​The covid-19 / coronavirus pandemic has illustrated more clearly than previous outbreaks the difference in individual susceptibility to infection. Why are some individuals more susceptible and how can we improve our resistance?

A Story of Two Seeds

Consider an example of identical seeds. One lands on fertile, nutrient-rich soil with ample sunlight and moisture. Another seed lands on rocky, dry soil in the shade. The first seed, in a nurturing environment, grows into a strong and healthy plant. The second seed struggles to grow. This seed must work harder, developing a spindly stem at odd angles trying to reach sunlight and the roots stretch to find adequate soil for nutrition and anchorage against the winds.

Now what happens when one bug attacks these two plants? The healthy plant can mount a robust defense, producing more bitter phytochemicals to repel the bug and then quickly repair any damage. The already stressed and unhealthy second plant is too weak to defend itself and the same bug ends up killing it.
Why was the second seed killed by the same bug that hardly affected the first plant? It was not a difference of genetics. The seeds were identical. It was a difference of resistance that resulted from the health of the surrounding environment. The same idea can be applied to human infections.

The Coronavirus Story

We have heard about the susceptibility of the elderly to coronavirus, with the CDC reporting those over age 64 account for 80% of deaths. The next highest risk population is not those with immune-weakening genetic diseases. It appears to be those who are obese. Obesity doubles the risk of hospitalization for anyone under age 60. More broadly, those with metabolic disorders like high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol are at risk.

Now compare this to our seeds. Your body is the environment that coronavirus comes across. Is your body weak and unhealthy, with little defense against infection? Or is your body strong and ready to battle an invader?

How Can We Reduce Our Susceptibility?
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Our genetics plays a much smaller role in health than our habits. Good habits create health. Your best chance of fighting off an infection is to be healthy in the first place, with an immune system ready to do its job. If you have been up late, sitting around the house, stressing out and eating junk, your body is in no shape to fight. It is already busy fighting to recover from your bad habits. Like the seed, you need to be watered. You need adequate sunshine, good nutrition, and low stress. Care for yourself like a young and tender plant (and do not forget to water your kids as well).

The ketogenic diet has been increasing in popularity and not just because everyone loves bacon. We receive many questions about the keto diet from our patients, so here’s some basic info and perspective on the topic. 

What is Keto?
A ketogenic diet is any diet or eating pattern that causes the body to spend significant periods of time in “ketosis” - the state in which our body burns fat rather than carbs/sugar/glucose as the primary source of fuel. Burning fat over sugar not only helps with weight management and blood sugar control. It also promotes a reduction in inflammation throughout the body which can result in an improvement in a wide range of health issues.

It is best to think of frequent and significant time spent in ketosis as a fundamental expectation of our human bodies just as much our bodies expect to get good amounts of sleep, activity, and un-processed organic foods. These are simply the circumstances under which our bodies and genes developed and precisely that for which we are designed. To reiterate, NOT spending significant periods of time in ketosis on a regular basis can be just as detrimental to our health as NOT sleeping enough, NOT being active enough and NOT eating high-quality foods. For this reason, it is fair to say that we are adapted for long periods of ketosis and that we are unlikely to achieve optimal health without it.

How can you create Ketosis?
How do we ensure that we are spending enough time in ketosis to create healthy changes? The most common strategies are by dramatically restricting carbohydrate intake or incorporating long periods of fasting. Most keto dieters will end up combining these strategies in some way to maximize their results, however it is often easiest to implement one strategy at a time. The good news is that each strategy can help to initiate positive outcomes in body-composition and energy levels among many other beneficial outcomes. Also, a good week or two of implementing either strategy often makes it that much easier to implement the other.

Two ways to get started:

1. If modifying the content of your meals sounds easier than reducing the frequency of meals then you’ll likely have a better time with the carb-restriction strategy first. In this case you’ll want to work your way down to 20 grams or less of total digestible carbs per day while shooting for approximately 70-80% of your calories from fat and 20-30% of your calories from protein. Even if you continue to eat frequently, keeping your total carb count below 20g per day will surely cause your body to spend increasing amounts of time in ketosis, burning fat as your primary fuel source.
2. If modifying meal times and reducing the frequency of your meals sounds easier than reducing carb intake then you may want to focus on fasting initially. We’ll define fasting as only consuming water or non-caloric drinks like tea and coffee. There are many ways to incorporate fasting, but one of the simplest methods is to shrink your eating window down to around 6 hours. As an example, If you shift to consuming food (all calories) between noon and 6p, you will in effect be creating an 18-hour fasting time from 6p-noon, giving your body little choice but to switch over into ketosis for meaningful periods of time.

Going “keto” can fit perfectly into the anti-inflammatory eating picture that we discuss so often with our patients, however some individuals go “keto” in ways that are not nearly as helpful at reducing chronic inflammation- we’ll dig into this more in an upcoming article so stay tuned.

P.S. Both of the strategies for increasing time in ketosis outlined above will lead to improved metabolic flexibility and better immune system functioning with respect to addressing viral infections, so here’s just one more great reason to go “keto”.

written by Dr. Rick McMichael

It is not merely the virulence of the infecting organism (virus or bacteria) that determines the impact on our health but also the health and vitality of the patient. We can wait and hope for a cure to be found or we can get busy and do the things that science knows will improve our strength, health, and vitality.

Are You Waiting for a "Cure"? 
The recent events surrounding covid-19 have focused much attention on the identification of a cure or vaccine. However, these are not simple tasks and normally require a significant amount of time, if an effective treatment or preventive treatment is to be found. In the meantime, we would be wise to begin changing our habits and to focus on healthy activities that will elevate our health status.

The results of the covid-19 pandemic have made it clear that those who are weak and unhealthy, with low strength and vitality, are definitely at the highest risk of serious illness. We have been told that these high risk patients include older adults, especially those in nursing homes, and those people with multiple co-morbidities. The co-morbidities most often cited are chronic illnesses such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease, as well as pulmonary and renal conditions. Those at higher risk also include patients with a compromised immune system, which may be due to chronic illness or immune suppressive drugs like those used for cancer treatment.
 
What Can You Do?
So, what can we do to be healthier and stronger, that may help to lower our risk. We can focus on things that we can change... things that science tells us will improve our health status and reduce or eliminate some of the chronic conditions (co-morbidities) that place us at more risk of serious illness. For starters, we can improve our diet, increase our exercise, reduce our sugar and processed food intake, avoid our exposure to toxins, get sufficient rest and drink plenty of water.
 
Did you know that chronic health conditions are responsible for a large part of our medical expenses? Did you know that science has shown us that some of these chronic conditions can be reversed, reduced or even eliminated simply by increasing our good health habits? Studies on exercise and diet have been shown to effectively reduce obesity, heart disease and diabetes and thereby increase our health and vitality...and reduce our risk of serious illness.
 
Why not set a plan to increase your health, strength and vitality naturally? Why not set a plan and begin to implement it today! We will be happy to help you design a plan to improve your health and coach you to successfully implement your plan. Just call us to schedule an evaluation and plan to be as healthy as you can be!