:

  “We have known for a long time that  nutrition is intricately linked to immunity   and to the risk and severity of infections. Poorly nourished individuals are at a greater risk of various bacterial, viral, and other infections. Conversely, chronic or severe infections lead to nutritional disorders or worsen the nutritional status of affected people. Therefore, it is imperative for all of us to pay attention to our diet and nutritional status during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the clinical course of COVID-19 disease tends to be more severe among older individuals and among people with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension and cancer that are partly related to nutrition.” 

  These authors offer very conservative advice, and they get it right when it comes to Vit. C, Zinc and Vit. D: for example:

“Evidence from several clinical trials and pooled studies show that  vitamin D supplementation lowers the odds of developing acute respiratory tract infections (most of which are assumed to be due to viruses) by 12% to 75%. [9-12] These studies included both the seasonal and pandemic flu caused by H1N1 virus in 2009. The beneficial effect of supplementation was seen in patients across all ages, and individuals with pre-existing chronic illnesses. [13] Among those who were infected, flu symptoms were fewer and recovery was earlier if they had received doses of vitamin D greater than 1000 IU. [14] The benefits were relatively greater in individuals with vitamin D deficiency than in those who had adequate levels of vitamin D.”

Bottom Line:
 Eating a clean, nutrient dense, unprocessed, whole foods, organically sourced diet is one of your best investments in your long-term health. Not only will it support a balanced immune system, it can help reduce the risk and/or severity of many chronic conditions. As I have said before, we need to use ALL of the tools in the tool kit, and food happens to be a fundamental component of optimal function/health. During this pandemic, immune competency is absolutely critically essential and what we eat can either make or break our health.

These authors do not address the fact that nutritional needs go up under many common conditions, such as: when we are under greater stress, not getting enough sleep, not getting enough sunshine, if we are taking medications, if we have digestive issues, not exercising as we used to, and not eating as well as we should, being older, or have a history of not eating well (such as the S tandard A merican D iet, which is just SAD )…we simply need extra nutritional support and this is where basic supplements can be super handy. As you have probably already read above and from an earlier blog, Vitamin D is especially important.

It is really critical to understand that taking vitamins will not adequately overcome a poor diet. It is now very important the we all eat right, take those supplements that you need, and use this pandemic as an opportunity to upgrade our lifestyle and health. Check out this link for some helpful steps to get you going:

 

 

Your Brain on Food

By Mark Smith • October 13, 2025
Your Brain on Food

What is Good for the Heart is Good for Everything

By Mark Smith • October 6, 2025
New Title

Go Green Mediterranean to Lose Fat, Gain Health

By Mark Smith • September 29, 2025
New Title

: Modern Food Losing its Mojo

By Mark Smith • September 22, 2025
New Title

Do You Know Where 80 to 90% of Your Health Comes From?

By Mark Smith • September 15, 2025
New Title

What You Eat Can Save Your Life…or Not

By Mark Smith • September 8, 2025
New Title

To Avoid Chronic Disease, Watch What You Eat

By Mark Smith • September 1, 2025
To Avoid Chronic Disease, Watch What You Eat

Health News Update: Inflammaging is Bad News

By Mark Smith • August 25, 2025
Hello everyone: I think I have mentioned inflammaging before but never really focused on it. So, let’s dig into this interesting topic. Inflammaging is when chronic, low-grade inflammation develops with age as dietary and environmental stress accumulates, contributing to the development of all of the various age-related diseases and health issues. It results from a loss of control over systemic inflammation, which tends to come from an unbalanced and dysregulated immune system. One of the key drivers of inflammaging is diet…which means that one of the key tools to slow and reduce aging is our what we eat as well as what we don’t eat. In this paper, the authors reveal that the typical Western Diet (what science calls the Standard American Diet or S.A.D.) is the best example of a pro-inflammatory diet pattern. “ Conclusion: Inflammation is a key physiological process in immunity and tissue repair. However, during aging it becomes increasingly more chronic. In addition, we found that certain foods such as saturated fats have pro-inflammatory activity. Taking this into account, in this review we have proposed some dietary guidelines as well as a list of compounds present in foods with anti-inflammatory activity. It must be taken into account that the amounts used in the studies that detect anti-inflammatory activity of these compounds are very high, and the intake of a single food to achieve its anti-inflammatory power is not feasible. (My Comment: what this means is that it is the overall dietary pattern that matters the most.) However, the combination of foods rich in compounds with anti-inflammatory activity could exert beneficial effects during aging and in pathologies associated with inflammation and in reducing the detrimental effects of foods with pro-inflammatory activity. Therefore, we can conclude that the compounds in our diet with anti-inflammatory activity could help alleviate the inflammatory processes derived from diseases and unhealthy diets and thereby promote healthy aging. Thus, we can use diet not only for nourishment, but also as medicine.” https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8389628/ anti-inflammatory diet and health aging https://www.healthline.com/health/5-minute-guide-to-inflamm-aging Bottom Line: We all must age, and how we do so is largely under our own control. To create an anti-inflammatory lifestyle is not that difficult, especially if you put it all together in stages. Start with a clean, whole-food, unprocessed plant-based food plan. And to begin, first focus on what you can add into your menus and use those additions to sort of crowd out the things that are more inflammatory…sugar, refined grains, processed and pre-packaged things. Set realistic goals such as going plant based one or two days a week, or even one meal…just start and gradually work up. It has to be doable so don’t stress. Next, start moving and doing regular exercise at least three times a week…and find what you enjoy doing and focus on that. Then add activities that de-stress you, whether that is socializing, church, meditation, prayer, yoga, etc. Overall, shift your attention to giving love to things that love you back. Sugar, drive-thru and processed food like thingies do not love you back but apples or kiwis or berries or veggies do. Sitting around does not love you back but going for a short walk after a meal does love you back. Hang out and give love to the people you really like to be with, they will most always love you back. Create a love you back lifestyle and see how you feel.

