Arm Your Immune System Against COVID-19
For the past several months the main topic of conversation and concern has been the COVID pandemic and all the potential health risks associated with this virus. After fielding so many of your questions regarding this virus and having multiple conversations with our patients, my biggest concerns has been twofold:
- The lack of conversation and public information regarding what we can each due to further enhance and fortify our own immune system to fight this virus
- Why does it impact those with co-morbidities?
After going through the research and consulting with other physicians, the reason people are susceptible and suffer severe consequences from this virus is what is known as a cytokine storm, where the body starts to attack its own cells and tissues rather than just fighting off the virus, and leading to acute respiratory distress. To make this as simple as possible, cytokines are release by the immune system in response to an infection. These enzymes are pro-inflammatory, a natural part of any healing process. They help surround the invader and then wall it off so that the other cells and actions of the immune system can destroy the virus and then help develop anti bodies to further protect you from future infections. In other words, it helps identify the enemy and then provide future defense.
When you have the common co-morbidities we see in our society today, primarily diabetes, cardio vascular disease, auto immune issues to name a few, the body is already in an inflamed state and has elevated levels of cytokines circulating in the blood. When this person becomes infected the additional cytokine release leads to a “cytokine storm” of inflammation which over burdens our body. Hence, the more elevated levels of inflammation prior to infections, the greater the chance of having severe reaction to the virus. Thus why this virus is having much less impact on kids, college students and healthy adults.
Secondly, during this pandemic there has been little public messaging regarding what we can do for ourselves to better prepare our immune system to minimize the likelihood of having a severe reaction and possibly having little to no symptoms if infected. Due to the “unknowns” of this virus initially, it was imperative to have a better understanding of how the virus spreads, the consequences of the virus, and determining how to detect and test the virus. However, there was still the obligation to inform the public how to best defend themselves. This was spoken about rarely, if ever.
Since the pandemic there has been more research and evidence from peer reviewed literature regarding how to better defend yourself and arm your immune system against COVID-19 and the coming flu season. Below are my recommendations based upon this research for prevention and risk reduction.
I have cited the articles at the end of this post so you can check them out yourself. For dosage recommendations please consult with me at your next appointment or you can email me at drmike@vibrantlivingchiropractic.com .
Based on the above, and the enormous amount of evidence from the peer-reviewed literature it can be confidently stated that:
1. Sufficient intake of omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamins A + D is essential for immune function, especially immune defense against Influenza (flu), Rhino (cold) , and Corona (covid) viruses,
2. Deficiencies in these essential nutrients leads to reduced baseline immune defense against these viruses and/or to increased hyper-inflammatory responses to these viruses leading to cytokine storm and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)
3. Supplementation with sufficient daily amounts (not mega or bolus doses) of these essential nutrients has been clinically shown to decrease inflammation and thus the risk of cytokine storm and/or ARDS and/or to decrease the risk of infection and/or reduce severity of infection from these viruses
4. The Vitamin A and Vitamin D receptors on immune cells (phagocytes and T-cells) require proper synergistic amounts of both Vitamins A and Vitamin D to properly up-regulate these receptors to allow sufficient intake of these vitamins into the immune cells to express proper immune function
5. Innate Choice OmegA+D Sufficiency is the only supplement in the world that combines fish oil, cod liver oil (with naturally occurring pre-formed Vitamins A and D), and extra vitamin D in order to provide sufficient amounts of Omega-3 and Vitamins A and D, AND, provide the proper synergistic amounts of Vitamins A and D – I have personally and professionally used Innate Choice products for over 15 years and have seen their positive impact first hand!
Szabo, Z et al. (2020) The Potential Beneficial Effect of EPA and DHA Supplementation Managing Cytokine Storm in Coronavirus Disease. Frontiers in Physiology 11: Article 752
Grant et al. (April 2020) Evidence that Vitamin D Supplementation Could Reduce Risk of Influenza and COVID-19 Infections and Deaths Nutrients 12, 988; doi:10.3390/nu12040988
Levine, SA. The importance of a balanced approach to vitamin D supplementation. Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. 2011;26(1):15-20.