The Pandemic Wake-up Call
At BTF, we care about more than just the health of your spine, as we care about your overall health and well-being. As a result, we encourage daily exercise and healthy nutrition habits in addition to chiropractic care and soft tissue therapy. Part of being a health human, is having a robust immune system. This has probably never been more evident, as we have witnessed a global pandemic of devastating proportions health-wise and economically. The pandemic has revealed many weaknesses of our current healthcare system, economy and individual health 
statuses. The greatest risk factors of dying from COVID-19 are:
- being over 70 years of age
- lung disease
- diabetes
- heart disease
- kidney disease
- cancer
- and those with metabolic syndrome (elevated blood glucose, elevated blood pressure, large waist circumference/elevated visceral fat, elevated triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol).
This SHOULD be the kind of wake-up call that has the potential to shift people’s mindset about diet, exercise, and their overall health.
Unfortunately, many governments around the world have focused almost exclusively on a 💉 approach to eradicate the COVID-19 pandemic. 💉 used against viruses don’t have a particularly good track record in terms of actually working because the viruses are constantly mutating. Evidence for this was presented recently in the European Journal of Epidemiology in a correspondence from Harvard University researchers Subramanian and Kumar:
Another issue for antibody-based medications like the COVID-19 💉 is the risk of exacerbating COVID-19 severity via antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE). For more on this issue please see a previous article, COVID-19 Vaccines. As a result, 💉 aren’t a panacea. As a society, we still have an opportunity to make significant strides towards healthier communities of better educated people that learn how to avoid the pitfalls of metabolic syndrome that make them susceptible to disease.
For more information regarding COVID-19 and how to protect yourself and your family, please see A Guide to Home-Based COVID Treatment from The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons & Early COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines: A Practical Approach to Home-based Care for Healthy Families from the World Council for Health.
Anatomy of the Immune System
The immune system is an extraordinarily complex phenomenon. It has multiple sub-categories and is intertwined with almost every other system in the body like the cardiovascular, endocrine, digestive and nervous systems. Humans have the ability to start recognizing certain pathogens more efficiently over time and adapt to them better (known as adaptive immunity).
Here are the body’s defense systems that modulate the immune system and increase resilience against disease:
Bone marrow – where our immune cells originate
Thymus – primary organ of the lymphatic system
Spleen – 2nd largest organ of the lymphatic system
Thyroid gland – regulates energy metabolism and cell homeostasis
Liver – filters toxins in the blood (glutathione is the body’s main antioxidant produced in the liver)
It is obvious that the immune system is a complex array of structures. In order to give the immune system the best chance at working effectively, choosing the the right foods is crucial.
Foods That Strengthen the Immune System
Foods That Weaken the Immune System
- excessive alcohol
- inflammatory oils and rancid fats
- refined grains
- processed carbs and added sugars
- processed meat
- seafood high in mercury and other toxins
- heavy metals such as cadmium
Supplements aren’t necessary for everyone, but many of us need a little help to complement our diet. Here are some recommendations for supplementation that we use at BTF.
Supplements That Can Help Strengthen the Immune System
*Note on zinc: 220mg of zinc sulfate provides 50mg of elemental zinc, the recommended anti-viral dose
**Note on Magnesium: 50-75% of the population is deficient in magnesium which plays a key role in immune function. Stressful events like exercising, fasting, high blood sugar, insulin resistance, sleep deprivation or even feeling anxious makes you burn through magnesium at a higher rate. Magnesium supplementation may support a healthy immune response.
If you have questions regarding nutrition and your health, please contact us at [email protected] or call 310-534-1900. At BTF, our goal is to get you to FEEL-RECOVER-PERFORM BETTER today!
References:
Dinocolantonio, James et al. The Immunity Fix. 2020.
Shi Lee, W et al. Antibody-dependent enhancement and SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and therapies. Nature Microbiology. October, 2020.
Subramanian SV et al. Increases in COVID-19 are unrelated to levels of vaccination across 68 countries and 2947 counties in the United States. European Journal of Epidemiology. September 2021.
