Fear of the uncertainty of Covid-19 is affecting all of us.  Not knowing or understanding why some people seem so sickened by the infection while others have few if, any symptoms is frightening.  Many of us wonder how we would be impacted if unfortunate enough to be exposed to it.

Obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease are the risk factors for people having worse symptoms from the Coronavirus.  Patients suffering from any one of these diagnoses are at increase risk for being admitted to a hospital, requiring I.C.U. care or dying from their infection, regardless of age.

I’m sure you are doing everything possible like washing your hands, wearing masks, social distancing, and avoiding unnecessary contact.  These are great preventative strategies which have been explained to us at great length in the news, but way too little has been discussed about an obvious change that needs to occur for most:  the diet.

While you cannot become cured overnight of hypertension or diabetes, there is great evidence showing that metabolic markers that impact the risk of infection outcome can be changed in 24 hours with dietary changes!!

Poorly controlled blood pressure, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, waist circumference, and blood glucose are all parameters used to define metabolic health.  These markers are directly related to your immune system’s function and optimizing these values are accomplished through diet and lifestyle.

Insulin resistance or high levels of insulin are related to these values.  Many clinicians and researchers (myself included) believe insulin resistance is one of the most common root causes for people to have a worse outcome from a Coronavirus infection.

Your diet is directly related to these risk factors.  Choosing to change your diet can actually start to improve your risk factors overnight.  There is a lot more you can be doing than eating oranges for vitamin C.

Lastly,  if you need some assistance in figuring out how to optimize your diet to reduce your risks, please call the office to schedule an appointment.  We are here to help.