General Wellness

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Excellent podcast about brain health in general but specifically women’s brain health.

Stay safe and be well.

AC

We are heading into cold and flu season, not to mention the almost exponentially worsening Covid pandemic. Hospitals are quickly running out of beds and supplies. This is not only bad for Covid patients, it is bad for ALL patients with all conditions. In addition to the 230,000 deaths directly related to Covid complications, there have been at least that amount of additional deaths from other causes compared with the same timeframe last year. Many of these are also because of Covid. More specifically, the fears of contracting Covid have prevented many from getting proper care or medications for their chronic conditions. 

The basics are crucial:

• Distance
• Wear a mask
• Wash your hands.
• Don’t touch your face.
• Ventilate when possible.
• Get healthy.

The “get healthy” piece is super important, not only to minimize the risks of infection and weathering the storm of infection if it happens, but also for overall, general health. The pillars of health include:

1. Good nutrition.
2. Movement and exercise.
3. Stress management.
4. Love and social support.
5. Proper sleep.

As far as nutrition goes, the more plants you eat, the better off you are. The best predictor of a healthy gut, where 70% of our immune system resides, is the amount and variety of plants you eat. The key is fiber, and there is not just one kind. There are many types of fiber as there are plants, and we have about 400,000 different edible plants to choose from. THERE IS NO FIBER IN ANY ANIMAL PRODUCTS! Fiber supplements give you big poop, but they don’t feed the healthy gut bacteria which is how all the beneficial compounds called short-chain fatty acids are formed.

Although you can get the vast majority of your nutrients from healthy foods, supplementation can also be valuable. The two most common deficiencies in the US are Vitamin D, affecting almost half of Americans, and B12. There are many other nutritional deficiencies out there as well. As far as impacting on Covid specifically, there are some supplements which have been shown to be helpful in terms of boosting your innate immune system as well as impacting on how this virus itself attaches to our cells and replicates. Keep in mind that for most supplements, the studies show that if you have healthy levels to begin with, the benefits go down however what “healthy and normal” vs what is “optimal” are two different things. The first on this list is a perfect example.

1. VITAMIN D. Actually a hormone, it is super important for proper immune surveillance in general, including cancer suppression. We make it in our skin with, not only adequate sun exposure but also allowing enough time for absorption, you can’t get it from foods unless they are enriched with it. Most labs have a reference range of 30-100. However what is optimal, is closer to somewhere in the middle. You want to shoot for being between 50-70. Take a D3, not D2, supplement and most people need 2000-5000 a day. If you start below normal, sometimes taking a much higher dose, even as much as 50,000 a day, may be necessary for a month or two.
2. ZINC. A mineral involved in many cellular processes, it works in concert with other nutrients to prevent SARS Cov 2 spike proteins attachment.
3. VITAMIN C. Also involved in numerous cellular mechanisms.
4. QUERCETIN. This flavonoid (plant pigment) works in concert with Zinc and also impacts on the ability of SARS-Cov-2 to bind to the ACE2 receptor.
5. MELATONIN. Not just a hormone involved in sleep, it also supports the immune system and impacts on mitochondrial function. There are the cellular “powerhouses”. Keep in mind that the higher the dose you take and the longer you take melatonin the less effective it becomes. Stick to lower doses, closer to 1 mg, and take a ‘drug holiday” from time to time. It is also important to follow practices which maintain natural melatonin levels. Get some sunshine, especially first thing in the morning and turn down the lights and screens within 2 hours of bed. Blue light blocking glasses also help.

These are all pretty inexpensive vitamins which have very few if any side effects if taken appropriately. But you still need to follow the healthy nutritional basics. Avoid sugar and processed foods. Keep alcohol consumption in check. Limit animal products, including dairy. Load up on a variety of fruits and vegetables. Focus on Dr. Joel Furhman’s G-BOMBS:

• Greens
• Berries
• Onions and other alums like garlic
• Mushrooms, immune powerhouses
• Beans. All the Bluezone societies consume beans.
• Seeds and nuts

Add lots of herbs spices.

Another “Daily Must List” is from Dr. Michael Greger from www.nutritionfacts.org. He has his “Daily Dozen”, which also comes as a free app.

• Beans
• Berries
• Fruits – 3 per day
• Cruciferous Vegetables
• Greens
• Vegetables – lots of color
• Flaxseeds
• Nuts
• Grains
• Spices
• Beverages – Water, Green tea, herbal teas
• Exercise.

You don’t have to go all vegan, all the time. Once you are consuming 90-95% of your calories from plants, the healthspan and lifespan improvements become more incremental. 4 of the 5 Blue Zones consume some, but minimal amounts of animal products. However the Blue Zone which has the best health statistics is in Loma Linda, CA, where many 7th Day Adventists live and they’re for the most part, vegan. Of course, there are also ethical and environmental reasons for following a vegan diet as well.

In the meantime, keep up all the other important Covid practices:

MASK up

DISTANCE

WASH your hands

DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE

VENTILATE

VACCINTE

GET HEALTHY

Stay Safe and Be Well

AC