5 Ways to Keep yourself and your family healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic
We are experiencing a winter surge of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. It important for us to find ways to keep ourselves healthy as well as our families. This involves self-care habits, nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress reducing techniques.
1. Ways to reduce exposures include handwashing, hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol, physical distancing, masks, avoid touching eyes, nose, mouth, and nose irrigation.
2. Prevent SARS-CoV-2 from invading our cells: Use serum ACE2 as a decoy to prevent SARS from attaching to cells. Ways to increase our serum soluble ACE2 levels include: daily aerobic exercise, sleep, melatonin, vitamin D (want blood levels to be between 60-80 nmol/L), vitamin A, and curcumin, which inhibits the NF-kB pathway.
3. Inhibit viral replications once SARS-CoV-2 enters our cells: Zinc inhibits viral replication of the virus. Quercetin helps zinc enter cells. Elderberry blocks attachment and inhibits viral replication.
4. Optimize immune & lung health to prevent pneumonia, neurological problems, GI problems, sepsis & cytokine storms. Antioxidants from fruits and vegetables mop of free radicals to get well faster. Eat the rainbow! Vitamin C prevents pneumonia and decrease risk of sepsis. Glutathione, our “master antioxidant”, protects lungs from injury. Epsom salt baths increase the body’s natural production of glutathione. Omega 3 essential fatty acids and probiotics boost immune support.
5. Nourish your body & soul to maintain a healthy immune response. Cut out sugar. Sleep and exercise increase serum ACE2 levels. Optimize vagus nerve function or heart rate variability by meditation, deep breathing, laughter, gratitude, and minimizing stress.
Resources:
Abrishami A, Dalili N, Mohammadi-Torbati P, et al. Possible association of vitamin D status with lung involvement and outcome in patients with COVID-19: a retrospective study. Eur J Nutr 2020;1-9. Access full text here.
Daneshkhah A, Agrawal V, Eshein A, et al. Evidence for possible association of vitamin D status with cytokine storm and unregulated inflammation in COVID-19 patients. Aging Clin Exp Res2020;32(10):2141-2158. Access full text here.
Annweiler G, Corvaisier M, Gautier J, et al. Vitamin D supplementation associated to better survival in hospitalized frail elderly cOVID-19 Patients: The GERIA-COVID Quasi-Experimental Study. Nutrients2020;12(11). Access full text here.
Sarah Tevis Poteet, DDS