General Wellness

New Covid Complication – Diabetes

We know that the SARS-Cov-2 virus binds to receptors known as ACE-2 receptors, which, when turned or, activate enzymatic pathways which help control, among other things, blood pressure. The virus variants which are concerning everyone bind to these receptors more tightly which is partly why they are up to 2-3x more infectious than the original, called the “wild-type”.

These receptors are all over our bodies and on the surface of many organs, including the eyes, lungs, kidneys, hearts and brain. As a result, long term, even delayed, organ damage is being seen, even in some who had no or mild symptoms. Some of the known long term side effects include:

• Obviously lung damage, in some cases necessitating lung transplant.
• Heart problems including arrhythmias and heart attacks.
• Kidney damage, even leading to kidney failure.
• Neurological problems like memory, sleep and concentration issues
• Psychiatric issues like depression, anxiety and mood change.
• Gastrointestinal problems.

We’ve known that Diabetes is a significant risk factor for contracting the virus and having a more severe bout of Covid-19, whether your blood sugars are well controlled or not. The worse your control, the greater the chances so better control is still preferable. And as many as 30% of Americans already have, or are unaware they have diabetes, or pre-diabetes. Most of these cases are Type 2, previously called Adult Onset Diabetes and is almost 100% related to poor diet and lifestyle choices. This form is also almost always reversible. It is no longer called Adult Onset because we are seeing in in kids, even pre-teens since 20% of the are already obese, not just overweight. Type 1, previously called Juvenile Diabetes since it mosty started in childhood, often linked to cow’s milk consumption (hapless plug), is for the most part an autoimmune form in which the body misrecognizes the beta cells in the pancreas, the ones which make insulin, as foreign, attacks and kills them so those patients must inject insulin for the rest of their lives since you can’t live without insulin.

Now, studies are showing that diabetes is a significant short and long term complication of Covid-19. Studies from China, Europe and the US show that almost 15% of hospitalized, 47-65 year old Covid patients develop new diabetes during their infections or soon afterwards.

Any infection can reveal an underlying, yet undiagnosed case of diabetes and Covid has certainly done so as well. More concerning is that the SARS-Cov-2 virus seems to attack the pancreatic beta cells directly, causing them to die, resulting in an inability to make insulin, leading to type 1 diabetes. These cells do NOT regrow so this is a permanent situation whereas Type 2 can be almost always reversed if one improves their lifestyle and diet.

In addition, the virus impacts the liver’s ability to process sugar leading to Insulin Resistance (IR), the fundamental problem with diabetes. IR results in insulin’s inability to process sugar or work on the liver. As a result, the pancreas tries to pump out more insulin. High levels of insulin are not good for a variety of reasons.

I could go on and on about the pathophysiology of diabetes but let’s just say that there are many mechanisms by which Covid causes diabetes.

I have a personal interest in diabetes as I was diagnosed with an autoimmune form of it almost 6 years ago, which launched me into the nutrition and wellness world. I have a form called Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adulthood (LADA for short) and is categorized as Type 1.5 since it is a mixture of type 1 and 2. Although in many cases, it is first misdiagnosed as Type 2, it really is more like Type 1 in that the pancreatic islet cells are attacked and destroyed and everything I’ve read indicates that 100% of people with this diagnosis end up on insulin once their beta cells are all destroyed. As for me, I am not on insulin yet, nor do I take any prescription medication. When first diagnosed, I was on an oral drug and Insulin was offered as a way of protecting my pancreas but I took a more natural route. I take a slot of natural supplements mind you, but so far so good, so I’m not changing anything. If anyone is interested in my approach, email me at andrewchuma@gmail.com.

Yes most people who contract Covid-19 have a minimal or mild course, but many do not. There are many people who are starting to suffer long term complications and, as we know, there have been many deaths, nearing 500,000.

There is hope on the horizon. More people are getting vaccinated every day than are contracting covid so we are making headway.

In the meantime, please do all the things we know protect you and all those around you.

Stay Safe and Be Well.

AC

The Virus is New, The Vaccine is NOT.

Although we have been calling the SARS-CoV-2 virus a “novel” virus, the category of “coronaviruses” is anything but new. In fact, there are 4 very common coronaviruses which have been present in our communities for decades, causing the “common cold”, along with rhinoviruses and adenoviruses.

One of the criticisms and concerns about the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is how new they are and how quickly they were developed. Again, although it appears that these vaccines are new and were developed very quickly, they are far from “brand new”. Their modes of action are new, but the actual vaccines are not. In addition, the techniques used to develop vaccines have been around for over 50 years.

Back in the early 2000s, there was an outbreak of the original SARS epidemic. This was caused by a similar coronavirus, also of bat origin, however it was much more deadly and fortunately much less transmissible. Since then, many labs had been working on vaccines against this virus. As was typical with vaccine development, it was a slow tedious process with little imminent urgency because of how rare it was and, in fact, it may have burned itself out. Pharmaceutical companies are not in the business of helping people but in the business of making money. There is not much profit in spending millions developing a drug which only a handful of people will benefit from. Research continued though. So when SARS-CoV-2 came along, scientists already had a head start on developing a vaccine. They just had to do some tweaking. 