Health News Update: Blocking Internet on Smartphones Improves Mental Health

By Mark Smith • August 18, 2025
Hello everyone: I frequently hear about mental health issues with the people in our practice. They could be experiencing depression, or anxiety, feel flat, can’t focus or sustain attention, or may not feel well in general. These comments can come from anyone of any age…I can hear from parents about their kids, or it may be themselves experiencing these feeling. So, when I read this paper, it felt important to share it because we all seem to have mobile phones. Here is how the paper is summarized: “Concern about how smartphones affect users is widespread: half of American smartphone users—and 80% of those under age 30—worry that they use their device too much, and correlational research suggests that smartphone use is negatively related to mental health and cognitive functioning. However, few large-scale experiments have tested for causal effects. We report such an experiment, finding that blocking mobile internet for 2 weeks reduces smartphone use and improves subjective well-being (SWB) (including life satisfaction and positive affect), mental health (more than antidepressants), and sustained attention (as much as being 10 years younger). Despite the many benefits mobile internet offers, reducing the constant connection to the digital world can have large positive effects.” https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/4/2/pgaf017/8016017?utm_source=klaviyo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=%28Email%20-%20Chris%20Kresser%20General%20News%29%20Chris%27s%20Friday%20Favorites&utm_term=randomized%20controlled%20trial&utm_content=randomized%20controlled%20trial&_kx=fARhTo_gi8X3B_2-MaeO_RyzUl9tvT3tr4re-Dy7cNQ.my75y6 Bottom Line: It seems like a smartphone ‘timeout’ can be very beneficial for mental, emotional, physical health and can be an important part of stress reduction. The world today, with nearly instant communications, the almost constant bad and anxiety promoting news, and the fast pace of data consumption can add up to significantly stress us out and pull us down…or just simple keep us distracted. From what I can see, a ‘timeout’ may be just what the doctor ordered.

Health News Update: Diet can Alter Your Disease Trajectory

By Mark Smith • August 11, 2025
Hey there everyone: As you know, inflammation causes, perpetuates, and/or aggravates every known human condition, including aging. As we age, we become more vulnerable to non-communicable diseases such as heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, dementia, arthritis and more. How we eat can massively reduce our inflammatory burden and promote health as we age. It is your choice. One reason that I keep writing on this is that I keep running into the mindset that these diseases are inevitable and that there is nothing we can do about it. Plus, because there are so many different diets for sale out there, it becomes hard to know what to eat. What is important for you to know is that there is a growing scientific consensus about what to eat, but the media rarely mention it and our public health authorities don’t either. It definitely seems like money is more important than our health. So…consuming an overall low-inflammatory diet is what the science is adding up to show it is the healthiest way to go, plus it actually gives you power over your future. This is a great article worth the time it takes to read it as it is pretty comprehensive. Bottom Line: “To adopt an anti-inflammatory dietary pattern, it is recommended to replace refined grains with whole grains, substitute healthy fats (such as nuts, seeds and fatty fish) for saturated and trans fats and increase the consumption of colorful fruits and vegetables while reducing the intake of sugary and processed foods. Additionally, choosing lean protein sources like fish and legumes over red and processed meats, using herbs and spices (such as turmeric, ginger, garlic and cinnamon) in place of excessive salt and sugar and consuming probiotic-rich foods (such as yogurt and kefir) instead of processed and sugary snacks are advised. These dietary adjustments can help mitigate inflammation and promote overall health.” https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/overview-of-antiinflammatory-diets-and-their-promising-effects-on-noncommunicable-diseases/AA3166846841DCC1B219C063F52E2A7F (anti-inflammatory diet)
More Posts