Were some of the usual scientific processes and protocols sidestepped? Well not exactly. They were just amended to allow forward movement of trials. Much red tape was eliminated. Safety protocols however were not.

Some misconceptions clarified:

1. I can catch Coronavirus from the vaccine. NO. You cannot possibly catch Covid-19 from the vaccines. They do not contain any live virus or parts of the virus. IMPOSSIBLE!
2. There are still safety concerns. Presently, no real concerns exist, beyond those which are linked to just about every drug and supplement you put in your mouth. They ARE safe. Tens of thousands have participated in trials and the chances of having a side effect from the metamucil or aspirin you are probably taking are significantly greater. No joke. The chances of death from regular use of aspirin is 1 in ~ 650.
3. We don’t have enough long term data. True. However we have short term data and it’s very good. In addition we certainly know how many have died from this disease already. Approaching half a million in the US alone. 500 freaking thousand!!! We can certainly predict how many will die in the next year or two if we don’t do something.
4. Older people have died from the vaccine. Maybe a few, but not as many as were reported in a few very isolated reports and the real cause is still not clear. Again, going back to statistics, even if you assume that the people who reportedly died from the vaccine really did, the odds are still 23x greater that those same people would have died if they contracted Covid-19. In addition, they would transmit more disease, more illness and more death would ensue. What IS a fact is that with all 3 vaccines in the US, Pfizer, Moderna and the upcoming J&J vaccine, the only deaths which occurred in the tens of thousand who participated were in those who received the placebo!!! They died because they got Covid, not the vaccine!
5. I’m too old and it’s too risky. WRONG. It’s much riskier not getting vaccinated.
6. If you had a bad reaction to any other vaccine, you should not get the Coronavirus vaccine. True but only in very limited cases. The mechanism of action of this vaccine is completely different from other vaccines. In that sense, it is a new vaccine. But that logic is flawed. It’s like comparing apples to oranges. It’s like saying that I had a reaction to aspirin, so I should not take this medication for diabetes? Discuss this with your doctor but don’t assume.
7. I have seasonal allergies so I shouldn’t get it. Hogwash.
8. I’m allergic to eggs and vaccines are made with eggs. NOT TRUE, including for the flu vaccine.
9. I have a chronic condition so I am at greater risk of a side effect. Using that logic, 75% of Americans should avoid the vaccine since that many are overweight or obses. 40% are on statins. 30% have diabetes or prediabetes. You are at much greater risk without the vaccine. Get healthy – YES but don’t avoid the vaccine in the meantime.
10. Once you are vaccinated, you are protected and can ease up on mask wearing. NO, NO, NO. You are more protected but no one else around you is! You can still catch it and transmit it. Vaccination is not a Star Trek shield against the virus. Nothing changes with respect to responsible personal and societal protection.
11. I had Covid so I don’t need it. WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! You might get some protection having had it but our immune response is much more robust and longer lasting from the vaccine. In fact, if you were asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, your protection may only be present for a few short months. In addition, these new variants pose a greater risk and your immune system won’t be able to recognize the variants as easily. GET THE VACCINE! General rule of thumb is to wait a minimum of 2 weeks after symptoms improve. Expect to have side effects from the vaccine since your immune system is already primed.
12. Because it is a genetic-based vaccine, it will alter my own genes. This is ridiculous and not based on any reliable science. Q Anon stuff. Like the vaccine is a way for the government and Bill Gates to track us!
13. I am pregnant and should not get the vaccine. INCORRECT. There have been many pregnant women who have been vaccinated with no adverse effects. In fact, not only does vaccination protect mom, there is passive immunity passed along to the unborn baby through the maternal fetal circulation, as well as through breast milk after the baby is born. On the other hand, pregnant women who get covid have a much higher complication rate, even if otherwise healthy. There is evidence that the virus attacks the placenta, putting both mom and baby at risk.
14. Vaccines cause infertility. There is absolutely no evidence of that. If you are worried about infertility and low sperm counts, stop eating so much cheese which is loaded with hormones (more than 60) which have been proven to impact on fertility in both men and women!
15. Vaccines were made using aborted fetal tissue. In some of the vaccines, decades-old cell lines were used for testing. The exact origins of these cell lines are not clear but some may have been harvested from aborted fetuses in the 1950’s. If this is an issue for you, before condemning the vaccine, look into your own medicine cabinet and do a little research. Chances are, some of the meds you are taking already were developed using these same cell lines. Don’t be a hypocrite.

I am sure there are other questions I am missing, but regardless, ALMOST EVERYONE should get the vaccine ASAP. I’ll get some haters for this but I feel very strongly that if you don’t get vaccinated, unless you really have a legitimate reason not to, you are irresponsible, selfish and clearly don’t care about anyone else. The same goes for mask wearing and all the other, proven measures to reduce contracting and transmitting this disease. If you have concerns, educate yourself from legitimate sources.

You do not want to get this disease. There is new evidence of even asymptomatic people developing diabetes after infection (more on this later). Add that to the list of long term complications like heart arrhythmias, kidney disease, brain fog, lung disease…

Do your part. 

Protect everyone.

Get vaccinated when you can.

Practice proper protective measures.

Stay safe and be well.

AC